What's new
Frozen in Carbonite

Welcome to FiC! Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

The Carbonite Tribble Emporium

That would be interesting to say the least.
#16

And so we see earth through the eyes of aliens.

"Smell that, children? That is the smell of gasoline. It is used by planets who have not discovered gravitic manipulation or mana batteries. It is bad for the environment, but it's the most efficient, so most use it anyway."

"Madam, please stop using us as a substitute for your field trip to less developed worlds."

"See that man following us around? See how his clothing doesn't seem to shimmer nor move? That's because his clothing is made out of solid fibre."

*gasps of shock from the children*

"Yes. They have not invented solid light holograms yet. We once did the same thing, 800 years ago, making clothes out of plant, animals, and minerals. But now we have move past such..... low tech premises. "

"Madam, please cease and desist."
 
Last edited:
And so we see earth through the eyes of aliens.

"Smell that, children? That is the smell of gasoline. It is used by planets who have not discovered gravitic manipulation or mana batteries. It is bad for the environment, but it's the most efficient, so most use it anyway."

"Madam, please stop using us as a substitute for your field trip to less developed worlds."

"See that man following us around? See how his clothing doesn't seem to shimmer nor move? That's because his clothing is made out of solid fibre."

*gasps of shock from the children*

"Yes. They have not invented solid light holograms yet. We once did the same thing, 800 years ago, making clothes out of plant, animals, and minerals. But now we have move past such..... low tech premises. "

"Madam, please cease and desist."
You're making me LoL... but we better stop this before it becomes a mess. Now, for a tribble!

Tribble #16 (I'll probably have to start threadmarking tribbles at this rate): Fallout AU

The Enclave aren't entirely made up of the genocidal maniacs that have been told in stories. Like many nations that are more than a simple city-state in the Wastelands, the Enclave have their own factions within. I would find out that much of the atrocities committed by the Enclave were made by the 'Corpses' faction of the Enclave while the 'Phoenix' would rather simply rebuild the United States in the new world that it found itself in. The majority of the Phoenix faction would later leave for the East Coast after the Oil Rig was destroyed, wanting to get away as far as possible from the horror that is the NCR.

I, myself? Well, let's just say that while I was looking for my dad (which caused a series of misadventures including a ruthless takeover of an alien spaceship) I accidentally stumble upon an Enclave outpost and got sent to Raven Rock. After a personal interrogation with with Augustus Autumn, he found an opportunity that fitted to his plans quite nicely. I was able to get some initial funding for what would be known as the Terran Starship Command, and Augustus was able to have someone to help him not only get rid of Eden but also convince my own father (who was only a babe when my grandfather was exiled) but also Elder Lyons and his chapter of the Brotherhood to not shoot him and his men on sight. This would lead to revelations on all sides... including the sacrifice of those from Vault 76 and the few, weakened remnants of Maxson's personal taskgroup to simply contain the disease that laced the area rather thoroughly after ensuring that a threat to all life was extinguished once and for all.

These are my stories of the the new dawn...

(basically based on Autumn Morning and it's Fallout AU on SB, but with an Terran Starship Command twist)
 
Question. How about this? An idea. Remember the kid hero? Remember them? Ever wondered how their lives would be like after all the adventures?

hint: Like child stars.
... that would be bad... but a good idea to build a tribble out of...
 
#17

A.... reverse isekai.

Huh. An idea.

Based on this webcomic:

childrens_fantasy.png


Anyone here read re zero?

No?

Ok, here's the summary:

a boy is summoned into another world, and meets and befriends a silver haired half elf girl, and her familiar spirit, Puck. Then they got brutally murdered. But that's ok. Since the boy can wind time back by dying.

So armed with his new knowledge and power, and with some trial and error, he saves the girl.... And resolves to help her win the royal election, and make her king.

So.... After that, way to get back home appears, but it's only one way. And yes, one time only.

So the protag goes in.... And comes back home after 5 years. Happy, right?

You don't..... go from fantasy battles, rescuing maidens, fighting dragons, being a kingmaker, and then going back to boring old reality. It's not done easily. And the protag? He fails.

Also, he lost out on 5 years of schooling, and depression to boot. So he basically became these guys:

Jaded Washout - TV Tropes
Burger Fool - TV Tropes

Basically, that salary guy that hated his job? That loser in his mother's basement? That geek that still collects action figures? That homeless man? That's him.

