Emergancy DE Activate: Teach Me

[bjornwilde]

Milliways is an amazing resource, both for time and filling plot holes from canon. Those training montages, leaps in logic or skills, suddenly make sense. So my question today is whom has your pup learned from at Milliways and what did they learn?

Or on the flip side, what upcoming plot hole/character development are you planning and what sort of teacher/mentor/sensei are you looking for or have planned?

BTW, Fury you sneaky bastard.

Comments

[thenewblack]

Artemis is convinced that Milliways, or something like it, is how Batman actually functions without being a team of workaholic, insomniac triplets.

That or robots.

[bjornwilde]

I can totally see this. It also makes me wonder if there is a council of Batmen that help each other out.

[genarti]

I fully intend to use Milliways for Thor to learn some of the moral lessons which he displays at the end of his movie despite never having learned them onscreen in the middle. (He does learn some important lessons onscreen! Just, uh, not everything he talks loudly about at the end.) He's already gotten started on some.

Also, this isn't a plot hole, but I look forward to many more lessons about human culture for him. Some of them will doubtless be completely misleading. :D

River: ahahahaha oh man. What HASN'T she learned here? Milliways completely reshaped her worldview and her options, in a lot of ways. It didn't change anything about the series canon, since she came in post-canon, but we made a lot of alterations to the movie's plot based on Milliways developments. That was less plot holes (mostly) and more the fact that a lot of movie events just didn't work with post-Milliways character dynamics and otherworldly options, but still.

Trowa: is also well post-canon. I don't have any particular mentoring plans -- Trowa is pretty resistant to having mentors, although he's good with equals teaching their particular skillsets -- but basically I enjoy using Milliways to force him to have more social interaction.

Clare doesn't have plotholes I plan to fix so much as emotional dynamics I want to expand on and explore. I've definitely had to go through canon carefully picking the points at which she can come into Milliways and the points at which she shouldn't, and when certain emotional revelations (*cough*Teresa*cough*) can occur.

But there might, a good way down the line, be plans for recruiting from Milliways for a great big fight scene. *cheerful*

[biggerstingers]

"I know where you can find an army."

Some days canon has just the right quote.

[silveraspen]

Moiraine learned how to weave the threads of the Pattern itself from Raven. :)

This took place over the span of literal years of in-game time, and paid off here. (Links to specific historical threads are included in that OOM; it's ported to DW here for the LJ-avoidant.) I love long-term story arcs, especially ones that develop naturally over time, and this one would have been impossible without Lynne's amazing help.

Moiraine also learned a significant amount about Chinese history and automatic weaponry from Dale Cooper in this thread, which stood her in very good stead during Operation Shu Guang (omg, that 24-plot was amazing fun). Many thanks to Sweeney for responding in such stellar fashion to a completely unplanned question which seemed simple at the moment Moiraine asked it: "Tell me what I need to know about China."

[gavin62truck]

After marathoning the final seasons of "Rescue Me" together with Kate Barlow-mun, we've decided that Kate is the reason that Tommy suddenly becomes more literate. Or at least literate-minded enough to peruse a book when he sees one, and to be able to make a Frankenstein pun by going off the name Mary Shelley. I seriously would have thought that was out-of-character had his experience at Milliways not made it plausible.

There was also a part where Tommy enters his apartment and asks, "Did I just walk into another dimension?" LIKE THAT'S NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE.

[mnt_raph]

Raph, Mike, and Splinter have all learned what it means to be human while in Milliways. And er...heh, all that comes with that.

The purpose of making all of them human started out as a joke, but then in true Milliways fashion actually became something far more.

Raph has always wanted more than he could have, and he blamed that on not being human. Now that he is human, and is still mostly happy...he's learned that it was him and not his body.

Mike just learned about orgasms. That's enough for him.

Splinter is learning that there is a life to be lived outside of his sons. It...it's not an easy lesson, but he's working on it.


Bumi is going to learn what his father became at some point...probably not until the rest of the Krew is post season one. Until that point most people will just have to suffer/deal with Chong.

[the_man]

Just because no one else thought of it before...

[silveraspen]

That thread was amazing.

[camwyn]

Ellen learned how not to throw up under the OH DEAR GOD HOW BIG IS THE SKY. Also how to ride a cow. Among other things. But mostly how not to throw up under the IT JUST GOES ON FOREVER, OH GOD, WHERE ARE THE WALLS.

[bjornwilde]

Ben promises to never take her flying.

