Question The Final Trump

Esar wrote: I don't think it has been released yet ?

Bart was named after the Dread Pirate Bartholomew Roberts

Bek D Corbin wrote: Two things, Dreamer:
One, Vivian is a little over a year older than JJ. She got her PDP powers when she was 14; not that she just got them.

Two, Sir Isaac Newton was an Alchemist in real life. He considered his work with Mathematics and Physics as secondary to his works with Alchemy, Chronology and Biblical Interpretation. From Wikipedia's entry on Newton's Occult Studies: After purchasing and studying Newton's alchemical works, economist John Maynard Keynes, for example, opined at the tercentenary of his birth in 1942 that "Newton was not the first of the age of reason, he was the last of the magicians."

annachie wrote: I'm betting JD is making a power play and trying to take over.

Esar wrote: It will be hard to wait for the next part. I really like the family dynamic and I am intrigued by JJ.

No date has been mentionned, I am suspicious.

jmhyp wrote: I'm speculating not that JD is being played, but that he is being controlled. I think the Akelarre managed to get a spell on to him that makes him think he's an independent player but he's actually not. And thus the meeting with JJ means JJ is the mole and he doesn't know it. JJ is going to ultimately be hurt the most in the end.

Otherself wrote: Also, Yerunkle Pavilion...... Babs Babs Babs Babs

Sir Lee wrote: Myself, I'm leaning towards Gen2. Main reason is a peculiar piece of jargon that I seem to remember seeing in Gen2 stories but not in Gen1... that is setting up something called an "ultra" on the smartphone.

But perhaps not fully Gen2, maybe halfway there -- if it were fully Gen2, I would expect a custom high-end phone with all the bells and whistles such as Jack gave JJ would include a Tavi-like VI.

Katssun wrote: I hope against hope that the cliffhanger isn't what it appears, I really liked the family dynamic as well. Mara and Nick are great parents to their legion of hellions.

Kettlekorn wrote:

Katssun wrote: I hope against hope that the cliffhanger isn't what it appears, I really liked the family dynamic as well. Mara and Nick are great parents to their legion of hellions.

Nah, they're gonna pull off the mask to find out it's another goat.

Kaitha39 wrote: +Seconded on the JD thing but I don't think it's JJ as the mole. I think it's less of a "mole in the family" and more of a "They got the details from you under magical torture, then made you magically forget it so you could help them" onto JD.

Madcap grinned again... "Y'know, Four-Eyes, you're right; I don't know what would happen. But then, I know something that you don't know. Namely, Smartass, that this scepter isn't my only weapon. Y'see, the University of Ohio wasn't my first heist. No, my first heist was the Gnostisophy Center on Waldorff!"

"Well, that explains why no one heard of it," Spence admitted. "We live in a world with anti-gravity engines, people who can read minds, super-sorcerers, vampires and power rings, but everybody STILL knows that the Gnostisophists are looney-toons!"

"HEY, my DADDY is a Gnostisophist!"

"Which explains so much."

Schol-R-LEA wrote: As for Springfield, well, I might just know something about that... Fnord.

“What it means is that I’m stuck to this bracelet,” I held it up, “which Mom said would something something, the Rules of the Quest, something Apex Nexus. What are the Rules of the Quest?”

“A magical theory that’s making the rounds. I’ll explain it when- IF- you ever initiate into the Mysteries.

• JJ as the unwitting mole;
• JD playing it straight with JJ, though looking to trigger the Grand Quest so JD benefits;
• Arkelle making JJ as who he is, and looking at the cross-dressing as the leverage that JD has on JJ;
• We haven't seen enough of Dr. 30 to know what he's really up to, or how he's planning to double-cross Arkelle, and JD;

JJ pointed at a refrigerator-like construct with a large open roughly rectangular armored chamber with odd disks set flush against the top and bottoms of the chamber. It had a sliding door and a set of rather cryptic lights and buttons.

Sir Lee wrote: My question: who's WILLIE? From context, (and the fact that the only two mentions to "Willie" are in all-caps) I'm guessing it was a beta-stage name for Vic, that got missed by the search-and-replace because... all-caps.

Sir Lee wrote: My question: who's WILLIE? From context, (and the fact that the only two mentions to "Willie" are in all-caps) I'm guessing it was a beta-stage name for Vic, that got missed by the search-and-replace because... all-caps.

Bek D Corbin wrote:

Sir Lee wrote: My question: who's WILLIE? From context, (and the fact that the only two mentions to "Willie" are in all-caps) I'm guessing it was a beta-stage name for Vic, that got missed by the search-and-replace because... all-caps.

Right on the money. Yet another thing that you read and re-read a thousand times, and only spot after it's been posted.

I was originally going to call Vic Willie, after Willie Sutton. But my last-minute research on him proved that Sutton wasn't the mastermind that he'd been painted back in the 1960s, so I changed it to Victor Lustig, the 'King of the Con Artists', renowned as the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower- Twice.

