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Post by nix on Mar 20, 2012 16:20:24 GMT -5
Thank you! In my mind's eye, I can't see them starting out with all this nicely-designed equipment right from square one. Initially, they're going to start out with the original, Aykroyd-style equipment, but it soon proves unreliable and prone to malfunction.
More character bios!
Creator’s notes on Kubota: Kubota and Megumi work together so well because they are perfect foils for each other: she’s a cold, clinical scientist with an abnormal interest in the paranormal, and he’s something of a “big kid” in terms of how he goes about his scientist thing. He only got in trouble because he didn’t think his plan through. He selects his team of Ghostbuster employees very carefully; he looks for people who sort of amble through life without a purpose. In a way, once he’s out of the university, the Prof becomes something of an outcast himself. I myself believe that the misappropriation charges were trumped-up, and that his peers had always had it in for him because of his unconventional research.
MEGUMI: 30, female, shoulder-length black hair, pale skin.
Prof. Kubota’s research assistant, Megumi is a student of the paranormal. She sees her superior as her “engineer”, and supplies him with the data and research while he handles the calculations and builds the equipment. One would think that something was going on between the two of them, but Megumi is actually rather cold—something like a female Gendo Ikari. She came from a family of spiritualists, and, at nine years old, watched helplessly as a séance went horrifyingly wrong.
She lived with her aunt and uncle thereafter, and the trauma of that night burned in her memories. She vowed to understand the forces of the paranormal so that she might one day conquer her nightmares. This is why she is so cold and aloof—dealing with the Spirit World is extremely dangerous (and her research has brought up some bloodcurdling stuff), and she would rather not get too attached to anyone if (or when) something terrible happens. It’s only when she goes out to help Kubota on a few busts and sees that the equipment works and can catch ghosts that she opens up a bit, but she’s still very reserved early on. Dealing with the other Ghostbusters opens her up even more.
In spite of her icy demeanor, Megumi admires the original Ghostbusters’ groundbreaking work, and even suggested the idea of buying a franchise to the Prof.
JIYOKU: 25, female, light brown hair cut in a “bob”, drinks and smokes
Jiyoku, whose name means “free spirit” (I tip my hat to Sara Backer and her novel American Fuji), is a snarky cynic. But she is in no way a “downer” to the team; Prof. Kubota often finds himself chuckling inwardly at her barbs. It’s more that she doesn’t take things seriously because no-one has taken her seriously or had any kind of expectations for her.
She has a reputation for being a party girl, and is putting herself through design school by compensated dating (enjo kosai). However, she’s adamant about not having sex with her clients, as most of them are sleazebags (about 7 out of 10) and her “self” is the only constant she knows—she will not throw that away on a whim, or because someone is paying her to do so.
Creator’s notes: I find Jiyoku the most interesting out of the Ghostbusters. It’s not fair to call her “stupid” or to assume that she doesn’t care…her cynicism stems more from disillusionment than apathy. Truth be told, she’s absolutely brilliant at design, and has an always-active “designer’s eye.” She finds Prof. Kubota’s prototype equipment more terrifying than the ghosts she encounters, and one Friday night she hooks up with him under the pretense of enjo kosai. Once she succeeds in that, she delineates to him her ideas of the new equipment and uniforms over the course of that weekend. (The gag here is that she had to put on a lot of makeup to hide her lack of sleep—she literally spent three days and nights’ worth of her free time hashing out all this stuff.)
I have in mind an idea that her older brother probably liked Super Sentai shows, and those subconscious memories inspired details like the girls’ uniforms having attached skirts.
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Post by nix on Mar 23, 2012 13:07:35 GMT -5
TETSUO: 20-ish, BIG guy, messy, unkempt black hair/general appearance (though handsome in his own way)—is the spitting image of John Belushi
The youngest of the Ghostbusters, Tetsuo is an angry young man. Bullied endlessly throughout his childhood, he has grown stronger and, unfortunately, belligerent. Prof. Kubota found him in jail after a bar fight, saw potential in him, and give him a business card.