[minkhollow]

Sometimes the very act of taking more than a week between installments of canon makes things make more sense. My long pause between here and the next episode on the dock is going to make the speed of Pete's relationship feel so much more natural; I would have slowed down the pace on The Saga of Todd as well, except I needed Claud to have that bridge device for the Allpocalypse. XD

Also, Red. Milliways gives her a space to come to terms with the whole werewolf thing and learn to use it to her advantage. I maintain she wouldn't use it at home at all if there were a chance she'd hurt Snow.

[bjornwilde]

I'm honestly not sure if Ben has picked up anything from Bar but he definitely has made lots of friends. Oh wait, he's supposed to be learning better mental shields from Xavier! Need to get back to that.

Val learned magic and smithing as well as how horrible war can be (thank you Fallout world).

Captain Jane Roland (past pup) learned true swordsmanship as I had couldn't imagine Regnacy Era military training her properly or even giving her a sword appropriate since the only tolerate woman as Longwings will only fly with a woman captain.

I have plans for Hank to learn fighting skills within bar both pre and post Beast-ness. He's also beginning to see the world differently thanks to meeting Raven...the creator and the woman.

Thalia got to learn what love can be like.

Julie learned that powers don't define the hero. Thank you Wonder Woman.

[varadia]

Wonder Woman and Raven are always here to help.

(It's funny because it's true.)

[sky_child]

He hasn't learned anything yet, but I should use the bar to help him with those mysteriously acquired archery skills, huh?

...to say nothing of the even more mysteriously acquired harp skills, considering how likely it is that he never even heard of a harp before the game starts...

[bjornwilde]

Do knights in his world not learn the arts? Granted the harp is pretty advanced for the arts.

[misslucyjane]

Merlin studies the Big Book of Magic whenever he's in the bar. I want him to practice it more, too.

I'd like Steve to learn about different styles of hand-to-hand combat and whatever else seems appropriate from anybody willing to teach him. In the comics he's given training; in the movie they just sort of throw him into the pool and see if he swims. I'd like to find a balance, if possible. I have some plans for trauma recovery, too, post-Capsicle: I think the relative stability of Milliways will help him adjust to living in a new century.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Shephard's willing to assist with whatever Marine Corps hand-to-hand may be of use. Most of my others don't really have hand-to-hand skills, except Ellen (who's had CQC training from Voodoo and Paladin Gunny, and, before that, from Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 of the United Nations Space Command Navy). And maybe Belar, but Belar's more about weapons than fists.

[kd7sov]

I still specifically want Felix to learn a bit of earthbending. I know Korra's mun said it wouldn't work, but I really think it would, and I can provide justification at any moment.

Also, if things go as planned, he will at some point need someone to initiate/direct his vision quest thingy. Because the boy has issues, and I don't see any way short of a "journey to the center of the self" that he'd face and resolve them.

Although she probably could have, Fluttershy didn't come to Milliways for her training montage in "Hurricane Fluttershy". Which is possibly for the best, since part of it was learning to deal with the presence of other ponies, and there aren't very many of those here.

[1nv1nc1ble]

Mark's currently working on learning boxing, which goes a long way to explain his fighting skills in the comic (because the book never shows him training to fight, even with his father).

[mm_mythos]

Rabastan's come a long way in the six-odd years he's been here [has it really been that long?].

He started out lost and confused about a lot of things, unsure of what was truth and what wasn't, then realised/remembered that he never wanted any part of being a Death Eater, found friends, angsted a whole fucking lot, went through hell at the hands of his brother, gained family, a home and a new lease on life, and is doing quite well for himself, especially now that he's matured mentally.

Almost makes me feel guilty about wanting to throw a spanner in the works, wondering about having Rodolphus return [under a new mun of course - I have no room] to Milliways.

I am cruel. :3

EDIT: OK, this doesn't have much to do with canon, but then, there's very little to go off of. So...

[varadia]

Dean has learned how to have lady friends! Largely because all the hot women he met early on tended to be dead. So now he does not try to hook up, because AUGH. So. Friends!

Raven has learned how to be less insane. \o/

X has learned a sense of humor (from Duo, mostly), the comfort of hugging people and holding their hand (Elle), swordplay (Lan), how to feed people in lieu of talking (Stitch), the dangers of caffeine (Stitch and Cass), how to go shopping (Meg and Parker), and how to choose what bits of personhood/normality she likes and which she doesn't (lots of people).

