Is speculation about Future Plot Points-and-or-Twists allowed or discouraged? 'Cause I've got a nasty suspicion gnawing on the back of my brain.

Blessed be.
Nathan Baxter

>Is speculation about Future Plot Points-and-or-Twists allowed or
>discouraged? 'Cause I've got a nasty suspicion gnawing on the back of
>my brain.

I remember having one of those! I took it upon myself to harangue the authors about my suspicions for months via email. I'm sure it annoyed them no end.

Of course, I was gloriously wrong. But that's part of the fun. Where's haranguing without the chagrin?

--SG
--but I'm feeling *much* better now...

<shrug>

I certainly don't have a problem with it. (Gryph may have a different opinion, I don't speak for him.) Just don't go accusing us of ripping off your idea if you happen to guess correctly, or close to it. :)

Oh, and get used to hearing things like "we will neither confirm nor deny" if the answers would give away too much. Or if we just feel like playing with your mind. ;)

--truss.

>I certainly don't have a problem with it. (Gryph may have a
>different opinion, I don't speak for him.) Just don't go accusing us
>of ripping off your idea if you happen to guess correctly, or close to
>it. :)

Stealing ideas to write fanfic? The mind reels...

;-)

---------------------------
"I think we used too much."
---------------------------
Chad Collier
Digital Bitch
J. Random VFX Company

Hmph. We've got plenty of ideas of our own, thank you.

Just don't assume you were the first to think of yours... ;)

--truss.

Of course I meant 'stealing' in the friendly, creative sense.

You know, like Lucas watching 'The Dam Busters' one too many times (amongst other things). :)

---------------------------
"I think we used too much."
---------------------------
Chad Collier
Digital Bitch
J. Random VFX Company

>Hmph. We've got plenty of ideas of our own, thank you.
>Just don't assume you were the first to think of yours... ;)
>--truss.

"There are no new ideas... just new people thinking them."

-- Bob

The Eyrie crew? Play with our minds? No, it couldn't be! It just would
be *so* out of character.

::insert Angelspotting pic here::

-Michael, who forgot to disable sarcasm-lock
Napalm. It sticks to ignorance.

>I certainly don't have a problem with it. (Gryph may have a
>different opinion, I don't speak for him.) Just don't go accusing us
>of ripping off your idea if you happen to guess correctly, or close to
>it. :)

You're kidding, right? I'd be pleased as punch.

Would I have boasting rights? ;-)

>Oh, and get used to hearing things like "we will neither confirm nor
>deny" if the answers would give away too much. Or if we just feel
>like playing with your mind. ;)

:7 Kewl.

Okay, here it is:

Shinji honestly had no idea why he felt that this would work. Only one
person had ever successfully synced with Unit 01. This attempt would
only draw SEELE's attention to his presence and bring the security
teams down on his head.

He hit the switch.

Instantly, a pounding force shoved itself against his mind, trying to
push his brain out his ears. He thought, for just a moment, that he
heard a voice say, <<Leave and die.>>

And suddenly, everything slowed down and crystallized into a perfect
moment of sheer understanding. "No," he whispered. "You _will_ fight."

And, above him in the control room, Kaori Yamashita stared as all of
the displays went wild, cycling madly, impossible to read. All but one,
for neurochannel 83 printed, over and over,

6968 6176 6562 6565 6e72 6f6c 616e 6462
656f 7775 6c66 6163 6869 6c6c 6573 6769
6c67 616d 6573 6869 6861 7665 6265 656e
6361 6c6c 6564 6168 756e 6472 6564 6e61
6d65 7361 6e64 7769 6c6c 6265 6361 6c6c
6564 6174 686f 7573 616e 646d 6f72 6562
6566 6f72 6574 6865 776f 726c 6467 6f65
7364 696d 616e 6463 6f6c 6469 6861 7665
6265 656e 6b69 6c6c 6564 6174 686f 7573
616e 6474 696d 6573 616e 6465 7665 7279
7469 6d65 6972 6574 7572 6e69 6669 6768
7466 6f72 7472 7574 6869 6669 6768 7466
6f72 676c 6f72 7969 6669 6768 7466 6f72
6c6f 7665 6966 6967 6874 666f 7262 6561
7574 7969 616d 6865 726f...

>Would I have boasting rights? ;-)

Oh, sure. If you had been right. ;)

>Okay, here it is:
>
>[scene snipped]

Mmmmmm... no, sorry. We've got other plans for Shinji.

But we have already written EVA-01's next activation scene. Heh heh heh... :)

--truss.

>>Would I have boasting rights? ;-)
>
>Oh, sure. If you had been right. ;)

Drat.

>>Okay, here it is:
>>
>>[scene snipped]
>
>Mmmmmm... no, sorry. We've got other plans for Shinji.

:o Huh... It seemed so perfect, too... :'( /jk

>But we have already written EVA-01's next activation scene.
>Heh heh heh... :)

'Kay. You're the author. But, if I may ask, if Shinji isn't Longinus,
then wtf was up with him during that gunfight while Our Heroes were
rescuing Rei&Jon?

Blessed be with a demented grin. :7
Nathan Baxter

>'Kay. You're the author. But, if I may ask, if Shinji isn't Longinus,
>then wtf was up with him during that gunfight while Our Heroes were
>rescuing Rei&Jon?

You may ask, but you're gonna have to wait for the answer to that one. (Trust me, we're not going to forget to explain it...)

--truss.

Fair enough.

Blessed be.