Part of it is the.... mental instability and lack of fitting in due to the dimensional travel. Part of it is due to ptsd. Part is due to missing for 5 years. And another is due to current reality being so boring.

Seriously?

If you went from this:

477578.jpg


478117.jpg


e89551104e1d9a1feb92dbfe9a10159a.jpg


tumblr_oa96f8ilxh1vqfb3io1_1280.jpg


1415865785330.jpg


re__zero_subaru_kiss_emilia_by_lmslucas-dafuo6q.jpg
To this?

ddd_1797.JPG

..... alright fine. I admit it. I ship Subaru x emilia. I'm a filthy shipper.

So anyway, this loser, this fat geek, this town drunk..... he gets shit on by probably everyone, for being worthless, doing nothing, having no job.... while inside him, he's crushingly bored. Suffering from some trauma and despair and loneliness, and regretting leaving his friends and his love for a world where he's just a normal man.

Then one day something changes.

Maybe they finally get enough mana to establish a link. Maybe they finally get a lockdown on coordinates. Maybe they finally advanced dimensional science enough to find him and travel through worlds.

But anyway, his old friends find him. That mage? The archmage now. That girl? Ruling and greatest queen of a nation of over a billion souls, magic and magitech, elementals, and access to wmd scale spirits. And he as kingmaker is a celebrity in their world.... but not here.

What happens when his name and face is transmitted through the world, as the queen of another dimension searches for her lost love and friend? What happens when they find out what happens to him?

Or worse yet, they find out he tried to tell, and is assigned to an insane asylum....

The issue, I wish to put, is the complete difference in tone from before and after, and the change from magic to mundane.
 
Last edited:
A.... reverse isekai.

Huh. An idea.

Based on this webcomic:

childrens_fantasy.png


Anyone here read re zero?

No?

Ok, here's the summary:

a boy is summoned into another world, and meets and befriends a silver haired half elf girl, and her familiar spirit, Puck. Then they got brutally murdered. But that's ok. Since the boy can wind time back by dying.

So armed with his new knowledge and power, and with some trial and error, he saves the girl.... And resolves to help her win the royal election, and make her king.

So.... After that, way to get back home appears, but it's only one way. And yes, one time only.

So the protag goes in.... And comes back home after 5 years. Happy, right?

You don't..... go from fantasy battles, rescuing maidens, fighting dragons, being a kingmaker, and then going back to boring old reality. It's not done easily. And the protag? He fails.

Also, he lost out on 5 years of schooling, and depression to boot. So he basically became these guys:

Jaded Washout - TV Tropes
Burger Fool - TV Tropes

Basically, that salary guy that hated his job? That loser in his mother's basement? That geek that still collects action figures? That homeless man? That's him.

Part of it is the.... mental instability and lack of fitting in due to the dimensional travel. Part of it is due to ptsd. Part is due to missing for 5 years. And another is due to current reality being so boring.

Seriously?

If you went from this:

477578.jpg


478117.jpg


e89551104e1d9a1feb92dbfe9a10159a.jpg


tumblr_oa96f8ilxh1vqfb3io1_1280.jpg


1415865785330.jpg


re__zero_subaru_kiss_emilia_by_lmslucas-dafuo6q.jpg
To this?

ddd_1797.JPG

..... alright fine. I admit it. I ship Subaru x emilia. I'm a filthy shipper.

So anyway, this loser, this fat geek, this town drunk..... he gets shit on by probably everyone, for being worthless, doing nothing, having no job.... while inside him, he's crushingly bored. Suffering from some trauma and despair and loneliness, and regretting leaving his friends and his love for a world where he's just a normal man.

Then one day something changes.

Maybe they finally get enough mana to establish a link. Maybe they finally get a lockdown on coordinates. Maybe they finally advanced dimensional science enough to find him and travel through worlds.

But anyway, his old friends find him. That mage? The archmage now. That girl? Ruling and greatest queen of a nation of over a billion souls, magic and magitech, elementals, and access to wmd scale spirits. And he as kingmaker is a celebrity in their world.... but not here.

What happens when his name and face is transmitted through the world, as the queen of another dimension searches for her lost love and friend? What happens when they find out what happens to him?

Or worse yet, they find out he tried to tell, and is assigned to an insane asylum....