Ghostbusting has helped Tetsuo work out some of his issues as he battles ghosts like a crazy man. His attitude toward his fellow Ghostbusters’ well-being varies from indifferent to actively antagonistic—sometimes he (intentionally or accidentally) frags his own teammates with the Shock Blast or Boson Dart, especially when he feels he’s been slighted in some way (whether or not it was one of his fellow ‘Busters). The equipment’s Aura Shield absorbs some damage, but it’s still not good form to intentionally hit your own side.
Jiyoku sees something in him, too…she sees that he’s a “genuine” person in a world full of fakers.
TOJI SUZUHARA (Angelic Days continuity): 22, tall, athletic build, handsome
The second-youngest Ghostbuster, Toji is the most level-headed of them all. Shortly after humanity won the war against the Angels, NERV disbanded, and he was left searching for a job. He has held down meaningful employment for a few years at a time, but nothing really grabbed him by the collar and said “Look, I’m here!” Now married to his high-school sweetheart, Hikari, he has been going from place to place, being turned down time and time again…until he finds an ad in the paper for Ghostbusters Japan. Warily intrigued, he goes there and is accepted immediately. And he comes in at the best possible time (for him): the team is on the verge of breaking apart—Tetsuo’s on probation for fragging Megumi; Megumi is giving everyone the silent treatment; Jiyoku is questioning the point of it all; and the Prof is at his limit.
Immediately, Toji declares himself the Field Captain of the team and whips them into shape. He puts his firearms training from NERV to good use as he shows the others how to aim and fire the Nutrona Wands. With his guidance, they develop and practice complex maneuvers to efficiently capture menacing spooks while causing as little property damage as possible.
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Post by nix on Mar 29, 2012 10:22:47 GMT -5
GADGETS: All four Ghostbusters carry standard-issue PKE Meter and Paravisor, but each of the Ghostbusters uses special detection/measurement gadgets based upon one of the five senses and tailored to their personality traits and roles in the group.
MEGUMI: Megumi is clinical and scientific about her work. As such, her Sense is based upon “taste” and “smell”, and she expresses this by carrying the Ecto-Sniffer. An improvement on the Bacharach Chemical Sniffer, this device collects and analyzes environmental samples such as Ectoplasmic residue. She also carries a gadget of her own design—an improvement on Dr. Spengler’s Giga-Meter, which measured Giga Electron Volts. More sensitive and far more precise than the PKE Meter, the Giga-Meter MKII displays messages on the LED “waggle bar” that flits from left to right.
JIYOKU: As the designer of the team, it was only inevitable that Jiyoku should be designated “sight”. She carries the Ecto-Scanner, a magnifying glass-like gadget that analyzes images and transmits them back to Prof. Kubota and to the others along with other comments. Messages are received on the Ghostbusters’ wrist-mounted Status Monitors.
TOJI: Any leader can give commands, but the best leaders know when to listen to their teammates. Therefore, Toji has taken up the Ecto-Headphones for himself. These allow him to listen in on and analyze auditory manifestations; sometimes, these reveal far more than the young man would care to know.
TETSUO: A sullen, angry young man with atrophied psychic powers, Tetsuo has much to learn about empathy. Prof. Kubota has bestowed upon him the Ecto-Gloves. When activated, the Ecto-Gloves amplify his powers and allow him to learn about PKE-saturated objects and locations by touching them. He often wishes he could use them to strangle some of the ghosts he meets, but Prof. Kubota didn’t design the Gloves for that purpose.
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Post by nix on Apr 2, 2012 10:01:20 GMT -5
I've redesigned the equipment to a point where I'm finally happy with the result. Watch this page!