The list is actually a lot longer and more complicated than this, but X rebels at emotional conversations that are coherent, and so. *solemn*

Galadan has learned how to a) have friends and b) how to teach Edwardian schoolgirls and also really annoying andain-children. He has also learned how not to have a sulking fit that results in an almost-destroyed universe. And his emotional intelligence is now somewhere around his late teens instead of a four year old's! (Thanks, River and Gabriel and Mary Lennox!) Baby steps!

Sam Tyler has learned that he is not the only one with a bloody weird life.

Michael has learned that Sam Winchester is worse than the horse you are trying to lead to water. *sigh* Also, hanging out with a certain caliber of demon is kind of all right. *cough*

[kaabii]

If X feels she needs further lessons on how to feed people in lieu of talking...

[inlovewithwords]

Tavi had to learn a lesson from Mary Lennox, Noriko, and Max (series of events put together) about how no, he is not actually capable of controlling everything. Noriko also taught him to stop underestimating himself, because it'll get someone hurt. Alanna taught him about Tortall!

As for holes in canon: Alera has these pesky time-skips, so I get to play in them. I've got a few planned. Also, book four has a sloppily executed incident and a hugely important missing conversation. I am going to fix that. (And if anyone can teach him to take time off: PLEASE DO.)


Lois has learned a lot about the DCU from Dinah, Charlie, Knox, and Diana! Future learning/plot holes: Extended stays in Bar will help explain how she can go through some Epic Trauma and be fine by next episode. Also, if someone can teach her how to bartend, it might make her life as a barista at home less miserable. Anything else really depends on whether or not canon changes because of Bar.

[death_gone_mad]

The problem with Amascut is GODDESS and SEVERAL THOUSAND YEARS TO RELEARN EVERYTHING.

I am kinda bummed that she hasn't had the opportunity to teach, but she is... Well, she focuses too much on real world training. She doesn't have the best interests of her students at heart.

[thezeldaoflegend]

/sympathetic brofist

[minkhollow]

OH YEAH ALSO. Regulus.
My plan is for him to learn that so hey, non-magical people and culture? Aren't the horrible horrible things his mother and cousin make them out to be. Because really, death by zombie lake is a bit much. He's had a few lessons in this regard already.

[ceitfianna]

Will has learned so much in Milliways, but the most basic stuff is reading, writing and an understanding of the greater world. He's also taught archery and sparred with many people. Belladonna taught him reading and writing, he taught Doc Scurlock how to use a sword, Hektor archery and others that I've forgotten. Oh and he also learned that its okay to hurt and have nightmares from his experiences, probably the best teacher there was Barbara Gordon.

Charles is still learning, mainly to be thoughtful with his ability, what he doesn't know and the possibilities out there. At the moment his greatest teacher is Iris and Erik in their own ways.

Sameth learned a huge amount of self-confidence in Milliways due to Kait, Teja and everyone who got a commission from him. This was a big help in canon as it never really gets answered. Milliways also helped him recover from his trauma and that its okay to not be perfect.

Jane has learned how much women can do from almost everyone she's met and to trust her own knowledge.

Demeter hasn't learned that much because she's not as changeable as others.

Moist has learned a few new names and tricks but nothing of great import.

William's learned that Ben Wade is a complicated man, but that he still doesn't like him. He's learned of magic and how wide the world is.

Tumnus is trickier as I don't think he's learned anything in particular just lots of general experiences.

The Pirate King hasn't learned anything.

[the_lioness]

I have big plans for Alan(na) in Milliways. She's meeting incredible women (X-23, Marian, Wonder Woman, Carol Danvers) who will influence her greatly, and I am love, love, loving the teacher-student dynamic with Splinter. See also: Charles Xavier helping her shield her mind. And Steve! I suspect he's the person she'll most want to talk to after the Tusaine War.

Alanna sees the bar as a gift in a lot of ways, and intends to learn as much as she can. Once she opens up about her Gift, I'm hoping she'll pick up some added help and that this will go a long way toward explaining why Alanna gets more and more powerful as her canon progresses.

[sky_child]

--wow I know he's not an incredible woman or anything close to a great teacher but I'd be interested in having Link meet Alan(na) someday. :|a

[boston_bruiser]

Voodoo hasn't learned shit.

Neither has John, but he's a different story.

[to_serve]

That's cause you can't teach a sailor anything.

(Work is nutty but I will be getting back to these two.)