The issue, I wish to put, is the complete difference in tone from before and after, and the change from magic to mundane.
... what did I say about putting a tribble # on a post like this?
 
Tribble #18

Cyberpunk 2077/Syndicate (reboot)

The world is a harsh place. The Syndicates have overtaken the power of nation-states, and there is no bigger example than the United States. Carved up between Aspari and EuroCorp, the United States -outside the areas of corporate influence- is effectively a third world country. Yet there are areas effectively outside Syndicate control, and Night City is one of them. Miles Kilo and his unit has been sent there due to EuroCorp intelligence indicating that EuroCorp proprietary tech has started to show up in the city...
 
Tribble #19

I just got a hilarious idea. Everyone Knows - SCP Foundation

Think about alll those stories with the masquerade, and the various monsters and such behind them. All those different supernatural and paranormal groups, all hiding in plain sight, hiding from humanity, fighting a shadow war.

You got the Illuminati. The Man in black. The Galactic Patrol. The Time-Space Administration Bureau. The Temporal Corps. The Technocracy. The Council of Wizards. The Howling Pack. The Sorority of Witches. The Lawyers of the Underdark. The Ones Above. The Technocracy.

One day the masquerade breaks.

....... absolutely no one is surprised.

In hindsight, it should have been obvious. With so many groups running about, with Vampires, mages, aliens, interdimensiona intruders, demons, spirits, devils, and angels, it shouldn't have been possible to keep it quiet. The newspapers should be blaring on about the different paranormal things. Unless..... everyone knew and was helping to cover up.

So yes. Husbands and wives, pointing weapons at each other when they realize that they work for opposing sides. The family gatherings would become even more awkward than normal, once they realize what happens. The wife will still go ballistic, because her husband has not only been cheating on her with his secretary, he has been cheating on her with his elf secretary. The entire class of a highschool laughs, at the funny jokes... and then stops laughing when they realize they all are junior members of opposing organizations, and hey, isn't that the guy who blew off your leg in Atlantis?

Glorious, glorious chaos.
 
tribble #20

The ship was venting air and water into dimensional space. Emergency lights flickered on and off, while the dull whine indicating that the core was losing power rang through the air. The sensors and navigation was a mess, as the attack had scrambled at least half the electronics and computers onboard the ship.

Captain Ani, seated in the command chair, was currently holding a piece of cloth over a large cut over a large cut on her forehead. "Engineering," She asked over the telepathy "How's the core? Can we make it to realspace and land for repairs?" "Unfortunately no, Captain. The attack had broken the shields and damaged the fusion core of the ship. To fix this kind of damage, we need to shut off the core and land. Otherwise, it'll continue leaking power and radiation into the ship." Hearing that, Ani sighed. She knew that the barriers that her crewmen had were able to hold back against radiation. But it would not be able to protect them for long against the energies a leaking fusion core can release. Not to mention.... "How about fuel and power? Can we get back to HQ or at least a port? There're no administered worlds we can land on to ask for help."

"Sorry, captain, but no. The attack was massive. We've lost our batteries, most of our fuel, and our stores of food and water and air. Based on my calculations....." There was a rummage over the telepathic network as her surviving engineers attempted to calculate how long it would take to survive the rest of the trip "we would have enough supplies to last for approximately 3 days of travel. By that time, we'll run out of fuel and be forced to use mages as a power source and probably run out of air by then."

Ani's heart sank at the news. 3 days? It would have taken less than 1, if the ship was in tip top shape. But the engines and the core were damaged, forcing them to go at a comparative snail's pace. They would die out here, in the space between world. Never to see their families and loved ones again as their air ran out and the ship went dark. Unless..... this was against regulations, but she had to protect the crew.

Turning to the navigator seated in front of her, she asked. "Navigator, you mentioned no administered worlds nearby, nor friendly ports. What about unadministered ones? Preferably ones with at least an industrial techbase. We need at least some tech to fix the ship."

The navigator blinked. She couldn't blame him. Contact with an unadministered world was, after all, strictly forbidden by tsab law. The introduction of magic, and the realisation that there were worlds beyond their own, often cause societal havoc and disruption. But this was an emergency. "Yes, I know. Its against regulations. but we have to. Its our only hope."

The navigator nodded at this, and replied. "There's only one we can reach within 3 days time. It should probably take us no more than 3 hours to get there. It definitely has the tech to manufacture the parts we need, but the problem is that there are several different polities on it. They may try to steal our tech to take down their rivals." "That's a risk we have to take. Set a course, captain."