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Post by nix on Apr 11, 2012 12:10:34 GMT -5
Equipment time! THE PROTON PACK: A detail shot of the Dark Matter Generator (Stasis Beam) intakes: NUTRONA WAND: GHOST TRAP: Much, much MORE to come later on!
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Post by nix on Apr 13, 2012 14:31:09 GMT -5
Some of that stuff looks a little bit weird on the screen. I'm going to invest in a magic-wand scanner REAL soon. 'Meantime, here's a new draft of the official logo:
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Post by nix on Apr 19, 2012 12:26:47 GMT -5
THE ECTOMOBILE:
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Post by Prime Good on May 10, 2012 10:30:28 GMT -5
Nix you're a d**n genius. I'm reading this thread in awe.
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Post by nix on Jun 15, 2012 13:11:05 GMT -5
Nix you're a d**n genius. Or a madman. Some day's it's one or the other; some days it's both. And I don't even have a degree in Industrial Design!
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Post by nix on Jun 21, 2012 10:23:42 GMT -5
Okay, I think I've got a pretty good idea about the headquarters. It's a car dealership/repair shop that's fallen on hard times, been out of business for a while, and bought cheaply. (Our heroes can zoom heroically out of the garage, lights blazing and sirens roaring...in fact, this element is probably written into the contract!) Over time, it gets remodeled, until it eventually gains a reception area and interview room of glass, polished aluminum, decorative fountains, and comfortable "modern" furniture--the idea is to give clients a "safe" place to spill their guts about whatever's haunting them. The testing room, rec room, and labs are still an almighty mess, though...
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Post by nix on Aug 2, 2012 15:14:49 GMT -5
Three images: UNIFORM CONCEPT: ECTO-SCANNER: SLIME-TANK CROSS-SECTION:
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Post by nix on Aug 4, 2012 0:02:34 GMT -5
Did I mention that I have a boatload of Cursed/Haunted Artifacts to share with you?
The videotape from Ringu: This one's pretty self-explanatory. When played, it displays a succession of weird images that eventually kill whoever's watching it. Taping over it has no effect, and neither does destroying the magnetic signal. It's best simply to tuck it away and forget about it, but leave it clearly marked for whoever finds it. RATING: Dangerous
Cursed Power Morpher: In the early '90s, the Zyuranger show was marketed in the United States as Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers; a glut of merchandise soon followed. This example was brought over by a young boy vacationing with his parents--along the way, he accidentally mislaid it and could never find it again. Somehow, it absorbed all his angst and sadness and guilt; whoever finds and plays with it finds themselves in a real-life alternate reality game in which they "become" a Ranger. This means that they "see" people around them as beasts and other characters from the show, and it has caused many injuries among kids trapped in the fantasy. The effect wears off after about a day, but who knows what you can do in one day? RATING: Somewhat dangerous
The Grotesquely Adorable Hello Kitty Doll: Created in the 1970s, Hello Kitty became a worldwide phenomenon within the space of a few years. This small stuffed doll is but one example of the insane amount of merchandise produced. It was last seen at a shrine devoted to a little girl who died of leukemia (it was her favorite doll). The circumstances of her death influenced the doll’s already strong PKE signature, and anyone who looks at this doll for prolonged periods of time will experience feelings of cuteness so powerful that they go into hyperglycemic shock. RATING: Moderately harmful
The Amazing, Vanishing Ghostbusters Glow-Copter: When the Ghostbusters defeated Gozer in 1984, their victory rocketed them on the road to stardom. Inevitably, they became the stars of their very own animated series; fast-food premiums, breakfast cereals, candy, and a toyline followed. By 1990, though, the Ghostbusters craze died down, and the toyline went with it. Only about 100 were made, and this one somehow became imbued with the power of Susa-no-o, the trickster. It fetches very high prices on eBay, and those who win the high-stakes auctions place it in their display cases only to find the next day that it has mysteriously vanished, and they're out however much they paid for it. RATING: Fairly harmless, unless you’re unlucky enough to buy it.
