Ask Mimi

[D. Planet]

If you want to open it up for brainstorming, I'd say start a thread in RP chat

That might be the way to go....I have some other issues with this that might need ironed out. I don't want to get TOO complex with the science, though, as the biology questions alone make the character concept fall apart at the seams.

[Mimi]

Regarding the coach, how do his abilities apply to appearances? For instance, if he dampens the flight abilities of a winged student, do the wings disappear? Or do they just not function? Or something in between?

Or, if a student (not naming names here ) has an odd skin color or ear shape that have nothing to do with any special powers, can he make those vanish?

I think we talked about this a while back, but I cannot find it.

No, Coach Waters cannot suppress physical characteristics. Or, at least, not really. He cannot give Joni normal ears, or take Faster's fur. Most "natural" powers or characteristics, he can't do much about.

At the same time, there's give and take: the question isn't really "can Coach suppress my wings?" The question should be "is it interesting and helpful to the story I want to tell if Coach can suppress my wings?"

Personally, I would say he might be able to suppress Yuki's wings, because Yuki only has wings as part of a quasi-magical transformative episode, which he could suppress (yes, he can create magic null-fields just like mutation or science null-fields). But I don't think he'd be able to suppress Blitz Wing's wings, because they're part of her. He could probably make it difficult for her to actually achieve liftoff, though.

So, in closing, there's no definitive answer. It's one part logic and one part storytelling.

[Karakuriya]

This was touched on in the Frequently Asked Questions thread, but it would be helpful to have more specifics. I know SJS has a year-round schedule, but I'm curious as to when and how long the vacations are. Is it a trimester system? Is there a track for students who return home for the summer? Year-round school is a good excuse for why the campus is consistently populated, but the kids need a break some time, even if they don't leave. Knowing this would also make it easier to impose statements like, "Oh man, midterms are kicking my ass," or similar school-wide events that are important to student morale.

[Mimi]

This was touched on in the Frequently Asked Questions thread, but it would be helpful to have more specifics. I know SJS has a year-round schedule, but I'm curious as to when and how long the vacations are. Is it a trimester system? Is there a track for students who return home for the summer? Year-round school is a good excuse for why the campus is consistently populated, but the kids need a break some time, even if they don't leave. Knowing this would also make it easier to impose statements like, "Oh man, midterms are kicking my ass," or similar school-wide events that are important to student morale.

Well, it's pretty safe to assume that most of the player characters are year-round students. The year-round schedule is designed to accommodate students who miss classes because they're on patrol or who have other demands on their time. For non-patrolling students (that is, many of the NPCs), their summer vacation is pretty similar to other high schools in the US.

SJS is organized into "quarters," not trimesters-- but one of the quarters is the summer. So an NPC who goes home for the summer might think of the school year in terms of trimesters, but that's inaccurate. The quarters are Fall (Sep-Nov), Winter (Dec-Feb), Spring (Mar-May), and Summer (Jun-Aug). It might be helpful to think of the school year as having "Summer School" just automatically built in-- and without any stigma attached to it.

In terms of vacations, the Fall, Winter and Spring quarters have about five to ten days of vacation apiece. The Summer quarter only has a few days off (mostly long weekends I would think), since mostly it exists to get people caught up for the Fall quarter to come. So, yes, there's a week off for the holidays in December, and a Spring break, and a long weekend for Thanksgiving and everything else you might expect.

[D. Planet]

Mal's band thread got me to thinking, I looked over the NPC list, and SJS doesn't seem to have a music teacher. Did I overlook him/her? Or has s/he been established in the past?

[Mercy Strike]

Offhand, I don't remember hearing one being mentioned. If they have been, they are certainly not "established".

Go make one! Please post in the appropriate area with your write up so we can all start groaning about tone deaf music teachers. Or Mr. Holland. Can we get Mr. Holland?

[Kara]

Offhand, I don't remember hearing one being mentioned. If they have been, they are certainly not "established".

Go make one! Please post in the appropriate area with your write up so we can all start groaning about tone deaf music teachers. Or Mr. Holland. Can we get Mr. Holland?

Yay for Mister Holland's opus!

Wait...Opus...can we get Opus as the music teacher?

[D. Planet]

I've got something in mind...whom do I speak with to clear the idea with? The storyline marshall?

Speaking of NPCs, I've also had the idea of posting a bio for Mal's mother, since students frequently hang out in Atlas, which is where her "beat" as a Longbow Sergeant is. Being a former superhero, she's very open about giving advice "under the radar" to powered teens who might be interested in making the superhero thing a full time job.

[Storm Scream]

::spins Mal around a couple of times, then directs him to Aura::

I might poke my head in a couple times, but that's all Aura and continuity!