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

The ship appeared above the world, in a place the inhabitants called 'Earth'. Sadly, the ship's sensors and navigation computers themselves were damaged. If not, they would have known that their course was very wrong. The ship materialized 2000 km above sea level, and above a continent that was once used as a prison.

Ani, being the veteran captain she was, quickly saw the danger. The ship was going to be destroyed if she did not do something. "Divert all power to the shields and inertial dampeners. And order everyone to brace for impact!" Saying this, she activated the straps and the bracers within the captain's chair. Such things were used rarely. But it would give her a slightly better chance of surviving.

The Artigo's surface hull began to glow. First orange, then red, then white hot. The crew, protected by magic and barrier jackets, gritted their teeth and prayed. Astronomers and radar technicians worldwide, began to talk and notice, as a blip 500 metres long suddenly appeared in low earth orbit, and began to fall towards Australia. All across the country, people looked up into the night sky and saw a firey comet come down towards them. Some prayed. Some too photos. Some went on with their lives.

With a crash that shook the earth and made the air roar, the Artigo slammed into the Australian Outback, witnessed by nothing except for a few startled owls and dingos.

All was still after that, except for the sound of steam smoking off the wreckage. The Artigo had landed.
 
Tribble #21

"Children of a Frozen Earth"/RL

There is a phrase muttered across the humans in power: "If I had the chance to turn back the clock, maybe I could change the course of history." The current situation is very sub-optimal for the future of humanity. It's once immense personnel resource -vital for it's continued existence via the stars- is gone. It's immense industrial ability? Annihilated to a mere shadow of itself. It's culture? Humanity is still recovering in that department and will likely never recover. That is why the American Dominion's supreme leader AI had green lighted this project, Project CHRONOS... a space-time manipulation device that can take all American Dominion assets and transfer them into the past roughly where they stood. It's projections have indicated that even if it was able to unite of humanity and actually put it's energies on regaining previous human glory... it wouldn't be enough to survive the greater universe... especially a universe that is seemingly out to exterminate humanity.

Project CHRONOS activates in Post-Cataclysm 0225, in one reality it never worked. In another, it worked beyond expectations. Now centuries in the past, the American Dominion is on it's way to force the world to change to it's desires... starting in the year 2016...
 
Tribble #22

"Children of a Frozen Earth"/Gundam SEED (AU-ish)

It is decade(s) before the Bloody Valintine War, and humanity is building to a precipice. On one side you've got the PLANTs and their allies who are pro-genetic augmentation. While some believe that it is the fate of the gene-augmented to rule over those that aren't, they're of the minority. On the other you've got the various nations within the Earth Alliance who are considered 'bio-conservative' of one stripe or another. Then came THE EVENT. All across the Solar System, stations, satellites, habitats, even cities show up in a mysterious flash of light.

As you would expect, everyone goes into a heightened state of alert because no one takes shit showing up out of fucking nowhere like it was Tuesday.

All those flashes of light? That is THE EVENT creating quantum duplicates of all of the American Dominion's space assets and depositing them in this new reality. After the initial shocks and what not, things start to get ugly as the bio-conservatives on Earth start making immense noise on declaring war against the American Dominion because they're no longer what they call 'human'. The leaders of the various powers keep a hold on such due to the vast number of unknowns that the American Dominion represented, and they had to make preparations for the war against ZAFT anyway...

____

On the American Dominion side of things, it is the year 0427 PC, and the American Dominion has a hefty chunk of the 5 billion people that is humanity's overall population and a rough billion Uplifts. Now it finds it's space assets in a new universe... with no way home.

Protocols were followed out and things start to normalize (not calm down) when the locals started trying to barge in. At first everyone is just plain ass curious about the new arrivals... but this is quickly dispersed by about a third of humanity when it is discovered that they've genetically and cybernetically augmented themselves pretty hard, and less said about the uplifts, the better.

Another third, on the other hand, are practically bending ass over backwards to appease them. The moment that they heard that augmentations are allowed in the American Dominion, they rejoiced that they didn't have to deal with more bio-conservatives... then discovered that their birthrate problems can be solved with American Dominion bio-tech and that their enhancements can be less defective with Post-Cataclysm bio-tech know-how.

The last third just simply didn't want more shit to have on their plate. They already have enough as it is!