Dreamer wrote: Diogenes' Three-fold Quest to let JJ know if Akelarre is lying to him, good thing he isn't trusting her. Sorcerer's Contract for the deal, noooo! Sacrifice of the Goat is going to be Zack, I just know it now. He wasn't in on it at all and is going to die at this rate, at least if what i suspect is true. Sorcerer's Contract sealed in blood, plus ring snatched from him right as he left the ring, what have you done, JJ.

Akelarre let out a snort and muttered something in Spanish. JJ’s French was good enough that he caught a wryly amused crack about the French and their addiction to High Melodrama.

Arcanist Lupus wrote:

Dreamer wrote: Diogenes' Three-fold Quest to let JJ know if Akelarre is lying to him, good thing he isn't trusting her. Sorcerer's Contract for the deal, noooo! Sacrifice of the Goat is going to be Zack, I just know it now. He wasn't in on it at all and is going to die at this rate, at least if what i suspect is true. Sorcerer's Contract sealed in blood, plus ring snatched from him right as he left the ring, what have you done, JJ.

I have to disagree with you there. Akelarre almost certainly plans to use JJ as the Sacrifice of the Goat, (although that is not to say that Zack might not make a suitable substitute in a pinch).

So, either JJ's desire to be a real girl is strong enough to squelch every last living brain cell in their possession, or else JJ has prepared quite a trick. Akelarre's side of the Contract evaporates on JJ's death. But JJ is the one who worded Akelarre's side of the contract, and I'd bet doughnuts and dachshunds that he chose that wording intentionally. By leaving a loophole you could drive a truck through, he kept her from trying to find other ways of wiggling through the Contract. Does anybody here remember reading Artemis Fowl? He pulled the same stunt. By letting the opposing side believe they've outsmarted you, you get to choose their end goal without them ever realizing that you're controlling the flow of the story.

All JJ needs is a way dodging his sacrificial obligation. Some kind of final trump card, perhaps?

Now, as to what that trump could be, I have no clue. I'll bet that it's related to that tearburst after her last contact with JD, though. That could be just the strain of being a go-between, or finding out that Zach was in danger. But I'm guessing that there's more to it than that.


Incidentally, are Spanish and French really similar enough that an understanding of one allows a partial translation of the other?

Akelarre let out a snort and muttered something in Spanish. JJ’s French was good enough that he caught a wryly amused crack about the French and their addiction to High Melodrama.

annachie wrote: JJ should have been more curious about the goat, and I suspect Akelare (sp?) may have forsworn herself.

Arcanist Lupus wrote: Incidentally, are Spanish and French really similar enough that an understanding of one allows a partial translation of the other?

Malady wrote:

Arcanist Lupus wrote: Incidentally, are Spanish and French really similar enough that an understanding of one allows a partial translation of the other?

They're both Latinate languages... With written text of French, even an English speaker might be able to figure out some of what is said... Although, English is technically Germanic?

whateleyacademy.net/index.php/forum/spec...itage?start=50#29039

From Phoenix Spiritus [ Click to expand ] [ Click to hide ]

Phoenix Spiritus wrote: History of the English language in a nutshell.

Romans conquer Britannia, wiping out the native languages and replacing them with Latin.

Angles, Jutes and Saxons conquer Britannia after Romans leave, ending up with a Germanic language (Anglo-Saxon) with a lot of Latin mixed in.

Danes conquer the north east of the country all the way down to London, mixing Danish into the common tongue. They manage to conquer the whole lot, but for less then one generation before ...

The Normans conquer England, leaving the upper-class speaking French and the peasants speaking Old English.

The unholy mess we all speak today congeals and then the Dutch come in and codify the spelling of it (they bought in the printing presses and they decided how they would print things).

If a Language where Germanic and Nordic sentence structures war with each other, with 50% of its volcabulary being Romantic loan words pasted into the Germanic or Nordic sentences and then topped off with Dutch imposed spelling looks like a recipe for consistency, well ...

Malady wrote:

Arcanist Lupus wrote: Incidentally, are Spanish and French really similar enough that an understanding of one allows a partial translation of the other?

They're both Latinate languages... With written text of French, even an English speaker might be able to figure out some of what is said... Although, English is technically Germanic?

whateleyacademy.net/index.php/forum/spec...itage?start=50#29039

From Phoenix Spiritus [ Click to expand ] [ Click to hide ]

Phoenix Spiritus wrote: History of the English language in a nutshell.

Romans conquer Britannia, wiping out the native languages and replacing them with Latin.

Angles, Jutes and Saxons conquer Britannia after Romans leave, ending up with a Germanic language (Anglo-Saxon) with a lot of Latin mixed in.

Danes conquer the north east of the country all the way down to London, mixing Danish into the common tongue. They manage to conquer the whole lot, but for less then one generation before ...