>>>Would I have boasting rights? ;-)
>>
>>Oh, sure. If you had been right. ;)
>
>Drat.
>
>>>Okay, here it is:
>>>
>>>[scene snipped]
>>
>>Mmmmmm... no, sorry. We've got other plans for Shinji.
>
> :o Huh... It seemed so perfect, too... :'( /jk
>
>>But we have already written EVA-01's next activation scene.
>>Heh heh heh... :)
>
>'Kay. You're the author. But, if I may ask, if Shinji isn't Longinus,
>then wtf was up with him during that gunfight while Our Heroes were
>rescuing Rei&Jon?

Hm? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the last few eps of season 3 clearly state that everyone thinks DJ is Longinus...where did Shinji come into this? Besides which, DJ never showed an AT Field. I think you have to be angelic to get that nifty toy. The only conclusion I can think of is Shinji is one of the Nephilim (in In Nomine, they are half angel, half mortal, children of the Grigori) and Ikari Yui was a Grigori.

--"I invoke the rites of fiery Muspelheim, and give thy soul up to the inferno's embrace..."

>Hm? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the last few eps of season
>3 clearly state that everyone thinks DJ is Longinus...where did Shinji
>come into this? Besides which, DJ never showed an AT Field. I think
>you have to be angelic to get that nifty toy. The only conclusion I
>can think of is Shinji is one of the Nephilim (in In Nomine, they are
>half angel, half mortal, children of the Grigori) and Ikari Yui was a
>Grigori.

Makes sense. 'Course, I know slightly more about quantum physics than I do about In Nomine, sooo...

See, what I was thinking was, Longinus has been reincarnated all over history... Including _before_ his original life. He obviously has no respect for the natural flow of time...

So, what's to say that two of his lives couldn't overlap, even meet? And it'd keep Asuka from being all broken up... Or maybe I'm just a Shinji fanboy.

Blessed be. :7
Nathan Baxter

Overall, I suspect that, in IN game terms, Shinji is a Soldier of some Superior, probably Laurence (the Sword) or Michael.

How that's gonna get played out, I'll wait and see. ;)

Ard Sumhenner
Ronin Research, Silicon Valley, CA

>Overall, I suspect that, in IN game terms, Shinji is a Soldier of some
>Superior, probably Laurence (the Sword) or Michael.
>
>How that's gonna get played out, I'll wait and see. ;)

Well, I guess it's possible, though Soldiers only have one Force more than normal humans--they're not that powerful. I'd think one wouldn't be able to put up an AT Field. But it's possible. We shall see, ne? =P

--"I invoke the rites of fiery Muspelheim, and give thy soul up to the inferno's embrace..."

>>Overall, I suspect that, in IN game terms, Shinji is a Soldier of some
>>Superior, probably Laurence (the Sword) or Michael.
>>How that's gonna get played out, I'll wait and see. ;)
>Well, I guess it's possible, though Soldiers only have one Force more
>than normal humans--they're not that powerful. I'd think one wouldn't
>be able to put up an AT Field. But it's possible. We shall see, ne? =P

Assuming a dependable congruence with the In Nom rules, let me point out the following: The average demon -- presumably able to generate an AT field as well -- is only *7* Forces... and *6* Forces are all that you need to be able to perform Songs, some of which are as major a manifestation of divine/infernal power as an AT field. I'd say it's a fair bet 6 Forces and Symphony Awareness are all you really need.

-- Bob

>Assuming a dependable congruence with the In Nom rules

[snip]

Probably an unwise assumption. We're using the structure of the IN cosmology as a basic framework in NXE, and we've made an attempt to remain fairly true to IN mechanics whenever possible... but there have been (and will continue to be) places where we diverge from the way IN works in order to tell a better story.

(Obvious example #1: Rei's closest IN equivalent would be a Remnant... but good luck fitting the way we've defined her into the game system.)

--truss.

>>Assuming a dependable congruence with the In Nom rules
>[snip]
>Probably an unwise assumption.

Undoubtedly so... it's fairly clear that there are some radical divergences from In Nom canon, and as you point out, it's done in the interest of a better story. Knowing that the story will win any future conflicts of the same kind makes it difficult to extrapolate from In Nom.

Still, to return to where this particular thread came from, I can't see too much difference between an AT field and the Corporeal Song of Shields... which any 6-Force human can perform. So, if (and of course it's a big "if") this holds for the NXE world, that means Shinji may "just" be a Soldier, and not Longinus. (Which I think is borne out by the whole ending of 3:9.)

-- Bob

>Still, to return to where this particular thread came from, I can't
>see too much difference between an AT field and the Corporeal Song of
>Shields... which any 6-Force human can perform. So, if (and of
>course it's a big "if") this holds for the NXE world, that means
>Shinji may "just" be a Soldier, and not Longinus. (Which I think is
>borne out by the whole ending of 3:9.)

At the risk of ruining my reputation as a teasing mystery-monger, Shinji is certainly not Longinus. As for just what he is instead, well, that will just have to wait.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor in Chief, Netadmin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

>At the risk of ruining my reputation as a teasing mystery-monger,
>Shinji is certainly not Longinus.

Well, personally, Gryphon, I always felt that was obvious, myself. I was surprised that there was some dispute over the matter.

>As for just what he is instead,
>well, that will just have to wait.

Well, I suppose someone has to be the half-Ikari, half-Angel hybrid sorta clone in this story... <grin>

-- Bob

>the Corporeal Song of Shields... which any 6-Force human can perform.

Correction -- which any Symphonically Aware 6+ Force human can perform.

-- Bob

>>the Corporeal Song of Shields... which any 6-Force human can perform.
>
>Correction -- which any Symphonically Aware 6+ Force human can
>perform.

That's what the "edit post" function is there for, Bob. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor in Chief, Netadmin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

>That's what the "edit post" function is there for, Bob. :)

Oh. That. Must remember that in the future.

-- Bob