So as the dust settles, the American Dominion intelligence services discover that the situation they've landed in is a powder keg, and all it'll take is a match to set it all off...
_
The situation as the dust settles is one of intruge, espionage, politics, and ever-escalating action as the new Sol prepares for a war that would make all others pale in comparison...
 
Tribble #23
(blame watching seaQuest a little too much...)

'Children of a Frozen Earth'/seaQuest

Due to some SCIENCE!, American Dominion assets in the Earth-Lunar Planet-Sector and it's sole underwater habitat of 0322 PC mysteriously shows up in an IOST event. Some 31 million humans and 75,000 uplifts are now stranded in another reality, now on the brink of disaster...
 
Tribble #24


Dr. Ariel Hanson, infested Terran, survived the Protoss and Raynor. Her new zerg body reanimated her after her execution, resurrected as a Zerg. Alone among the ashes of her former colony and in the wake of the Queen of Blades going quiet, she's drifting without purpose. More importantly, her body is still mutating without her control. She wakes up and finds herself in new places. She's aware of new instincts that have been giving her manic episodes. She's scared of herself, angry at the death of her friends, lost without Kerrigan... and it's all Raynor's fault.

Exploring what remains, she travels to an underground colony command center. Inside is the last remaining sentient being on the planet other than her: an old confederate Adjutant. An Adjutant, a hold-over of the depravity of the confederacy, were human beings that had their brains rewired to become living computers. They helped Terrans managed the complexities of running an interstellar civilization but they have no free will of their own. They have access to legacy Terran systems & codes so that a person with an Adjutant would have incredible mobility through Terran space. And this one is programmed to obey the colonist, or in this case, the infested Ariel.

With nothing to lose and with the best ally she could have asked for, Ariel is going to get off this desolated planet and kill Jim Raynor.
 
Last edited:
Tribble #25

1940, March 29

It was over. The only thing left now, was the signing over of the mineral and oil rights.

The portal had opened up, right in the middle of Kansas. But there wasn't Dorothy there. On the contrary, there was some.... kind of weirdass feudal society on the other side. High command had ordered entry into the other side.

There, the place was weird. And a pretty bad shithole. Some exotic animals, some new crops, and a few more cultures. The locals didn't seem all that fazed out at them. Saying that men who were blessed with magic often came along and took away those with the talent and skill to become as blessed as them. Jason had laughed at that, talking about the Aztecs and Columbus. Funny religions, he said. They didn't seem all that impressed at our tech, though. Saying that it was the wrong kind of magic. But then, what could you expect from a bunch of primitives who couldn't even make a car?

It had gotten pretty boring... until some geologists had found oil and rich mineral veins, there. They tried to buy the place. But the King, the bigwig, had said no. Apparently, something about sovereignty and ancestral lands. And that he didn't have the right to do so, since the lands were granted to him by the Emperor. He hadn't argued for long, though. Not after the special ops had gotten to him. And had gotten to the palace staff.

Bradford looked down at the carpet. The stains had been mostly washed out, but he could still remember their corpses. Idiots. They had stood against the united states. The primitive morons got what they deserved.

He looked at the King now, who was still glaring at them. He had been shouting about how his daughter will bring down the wrath of the 'Saint King' upon them, and had been spouting profanities until one of the men got sick of it and whacked him with a rifle butt. That shut him up, and made him lose a few teeth.

Hah. 'Administration?' Couldn't they choose a better name for their god or something? Nevermind. He'll show them the power of American Freedom and of technology.

It's not like there's anything that could harm them out here.

-------------------------------
Iron-shod boots clanked on the marble floor, in the Command Center. Within this building, the governor for this sector of space resided. Here, he made decisions that would require large number of forces, or high level resources. And the activation of Lost Logia, alongside an invasion, counted as important news.

Raising a salute to the governor, she gave a report. Governor Kuty did not like frivolities. 'Governor. The crown princess of the world of Haidren has came here on emergency teleport, citing an interdimensional invasion by an unknown polity using moderately advanced mass-weapons.' Haidren was a world that had been part of the Belkan Empire for 200 years, and was considered a backwater. The few mages produced, had been snapped up by the army, leaving only the Crown Princess the only person on the planet with a working linker core.