The Normans conquer England, leaving the upper-class speaking French and the peasants speaking Old English.

The unholy mess we all speak today congeals and then the Dutch come in and codify the spelling of it (they bought in the printing presses and they decided how they would print things).

If a Language where Germanic and Nordic sentence structures war with each other, with 50% of its volcabulary being Romantic loan words pasted into the Germanic or Nordic sentences and then topped off with Dutch imposed spelling looks like a recipe for consistency, well ...

Phoenix Spiritus wrote: Spanish, French and Italian are basically Latin 'gone native'. They are pretty clean languages all with a common root Language, not a mongrel language like English.

It's supposedly relatively easy to understand all of them once you learn one of them.

Schol-R-LEA wrote: I will plant one Epileptic Tree, though: that JJ survives all of this, but none of his family does, so she is adopted by an eccentric billionaire living in Queens.

And attends Whateley starting in 2008. Codename: Pixie.

Katssun wrote: It may also be worth noting that while the beginning of their conversation makes it clear that JJ is referring to getting JD back, Akelarre never makes specific mention of which brother she will be returning to him for his aid.

Katssun wrote: I assume that JJ knows enough about Sorcerer's Contracts from his mother, but we don't get that confirmation, because they don't go over the contract itself, just what will be in it.

Bek D Corbin wrote: In the second place, if all parties are in agreement regarding the Spirit, they can by mutual agreement, void the contract, and re-write. Typos happen, even in Magic.

Ametros wrote:

Bek D Corbin wrote: In the second place, if all parties are in agreement regarding the Spirit, they can by mutual agreement, void the contract, and re-write. Typos happen, even in Magic.

While we're here, would Magic be "content" leaving a contract voided by mutual agreement, or would pressure be exerted to issue a replacement contract?

Ametros wrote:

Bek D Corbin wrote: In the second place, if all parties are in agreement regarding the Spirit, they can by mutual agreement, void the contract, and re-write. Typos happen, even in Magic.

While we're here, would Magic be "content" leaving a contract voided by mutual agreement, or would pressure be exerted to issue a replacement contract?

Astrodragon wrote: Actually what's really worrying me about this story is JJ's sock fetish...

Arcanist Lupus wrote: "My Grand Quest is flying out of control!" "Did you try rebooting it?"

Is there something else he can stuff a bra with without anyone else knowing why he has them?

Yolandria wrote:

Is there something else he can stuff a bra with without anyone else knowing why he has them?

Of course silly. The old classic toilet paper ruse.

Yolandria wrote: True...But toilet paper is everywhere.So no need to carry it with you. And it's very easy to hide the evidence. 1 flush...

Phoenix Spiritus wrote:

Schol-R-LEA wrote: I will plant one Epileptic Tree, though: that JJ survives all of this, but none of his family does, so she is adopted by an eccentric billionaire living in Queens.

And attends Whateley starting in 2008. Codename: Pixie.

That sounds like an interesting story!

It's definitely not the one Bek wrote, but I am intrigued by what story you thought up.

JJ looked at the new phone and said, “Man, I hope I have enough pockets for all these phones.”

Dreamer wrote:

Warning: Spoiler! [ Click to expand ] [ Click to hide ]

And they have JJ's birthday party tomorrow, so that thing needs to be warded right before then. White Lady sending a representative to the birthday party and Nick sent the invite, still don't know what year this story is set in. .

mhalpern wrote: So what idiot threw a Drow in lockup?

Bek D. Corbin wrote: “Don’t worry, we didn’t put her in with the guys, we put her in the Super-Fish Tank.”

“Are you NUTS?” I [Jadis] demanded, “You gotta get her out of there!”

“Oh don’t worry. We don’t have anyone TOO dangerous in there. Let’s see: Big Bertha, Bloody Mary, the Killer Doll, The Mamba, and the Man-eater. All of ‘em street-level superbitches. And accordin’ to her MID, she’s got level: 4 Regen, so-”

“I’m not worried about HER, you idiot!” I snapped, “I’m worried about THEM! You put five unarmed bottom-rung supergoons in a locked room with Jobe, in the state of mind she’s in? GET HER OUT OF THERE, BEFORE SHE CRIPPLES THEM!”

It would almost certainly be Fino, and not Fina. Gilded Cage has Fino going to Prom, and unless his private school has it far earlier than normal, that would be towards the end of the school year, where this is likely set in April/May. Plus, Strega would brag to her professional friends like Mara about Fina. That's just the type of person she is. They both gush about their children.