[aberration]

Mmm - one nice thing about playing Elle is that almost every conversation she has is something of a learning experience for her, even if it's just things like 'this is how people say words' or 'people don't like this' or 'X did this' or whatever. She's both aware of and very uncertain about the world, and also pretty terrible at maintaining her own self-interest, and all of this makes her conceptions of the world very malleable. She's pretty much always feeling her way through things, and obviously being able to do that in the Bar had a hugely tremendous impact on her. In terms of anything very specific, I think she's learned to be slightly more organized and thoughtful, and learned certain hand-to-hand combat moves she didn't know before, and that's mostly thanks to X.

I suppose it also meant I took Elle in a different direction than canon, but I'm not sure I'd use the word plot hole for something that's more likely completely ignoring previous characterization so she can be a personality-less stand-in for some other dude's story. Whatever.


I feel like Leslie will probably mostly use the Bar to help her do all the work she already does, though I am considering maybe giving her a hobby/skill thing to work on here. (I was thinking maybe something like archery, as she's already reasonably skilled hunting with a shotgun, and she's probably read The Hunger Games. But then she'd need to build like, any upper body strength.)


Given that I think Asami has this very powerful curiosity, there's probably a lot she can/will learn in Milliways. Even before her conversation with Artemis I was thinking about maybe trying to throw learning an other-world language at her, though as Voodoo directed her to the garage unattended, I'm mostly at this point reminding her that she like... needs to eat. Um.


And I'm not sure about Manny. /stops being a bad mun and gets to work on his OOM.

[varadia]

Elle and X, influencing each other's growth since . . . . that time with the demon rabbits.

[ladyoflorien]

*shifty eyes* My pups haven't learned diddly squat, due in part to my fail at playing them on a regular rotation for the last few years, but due also to the fact that they're all stubborn gits. The bar is going to factor strongly into some plots coming up for several of them in the nearish future, however. *steeples fingers*

The number of times I wish I had a magical bar in real life is off the charts, on the other hand. For instance, in planning one of my bff's bachelorette party, having a way of acquiring antiques for projects in one quick and easy place would pretty much make my life right now. My whole week has been shopping, hunting, and crafting, and spending endless hours on the phone with co-planner trying to sync up who's doing/buying what. Time, where you going? D:

[nocarename]

The number of times I wish I had a magical bar in real life is off the charts, on the other hand.

Sing it again! I mean, I'd probably have to come home to sleep until I had something set up that would pay for a room there and my place here, but that's mostly blackout curtains and earplugs anyway. No problem! Also, switching to piece work as much as I could instead of by the hour so I could take work into and whip through it magically fast.

[ihavemyflaws]

Well, Kara's learned that there's still life on Caprica and that there are multiple Earths out there, but she hasn't exactly learned any valuable life lessons here yet.

Personally, I want her to get as much as she can out of Milliways since her canon isn't a kind one. Most of her relationships with people tend to be pretty complicated and I welcome that (really!), but taken out of canon she's probably capable of forging some friendly relationships that aren't so intense all the time. I'm especially hoping to see some friendships between her and other women, which I feel we don't see enough in canon.

I've been sort of evading god-types in Milliways because I've always thought it'd go badly and I don't actually want her faith shaken at this point, but ever since hearing about Sam meeting Demeter, Kara's been determined not to believe the gods chilling at the bar are "her" gods anyway. One day it'll shake out, for better or for worse, and I'm hopeful that she can eventually be on good terms with Aphrodite and Artemis since they're her gods of choice.

If she reaches later points in canon, I'd love for her to have a friend who plays the piano and would be willing to humor/listen to/brainstorm with her when the childhood music lessons she got from her father start to seem vital.

[batyatoon]

Cordelia Vorkosigan learned, rather unexpectedly, that she did not after all want to leave Barrayar and return permanently to Beta Colony when Aral died.

Andrew Wells ahahahaha. Andrew learned a lot of things, but most importantly how and when to stop thinking in stories and treat himself and others like real people.

Simon Tam learned how to stop worrying and see his sister for what she is, and accept what she does, and love her no less; and, somewhat more recently, how to step back and let her take care of herself.

Charlie McGee learned that she has a libido. Didn't see that coming.

Cavilo hasn't learned a damn thing, except that she really really dislikes people with superpowers.

Kali learned something exceedingly important about an old flame. The consequences of this are still unfolding.

Nepeta is learning about human food! And also about conducting a flushed relationship.