'Did she mention why they attacked? Perhaps using Haidren as a base of operations or a beachhead? Who did they belong to? Ossiria? How did they come? By teleportation or ship?" The governor looked at the reports sent to him on the device, his eyes looking across the data on Haidren.

"Negative, my lord. The so-called 'Americans' came from the ruins, probably from some old relic from Al-Hazard that activated and linked to their world. They don't seem to know how they came here in the first place. Their initial stance was standoffish,, and became excited only after discovering mineral wealth and life forms they had not seen previously. They tried to buy it, but the local King said that he could not sell it to them, not without permission from the Kaiser. Hostilites occured afterwards, and the Princess said that she last saw her staff being killed."

She showed the symbol of the Americans, as well as what they said of their world. No known faction had that symbol, neither did the archive speak of any such polity. In other words, an invasion by an unknown, expansionistic and antagonistic force.

There was silence at that. Yes, the Lord of Haidren was an oaf. Yes, the planet was a backwater. Yet, he had done his duty, and Haidren was a planet belonging to the Belkan Empire, no matter how small a part. This can not go unanswered.

The governor seemed to be thinking the same thing. Standing up, he motioned to his Device, linking up his imagery and voice to the radios and video-transmitters of the army and navy mage corps. He took a deep breathe.

"Brothers and Sisters of the Talihern Cohort. Hear me. A world of our great Sankt Kaiser, long may he reign, has been attacked. The infernal maggots seem to think that they can steal territory and attack officials of Her Royal Majesty with impunity! But we of Ancient Belka are magnanimious and charitable. Let us teach them the error of their ways."

He drew his sword, and using it like a pen, drew out the symbol of the Belkan Empire in the air. It burned there, glowing in the darkness of the command center. "For the Honour of the Sankt Kaiser. Attack!"

Backstory:

Yeah, Earth found a portal. In America, in 1940. Being their enlightened selves, decided to go in and start shooting up the natives, stealing land, etc. Of course, they did not know that this was a world belonging to the Belkan Empire, which was still going strong in this time.
 
#26

Valkyria Chronicles and reality.

The Battle of France takes a turn for the worse when Germany deploys its ultimate weapon, a mix of ancient mythology and Teutonic super science, the Valkyrie. A single being with the power to destroy entire brigades and render most weapons useless. Stern and dedicated to those who gave her purpose Selvaria Bles, the first Valkyrie, serves alongside the charismatic and intrepid General Rommel ushering in a new era of warfare. Hailed as a great hero and the epitome of the ubermensch concept she is a hero to the Nazis and triggers a vicious internal struggle as both the SS and Wehrmacht battle for control over this vital weapon.
Within this political battle Selvaria herself increasingly becomes disillusioned with the Nazis, as a warrior of honour her loyalty to her nation is tested and she increasingly seeks the opinions of Wilhelm Canaris, the secret head of the German Resistance.

Meanwhile British Intelligence has uncovered the secret of the Valkyrie, a series of ancient meteorites that struck the Northern Hemisphere in ancient times granting special abilities to those nearby. The descendants of those ancient people, the origin for most of the worlds myths, may still exist with their skills dormant and so across the world the race is on to find where the blood of the Valkyrie resides and to bring their own warriors into battle.
With conventional weapons largely useless the western powers begin developing a new weapon of massive power capable of killing the superhuman Valkyries, an Atom Bomb.

As the world activates it's own Valkyries the invasion of Russia begins, but this time guarding the gates of Moscow stand two Soviet Valkyries, and in the deserts of Africa British forces field their own flame haired warrior armed with ancient weapons from the Royal Armoury. To the west the United States begins an intense training programme overseen by Henry Jones to put forth an army of Valkyries while Germany seeks a way to create artificial warriors of similar strength. Finally far to the east Admiral Yamamoto prepares a two pronged attack on the US Navy combining massed air strikes and the strength of his own legendary warriors.

As the great powers clash the hastily recruited Valkyries must find their own ways of dealing with their incredibly destructive powers and the horrors they both witness and create. They must question not only their power but also their reasons for fighting, and whether they really are helping the right people win.
 
Tribble #27:

Babylon 5 idea with some concepts from the Space Empires series

Mankind has discovered a rather interesting spacial anomaly called a 'warp point', and has been studying it for decades. When the Warp Point opens up, humanity sends out a probe to see what is on the other side... right into the middle of the Minbari home system. After initial bits of surprise, hiccups, unneeded stress, among others, humanity and the Minbari open up a dialog and eventually became one of the few races that are have the honor to have a permanent embassy on Minbar...