Sir Lee wrote: This chapter suggests that the story takes place somewhere on the East Coast, probably the Northeast. Why? Well, the characters we met there. Let's see:
- Blue Diamond, who is apparently based in New York (we have seen her often there, and never that I can recall elsewhere)
- Big Bertha, who seems to be sorta low-rent supervillain... from New York... and who got the spa ticket from Dr. Diabolik... but apparently not travel expenses. I don't think Dr. Dad would be stupid enough to gift a spa to someone if the travel expense would put a serious dent in her wallet.
- Granted, Black Sapphire was recovering from a caper in Seattle -- but from the way she speaks (a bit derisively) of Seattle, she's not based there, and in fact she speaks of having a number of heroes she plays the "Catwoman" card on -- which would work best if they don't talk to each other (flirting with one hero is "oh you so manly, you make me consider giving up the life of crime"; flirting with several of them is "I'll drop my panties for any guy in a cape." One plays up one's masculine ego so he doesn't think straight, the other... not so much.). So, different cities, meaning she travels a lot.
Also, market. Not only the Northeast is very densely populated, but Supers are said to be particularly concentrated in New York. If you want to cater to the criminal super-element, well, set up shop where there are a lot of them.
There are a number of place names dropped over the story, but from what I recall, they are all fairly common ones. Like "Springfield." But if you add all of them together, plus the presence of a harbor, and restrict the search to the Northeast, there might be enough to figure out the location.

As for the timeline... "Saks and Violence" began on February 28 and advanced a few days to March. If Big Bertha is still recovering from the fight with Jobe, this should be March, not April. However, "The Widening Gyre" happens right after "Saks and Violence" (beginning on March 4), so it might be too late for Tilda to use the Artificer thing as an excuse.

Ahimsa wrote: An interesting fact: as the story stands, it contains 697 exclamation marks (!). That may be a record for the most amount of surprise (or exultation) in a story ever.

Arcanist Lupus wrote: "And all those exclamation marks, you notice? Five? A sure sign of someone who wears his underpants on his head." - Terry Pratchett

DanZilla wrote: Heh... now that Part 5's here... let's see how many people's guesses are right... I know mine were thrown off by a few things that happen...

Best! Birthday! EVAR!

Besides, how many kids outside Show Biz can say that they were self-made millionaires before they were 16?”

Angeldude wrote: Love that Vivian suddenly wants to go to Whateley now after hearing that her brother (now sister) is going. I wonder if she will manage to steal enough money to pay tuition or if their family will take pity on her and pay for her.

Arcanist Lupus wrote:

Angeldude wrote: Love that Vivian suddenly wants to go to Whateley now after hearing that her brother (now sister) is going. I wonder if she will manage to steal enough money to pay tuition or if their family will take pity on her and pay for her.

My guess is that if she makes a respectable amount, then they will cover the difference, and even possibly pay a little above that so that she can reap some rewards from her caper.

Schol-R-LEA wrote: Now that is what I call a finale!

Ms. Grimes? I'd like you review... some books that a student brought.

Sure. Approximately how many?

Um... do you think you could do a small library?

What‽ How does a single student pack an entire library with them?

Angeldude wrote: That was quite the adventure. It was said in the story and deserves to be repeated:

Best! Birthday! EVAR!

Revealing that JJ not only was bluffing about not having psychic powers, but was using them the entire time? I did not see that coming.

Angeldude wrote: I wonder is she's seriously going to bring the wagon to Whateley, and if so, will she choose to sleep in it rather than a cotage and where will she put it? Does the school even let students set up their own sleeping arrangements?

Besides, how many kids outside Show Biz can say that they were self-made millionaires before they were 16?”

null0trooper wrote:

Angeldude wrote: That was quite the adventure. It was said in the story and deserves to be repeated:

Best! Birthday! EVAR!

Revealing that JJ not only was bluffing about not having psychic powers, but was using them the entire time? I did not see that coming.

That part, and the family NOT being in on the Quest, fooled me.

Seriously. Dr. XXX NOT being a red herring? A good bit of sleight-of-mind that.

Angeldude wrote: I wonder is she's seriously going to bring the wagon to Whateley, and if so, will she choose to sleep in it rather than a cotage and where will she put it? Does the school even let students set up their own sleeping arrangements?

Up to a point, personal resources and school security being obvious limits, students can and do set up their own sleeping arrangements. I wouldn't be surprised to find that there's been 1d6 Rope Tricks on-campus set up to exit under a bunk since the early 1980s. The above-par facilities provided the Melvillians are in part to curb the impulse to do so, and instead "rough it" a little.

Bringing the wagon to Whateley may be no more difficult than modifying its exterior dimensional interface to match a steamer trunk.

Besides, how many kids outside Show Biz can say that they were self-made millionaires before they were 16?”

Loophole may have met that on the Kevra license. 'Shine for sure. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to extrapolate just how badly the techies have been getting screwed over over the years.

mhalpern wrote:

null0trooper wrote:

Angeldude wrote: That was quite the adventure. It was said in the story and deserves to be repeated:

Best! Birthday! EVAR!

Revealing that JJ not only was bluffing about not having psychic powers, but was using them the entire time? I did not see that coming.

That part, and the family NOT being in on the Quest, fooled me.