This is the story of the cultural, societal, and other exchanges that happened during and after first contact...
 
Tribble #28

You know something? I want to see some... hidden depths. I'm currently trying to think of writing a story. Young adult novel. Placed into a small town. Weird stuff happening. Gravity falls-esque. There's a rich family, with all the stereotypical shit... including the mean rich girl. Who's pretty darned absent, rarely interacts with the townspeople, and is kinda snobbish. Kinda evil, with giant robots, lots of money, that sort of shit....

So shenanigans happen, and our clever protagonist sneaks into the mansion, to steal back stuff/ get blackmail/ find out information. While sneaking about the house and getting creeped out by the heads on display, she suddenly hears the mean girl shouting.... and screaming. A child screaming, in panic and fear, the high-pitched wail moving across the halls. She runs to the sound, intent on saving whoever from the mean girl's clutches....

Only to see her holding a 2-year-old, and trying to pry it off a wall/ getting it to eat vegetables/ take away a giant chocolate bar. And the thing is? The baby and the girl look very darned similar. The twist?

The girl's a teenage mom. From getting drunk at a party several years back. The reason why she's absent? Because taking care of a kid is a full-time job, and her parents tell her they're not going to hire a nanny for her. The reason why she doesn't interact with the townspeople? Because she's 1. Afraid they'll find out. 2. Know that they'll ostracize her for it.

The evil part is all her, though.

So... still evil. But a surprisingly responsible and loving mother, as well.
 
Tribble #29

Completely and utterly banal reasons for alien takeover.

A band of alien ships take over the solar system.

... not really take over. Just plant a few flags, and then start mining the asteroids and Jupiter. Drones and automated ships land, and ask for animals, exchanging in return for gold harvested from the asteroids. A single ship floats above, not responding to any hails.

In the end, the aliens respond. Designs for fusion. Designs for nanotechnology. Designs for genetic engineering and artificial wombs. Designs for energy-dense power storage. Life extension. Other assorted stuff we would want, but don't have. Weather satellites are deployed, and basically the weather is now on speed-dial, in exchange for a small fee. Anti-grav platforms for moving things into space, nearly for free. Food, animals, genes, culture.... all sellable.

The condition is simple: No spreading out of the solar system for 20 years. You can sell her arts and things like that. You can pay a fee for her, in exchange for anything that might be unique or valuable, in exchange for services. You can ask for tech. But no connection to the outer galactic society. No exiting the solar system. No interference with the mining and manufacturing. No faster than light travel.

The question, of course, is why? Why do this? Why such strange things? Why not invade? Why not simply take over? Why is there no contact allowed to the rest of the galaxy? Why so much? Why???

The answer is simple:

The girl's on the run from her parents. And she needs cash. Lots of it. To support herself, and to maintain her lifestyle. Selling off her valuables, she goes around to set up a manufacturing plant/ mining/ exotic elements synthesiser. The clinch? The taxes in the government are high. Really high. That it dips into profits. Remember how large companies in the US shift locations of their headquarters and their factories to other countries, with lower taxes and less regulation? Yeah. You can't set up a Alpha plus molecule factory in a civilised system without miles and miles of red tape, decades of waiting time, and ruinous license fees. And then there are the potentials for lawsuits, suing, civilian complaints, NIMBYism (its always there, no matter what), and other things. Same goes for everything else. You can't make a nanofactory without some hippie luddites shouting: "Watch out, its like the replicants! (Ignoring that was a bad movie that crashed)". Sabotage from rival companies, high barriers of entry... its hard.

Unless you go out somewhere else, and set up a factory. Yeah, you can do that. Problem. It's got to be someone else's sovereign territory, as in, they live there, and for quite some time. And they have to let you have it. And they have to be intelligent.

Enter, Earth.

So... yes. The Solar system is invaded. Not for water. Not for our gold. Not for our precious bodily fluids. Not for our art and culture. Not for human brains. But for tax cuts.

Alternatively, you can have multiple teenagers and children on the ship. All searching for their own independence.
 
Tribble #30

The place starts in a high school... standard one. Just a few adjustments. Normal teenage drama. Bullying is at a down low. Cliche cliques and stuff, are not really there. Normal teenage drama. Gossip. Sex. Pregnancies. Exams. Weed. Some gang fights. Knives. Sports events. Quarreling. Cheating.