Seriously. Dr. XXX NOT being a red herring? A good bit of sleight-of-mind that.

Angeldude wrote: I wonder is she's seriously going to bring the wagon to Whateley, and if so, will she choose to sleep in it rather than a cotage and where will she put it? Does the school even let students set up their own sleeping arrangements?

Up to a point, personal resources and school security being obvious limits, students can and do set up their own sleeping arrangements. I wouldn't be surprised to find that there's been 1d6 Rope Tricks on-campus set up to exit under a bunk since the early 1980s. The above-par facilities provided the Melvillians are in part to curb the impulse to do so, and instead "rough it" a little.

Bringing the wagon to Whateley may be no more difficult than modifying its exterior dimensional interface to match a steamer trunk.

Besides, how many kids outside Show Biz can say that they were self-made millionaires before they were 16?”

Loophole may have met that on the Kevra license. 'Shine for sure. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to extrapolate just how badly the techies have been getting screwed over over the years.

Well Phase is on the cusp if not already a mostly self made billionaire, yes he started with a pittance of an inheritance, but everything past that is his own hard work. Silver could easily get to that point BY breaking a sweat, her sweat is Mithril which according to the wiki is over $3,000 an ounce, so that's 333 and 1/3 ounces per mil, so about every 90 liters of sweat, not counting 'additional processing' (making enchanted items, use in Orichalcum, or other even unenchanted immediately (or nearly immediately) usable Mithril items. Mobius might be on his way to 1 mil, thanks to Phase and having a very desirable line of products that appear incredibly stable for devises, which means if anyone parses back what he does into real science he better get royalties, there is a list of other potential self made mega rich kids in Whateley who if they don't make themselves millionaires before 16, are likely to at least get very close before 18.

Angeldude wrote:

mhalpern wrote:

null0trooper wrote:

Angeldude wrote: That was quite the adventure. It was said in the story and deserves to be repeated:

Best! Birthday! EVAR!

Revealing that JJ not only was bluffing about not having psychic powers, but was using them the entire time? I did not see that coming.

That part, and the family NOT being in on the Quest, fooled me.

Seriously. Dr. XXX NOT being a red herring? A good bit of sleight-of-mind that.

Angeldude wrote: I wonder is she's seriously going to bring the wagon to Whateley, and if so, will she choose to sleep in it rather than a cotage and where will she put it? Does the school even let students set up their own sleeping arrangements?

Up to a point, personal resources and school security being obvious limits, students can and do set up their own sleeping arrangements. I wouldn't be surprised to find that there's been 1d6 Rope Tricks on-campus set up to exit under a bunk since the early 1980s. The above-par facilities provided the Melvillians are in part to curb the impulse to do so, and instead "rough it" a little.

Bringing the wagon to Whateley may be no more difficult than modifying its exterior dimensional interface to match a steamer trunk.

Besides, how many kids outside Show Biz can say that they were self-made millionaires before they were 16?”

Loophole may have met that on the Kevra license. 'Shine for sure. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to extrapolate just how badly the techies have been getting screwed over over the years.

Well Phase is on the cusp if not already a mostly self made billionaire, yes he started with a pittance of an inheritance, but everything past that is his own hard work. Silver could easily get to that point BY breaking a sweat, her sweat is Mithril which according to the wiki is over $3,000 an ounce, so that's 333 and 1/3 ounces per mil, so about every 90 liters of sweat, not counting 'additional processing' (making enchanted items, use in Orichalcum, or other even unenchanted immediately (or nearly immediately) usable Mithril items. Mobius might be on his way to 1 mil, thanks to Phase and having a very desirable line of products that appear incredibly stable for devises, which means if anyone parses back what he does into real science he better get royalties, there is a list of other potential self made mega rich kids in Whateley who if they don't make themselves millionaires before 16, are likely to at least get very close before 18.

While it's only come up with the power testing staff, Tennyo's products are over half a trillion times more valuable than Silver's by unit mass (going by real life market value of antihydrogen: $62.5 trillion / gram according to Google) Though given that she produces it as a plasma, it would likely be more difficult to generate the same weight as Silver. It's also far more difficult to transport and use.

mhalpern wrote:

Angeldude wrote:

mhalpern wrote:

null0trooper wrote:

Angeldude wrote: That was quite the adventure. It was said in the story and deserves to be repeated:

Best! Birthday! EVAR!

Revealing that JJ not only was bluffing about not having psychic powers, but was using them the entire time? I did not see that coming.

That part, and the family NOT being in on the Quest, fooled me.

Seriously. Dr. XXX NOT being a red herring? A good bit of sleight-of-mind that.

Angeldude wrote: I wonder is she's seriously going to bring the wagon to Whateley, and if so, will she choose to sleep in it rather than a cotage and where will she put it? Does the school even let students set up their own sleeping arrangements?

Up to a point, personal resources and school security being obvious limits, students can and do set up their own sleeping arrangements. I wouldn't be surprised to find that there's been 1d6 Rope Tricks on-campus set up to exit under a bunk since the early 1980s. The above-par facilities provided the Melvillians are in part to curb the impulse to do so, and instead "rough it" a little.

Bringing the wagon to Whateley may be no more difficult than modifying its exterior dimensional interface to match a steamer trunk.

Besides, how many kids outside Show Biz can say that they were self-made millionaires before they were 16?”

Loophole may have met that on the Kevra license. 'Shine for sure. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to extrapolate just how badly the techies have been getting screwed over over the years.

Well Phase is on the cusp if not already a mostly self made billionaire, yes he started with a pittance of an inheritance, but everything past that is his own hard work. Silver could easily get to that point BY breaking a sweat, her sweat is Mithril which according to the wiki is over $3,000 an ounce, so that's 333 and 1/3 ounces per mil, so about every 90 liters of sweat, not counting 'additional processing' (making enchanted items, use in Orichalcum, or other even unenchanted immediately (or nearly immediately) usable Mithril items. Mobius might be on his way to 1 mil, thanks to Phase and having a very desirable line of products that appear incredibly stable for devises, which means if anyone parses back what he does into real science he better get royalties, there is a list of other potential self made mega rich kids in Whateley who if they don't make themselves millionaires before 16, are likely to at least get very close before 18.

While it's only come up with the power testing staff, Tennyo's products are over half a trillion times more valuable than Silver's by unit mass (going by real life market value of antihydrogen: $62.5 trillion / gram according to Google) Though given that she produces it as a plasma, it would likely be more difficult to generate the same weight as Silver. It's also far more difficult to transport and use.

important part of any market is the ability to store, transport and sell the product, you need magnetic bottles to store antimatter, and that means a constant power expenditure and not good for WMDS (harder to keep them from going off than it is to set them off), in addition you need expensive special equipment to use said product meaning few people will purchase it, labs will have their own source and there are cheaper safer means of power generation, it costs a fortune for any amount of it, and there is no real market for it.

Valentine wrote:

mhalpern wrote:

Angeldude wrote:

mhalpern wrote:

null0trooper wrote:

Angeldude wrote: That was quite the adventure. It was said in the story and deserves to be repeated:

Best! Birthday! EVAR!

Revealing that JJ not only was bluffing about not having psychic powers, but was using them the entire time? I did not see that coming.

That part, and the family NOT being in on the Quest, fooled me.

Seriously. Dr. XXX NOT being a red herring? A good bit of sleight-of-mind that.

Angeldude wrote: I wonder is she's seriously going to bring the wagon to Whateley, and if so, will she choose to sleep in it rather than a cotage and where will she put it? Does the school even let students set up their own sleeping arrangements?

Up to a point, personal resources and school security being obvious limits, students can and do set up their own sleeping arrangements. I wouldn't be surprised to find that there's been 1d6 Rope Tricks on-campus set up to exit under a bunk since the early 1980s. The above-par facilities provided the Melvillians are in part to curb the impulse to do so, and instead "rough it" a little.

Bringing the wagon to Whateley may be no more difficult than modifying its exterior dimensional interface to match a steamer trunk.

Besides, how many kids outside Show Biz can say that they were self-made millionaires before they were 16?”

Loophole may have met that on the Kevra license. 'Shine for sure. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to extrapolate just how badly the techies have been getting screwed over over the years.

Well Phase is on the cusp if not already a mostly self made billionaire, yes he started with a pittance of an inheritance, but everything past that is his own hard work. Silver could easily get to that point BY breaking a sweat, her sweat is Mithril which according to the wiki is over $3,000 an ounce, so that's 333 and 1/3 ounces per mil, so about every 90 liters of sweat, not counting 'additional processing' (making enchanted items, use in Orichalcum, or other even unenchanted immediately (or nearly immediately) usable Mithril items. Mobius might be on his way to 1 mil, thanks to Phase and having a very desirable line of products that appear incredibly stable for devises, which means if anyone parses back what he does into real science he better get royalties, there is a list of other potential self made mega rich kids in Whateley who if they don't make themselves millionaires before 16, are likely to at least get very close before 18.

While it's only come up with the power testing staff, Tennyo's products are over half a trillion times more valuable than Silver's by unit mass (going by real life market value of antihydrogen: $62.5 trillion / gram according to Google) Though given that she produces it as a plasma, it would likely be more difficult to generate the same weight as Silver. It's also far more difficult to transport and use.

important part of any market is the ability to store, transport and sell the product, you need magnetic bottles to store antimatter, and that means a constant power expenditure and not good for WMDS (harder to keep them from going off than it is to set them off), in addition you need expensive special equipment to use said product meaning few people will purchase it, labs will have their own source and there are cheaper safer means of power generation, it costs a fortune for any amount of it, and there is no real market for it.

There may not be a market in our world, but in the WU there might be a market. Plus she only needs to produce fractions of a gram.