Think average high school in a not so good neighbourhood.

The protagonist is standard dude. Black hair. Black eyes. Longcoat. Walks home. Seems to be normal teenage drama.

Except for the teleportation gate and the underground base in his house.

This isn't all high school drama. The government has been contacted by magical aliens from beyond dimensions, aliens who are humans from an alternate timeline. There's a prime directive, and the Man doesn't want to lose power in the chaos of the broken masquerade, so they're working with the aliens to slowly prepare humanity for the information. Our protag's a child of one of the top officials, and so went along, his magical powers letting serve in some capacity as junior officer.

Part of the story is estrangement. How well do you connect with the people around you, when you have magic and they don't, and you're literally from another world? How do you deal with your powers, when you can't reveal yourself? How do you deal with teenagers who talk about makeup or cars, while you have been fighting rogue war machines since you were 13? Or, say, how to delicately reject a girl who just confessed to you, and unable to tell her that you're not rejecting her cause she's ugly, but cause you're already working and don't have time?

The midchildan mage officer academy did not prepare you for this.
 
31)

Culture shock. Taking from the current... crisis.

Family from a low tech place. Traditional woman roles. Their daughter has gone along first, and is currently working in a high tech, western liberal country and has secured a place for them to go. They go there. Standard culture shock.

Then they meet the daughter. What the problem is, is the daughter.

Thing is, the western liberal country has magic. And their daughter is good at it. Very, good at it. Once in a life time prodigy good. Nanoha style good. Tanya level good. In the 2 years she's inside, she's already got acclaims and awards, and generally works as an officer.

Cue father not quite liking it (My daughter has a higher position than me and earns more! How can this be?) to difficulty in interactions (staying here has made her so arrogant!) to arguments about the law (What do you mean, you can't use your connections to bust your brother out of jail? Aren't we family?) To things like (why is my sister having more prestige and authority than me?)

Yes. Culture clash. Refugees. Through the lens of Nanoha.
 
32)

We need to have an Exalted meets Xeelee/ The Culture. Dragonblooded warriors fighting knife missiles, absurd kungfu, perfect defenses, and teamwork fighting against Effectors and posthuman computer minds. War supernal Solars with the full on war charm suite somehow, impossibly, matching Culture Minds bullet for bullet, strategem for strategem, tactic for tactic. Sidereals weaving destiny and fate and coincidences together, doing battle against the simulations and future-predicting capabilities of Culture Minds. Lunars hunking down on movement and durability charms, hunting down Xeelee and Photino birds throughout time and space. The Dragonblooded soldiers marching together as one, their powers synchronising and coordinating with one another, until a Culture Mind's effectors are left useless and hyperspace is blocked, leaving them nowhere to run and with the only course left is to do battle with the dragonblooded host. Supernal melee solars, wielding blades of orichlalcum, facing down Culture Minds who realize that the chips are now down. Sidereal elders with full powered sidereal martial arts facing down the Culture in an arms race.
 
Tribble #33: Xenonauts 1/Tiberium Dawn

It has been decades since the Praetorian Invasion, decades since half a billion people died in that horrid war, decades since the world was bathed in fire and lightning, decades since the Xenonauts attempted a hell-marry plan to ensure humanity survives. Things have changed then. Surprises have been discovered, the Xenonauts became the Global Defense Force, and mankind shifted.

So in 2020, a strange asteroid managed to bypass interception and land in the Tiber River valley in Italy... unleashing an alien material that even got the scientists within the Xenonauts stumped...

... just as a new organization -the Brotherhood of Nod- shows up on the world stage, causing chaos as it spreads the material around the world.

So begins... a Tiberium Dawn.

 
34) A strange encounter

A superheroine is kicking the ass of a bunch of punks, and realise that their voices are kinda familiar... and then they realize something. Like, holy shit, she knows these kids. See, she used to work as a babysitter/ teacher/ caretaker at an orphanage. And these kids?

She used to take care of them.

"Holy shit, Wendy? Didn't you want to become a nurse?"

"Steven? Wasn't your dream to become a firefighter?"

"Alex? Didn't you say that you wanted to be a policeman, so you can be a hero?"

"I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed. You're going to turn your lives around. You're going to achieve your dreams and make something of yourself. Or else."
 
Back
Top Bottom