Okay, I loved this ending, and it went completely differently than I had thought it would... Well, the ending at least. Everything before Jessie came out went more or less as I had thought it would, but the ending went in the complete opposite direction...

Also, would the fact that we're seeing Seraphina Sophia Valocco again mean that we may be having her story continued sometime soon? Envy is quite possibly my favourite character so fair, though the top 5 competition is quite fierce... and the top 10's barely less so...

Malady wrote: So, how magical is Jessie? Does she have more Ess than most anyone short of the profs?

Angeldude wrote:

Besides, how many kids outside Show Biz can say that they were self-made millionaires before they were 16?”

I can name one that you'll likely be meeting at your new school. On that note, is anyone willing to write a microscene of Jessie and Ayla have a Poe cottage pillow fight where the pillows are stuffed with cash?

Sir Lee wrote:

Angeldude wrote:

Besides, how many kids outside Show Biz can say that they were self-made millionaires before they were 16?”

I can name one that you'll likely be meeting at your new school. On that note, is anyone willing to write a microscene of Jessie and Ayla have a Poe cottage pillow fight where the pillows are stuffed with cash?

Bit of a correction. While there are legitimate self-made millionaires on campus, as has been pointed out (Loophole and 'Shine being two of them), Ayla is NOT one of them. He got 300 million as an INHERITANCE.

True, he went from there to over a billion in a few months... but having this sort of startup capital on hand puts in question even calling Ayla a "self-made billionaire." How much "self-made" one is with this kind of leg up? Even if it's a pittance over how much money he was raised to expect to have? (Remember, he expected to inherit roughly TEN TIMES his current net worth).

mittfh wrote: Oh yes, definitely! Especially a rag commonly nicknamed the Daily Wail (its editorial policy seems to be "The End Of The World Is Nigh", and seems to excel at finding demographics to blame). There's also The Sun (of "Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster!" and Page 3 fame, owned by Rupert "Fox" Murdoch and allegedly the best-selling newspaper in the UK... except in Liverpool).

Arcanist Lupus wrote: In hindsight, Jessie accepted the Highwayman's identity as JD far too quickly. The well-trained child of a supervillain family in a world filled with shapeshifters and illusionists would not be so quick to accept that claim unless they had other information about the subject that we were unaware of.

Katssun wrote: I don't know about your side, but we call it "The Daily Fail" on this side of the pond, fyi.

a petite girl with her dark brown hair in an over-elaborate hairdo, who was trying way too hard to look older and sophisticated, when JJ knew all-too well that she was eight months younger than he was.

“You have a very off idea of ‘interesting,” Angelica sneered. She said that she was looking around for something to drink, but she pointedly ignored the punch bowl, the bottles of sparkling water, and the cans of soft drinks. She was warming up to make some sort of snotty remark when the chime rang and the elevator opened. Two women, actually a woman and a teenage girl, stepped out. Angelica was just about to make a remark when she froze, mouth open, and groaned, “Ohh… bugger…”

The woman and girl, obviously mother and daughter, in one of those slightly creepy near-lookalike situations that was emphasized by the nearly identical sheath dresses and high heels they wore. The woman was a classic Italian beauty in the mode of Sophia Loren or Monica Bellucci, with a squarish face, magnificent cheekbones, upturned nose, large almond-shaped incredibly green eyes, wide full lips and small chin. She had long silky midnight black hair pulled back in a deceptively simple arrangement. The sheath dress didn’t conceal, but rather framed a magnificent body with delicious curves, and long slinky legs. The girl looked like her mother, stepped back in time.

“Omigawd!” Angelica gasped, “That’s Celestina Valocco! What’s Celestina Valocco doing here?”

“Same as we are,” Ariel smirked. “She’s also the Black Strega. What? Doesn’t your daddy let you in on little trade secrets like that?” Ariel’s smirk dropped. “But who’s the girl? And where’s Fino?”

“Didn’t you hear?” Angelica said with a retaliatory snip, “Celestina’s got a daughter who nobody knew about until there was a thing in Massachusetts a few weeks ago.”

‘Yeah, I remember that,” JJ said. “But still… where’s Fino?”

Seth smirked, not taking his eyes off Sophia’s cleavage.

“You DO know that my mother’s right over there?” Sophia pointed over to where Celestina was holding court, with the Count, Latigo, Ace, and Prof. Oberon all in rapt attendance.

Seth’s gaze flickered in that direction on pure reflex, but the sight of Celestina Valocco in that sheath dress reached out and seized his teenage horndog attention. Looking back and forth between mother and daughter, Seth’s sleek veneer of cool cracked badly. “Hah? How?”

Katssun wrote: The criminal elements know that they're one in the same, but Ariel's line to Angelica implies that not everyone is in the know, while Angelica's lines and Seth's reaction indicate that Celestina Valocco is better known than Strega in the current timeline.

It's a stark contrast to Dr. Dad and Gizmatic, where their public and villain names are both known. Strega is a BIG deal, but her identity as Celestina Valocco is in her own right.

Strega has been prominently active since at least 1953, per this story.

Arcanist Lupus wrote: (15 isn't a particularly significant year, but they've pulled out all the stops for the party, so it probably still counts as 'big')

Bek D Corbin wrote: Well, the Kaitos aren't mutants, and their paranormal abilities are more the product of training and possession of esoteric objects than personal empowerment, so Akateko and Tenka aren't going. And even if they did have innate powers, they'd be far more likely to attend the Yama Dojo than Whateley.

Seth is, or at least may become, a Legacy Mage than a mutant-trait mage.

And Teddy has manifested his mutant trait- his dad, Boulder, was just yanking Nick's chain.

“AND! And, just to complete the set, there’s the GizMassacre430!” He picked up and hefted a boxy carbine weapon. “The GizMassacre isn’t just another plasma weapon, it is THE most versatile weapon ever designed! It can adapt to over 15 different configurations, six basic energy type settings, including good old kinetic impact, and in conjunction with the GizRat, it can be adjusted so that it can either batter down, or just GO THROUGH almost any PFG field on the market! WOO!” Shane finished with a whoop. Well, he’s a Wilkins all right; he loves his job.

“One of Dr. Smart’s claims to fame- besides a well-earned reputation as an Adventuring and Investigative Scientist- is that she has developed one of the most versatile and effective handheld energy weapons ever devised! The Stinger is basically a very versatile vari-phase plasma weapon, but she’s rigged it somehow so that it has functioned as a high power laser, maser, photon accelerator, neural inhibitor, sonic weapon, vibratory agitator, gravity modulators and even a molecular cohesion inhibitor!”

Katssun wrote: So, which is better, the Stinger, or the GizMassacre430?

“AND! And, just to complete the set, there’s the GizMassacre430!” He picked up and hefted a boxy carbine weapon. “The GizMassacre isn’t just another plasma weapon, it is THE most versatile weapon ever designed! It can adapt to over 15 different configurations, six basic energy type settings, including good old kinetic impact, and in conjunction with the GizRat, it can be adjusted so that it can either batter down, or just GO THROUGH almost any PFG field on the market! WOO!” Shane finished with a whoop. Well, he’s a Wilkins all right; he loves his job.

“One of Dr. Smart’s claims to fame- besides a well-earned reputation as an Adventuring and Investigative Scientist- is that she has developed one of the most versatile and effective handheld energy weapons ever devised! The Stinger is basically a very versatile vari-phase plasma weapon, but she’s rigged it somehow so that it has functioned as a high power laser, maser, photon accelerator, neural inhibitor, sonic weapon, vibratory agitator, gravity modulators and even a molecular cohesion inhibitor!”

Asking for a friend.

Katssun wrote:

“Same as we are,” Ariel smirked. “She’s also the Black Strega. What? Doesn’t your daddy let you in on little trade secrets like that?” Ariel’s smirk dropped. “But who’s the girl? And where’s Fino?”

“Didn’t you hear?” Angelica said with a retaliatory snip, “Celestina’s got a daughter who nobody knew about until there was a thing in Massachusetts a few weeks ago.”

‘Yeah, I remember that,” JJ said. “But still… where’s Fino?”

This is where things suddenly get super interesting. We knew back in Envy and Gilded Cage that Strega was Mrs. Valocco, and now we learn that her name is Celestina. But the important part here is that Angelica didn't recognize her as Strega, but she immediately recognized her as Celestina Valocco, and got super excited. Then Angelica blathers on about the news that "Celestina" has come out about secret daughter and it was a big deal. First name usage after she recognized her? That's how people treat celebrities. Veeeeerrry Interesting...

Seth smirked, not taking his eyes off Sophia’s cleavage.

“You DO know that my mother’s right over there?” Sophia pointed over to where Celestina was holding court, with the Count, Latigo, Ace, and Prof. Oberon all in rapt attendance.

Seth’s gaze flickered in that direction on pure reflex, but the sight of Celestina Valocco in that sheath dress reached out and seized his teenage horndog attention. Looking back and forth between mother and daughter, Seth’s sleek veneer of cool cracked badly. “Hah? How?”

Seth has the same reaction to seeing, not just Envy's equally attractive mom, but seeing Celestina Valocco.

But from Envy and the Gilded Cage, we know that the Valocco's are connected to the Cosa Nostra and the Syndicate through business and favors, but aren't officially affiliated with either. It's "Uncle" Paulie in the way that close mafia friends are, and Strega obviously has Syndicate connections with her reputation. But they aren't direct family, and Paulie deals with them despite the mafia mutant policy.

So, interestingly enough...Black Strega is not her only reputation.

We learned that Strega is Celestina Valocco...but who exactly is Celestina Valocco?!