The Ubiquitous Bunraku Puppet: This bunraku puppet materializes from room to room. Its eyes move from left to right as occupants go about their business. Accompanying it is an unnerving (if completely justified) feeling of being watched. Selling it or giving it away prove only to give someone else the problem. Destroying it induces feelings of guilt; besides, it’s indestructible. It’s haunted by a spirit of unknown origin (a pesky but low-level Animator, maybe?) RATING: Very creepy, but somewhat harmless
Hatsumomo’s Kimono: Hatsumomo was an undistinguished geisha from the early 20th Century. She can best be described as a prima donna and a bully—new geisha-in-training soon became her unwitting accomplices or targets of her considerable wrath, much of which worked its way into the fibers of her kimono. Her death infused the already negatively-charged garment with massive amounts of PKE, and anyone who wears this will exhibit her short temper, proclivity for highly destructive “pranks,” and highly spoiled nature. Using mood slime to counteract the kimono’s effects will only stain the garment (practically a death sentence for geisha) and make it worse. RATING: Dangerous and very frightening when worn.
UCC--Unusually Creepy Coffee: This can of UCC coffee is known to rattle and moan in a bloodcurdling way. Nobody knows quite why. Perhaps it came from a haunted machine? The world may never know. RATING: Harmless, though admittedly off-putting.
The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog Episode 66: Sonic the Hedgehog debuted on the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive in 1991. At the height of his fame, he starred in two animated series: the first was a dark, sci-fi-oriented Saturday morning cartoon, and the second was a humorous, syndicated, weekday cartoon of 65 episodes…and an extremely rare sixty-sixth, which only certain stations got. When it was aired in Japan, viewers were treated to an episode that became virtually unwatchable halfway through. Screens were filled with static and blurred images; speakers broadcast mostly unintelligible dialogue, and what could be made out was so horrifying that it drove dozens of watchers—most of them children—insane, many of them to the point of either causing grievous self-inflicted physical harm or committing outright suicide. It was just as bad in Europe and North America, and the world’s major pharmaceutical companies joined forces to create a powerful memory-altering “wonder drug” just to suppress the memories of watching the episode. For the most part, it worked, but echoes still remain. Tails’ frantic screams still haunt the dreams of Japanese children for decades: “What have you done, Sonic?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” NOTE: All access to this episode and the accompanying physician’s and psychiatrist’s notes must be approved by Prof. Kubota himself. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Polybius Sega Genesis Cartridge: When the Sega Genesis first came out, the first game practically everyone on the design team wanted to recreate in 16-bit technology was Polybius. Unfortunately, a series of accidents befell those assigned to the game, and the project was quietly shelved. This is the initial test cartridge; Megumi is currently studying it to figure out what's inside it. RATING: Dangerous
Eleanor Rigby's Face-in-a-jar: In the song "Eleanor Rigby," Paul McCartney wrote the lyrics: "...waits at the window/wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door." When asked about it, he propagated the interpretation that she wore some kind of restoring cream that she kept in a jar.
The truth is far more horrifying. Eleanor Rigby was in fact a modern-day Elizabeth Bathory who murdered young women and stole their faces, storing them in embalming liquid-filled jars. Whenever it struck her fancy, she would actually wear one of these faces in an effort to make herself look beautiful. The game went on until one of her victim's boyfriends exacted bloody revenge upon her. He knocked on Mrs. Rigby's door, found that she was wearing his girl's face ("I've Just Seen a Face," anyone?), and in his rage, he killed her and removed her face. He put it in a jar and turned himself in to the police. To this day, the face in the jar cries from empty eyesockets in a mixture of sorrow, regret, and hatred.
A short while ago, the Beatles Museum in Osaka acquired it for its collection. There, on display for millions of tourists and curious folk, it caused quite a lot of trouble for the museum's owners. Somehow, as the years went by, the ghosts of Rigby's victims locked on to the face and followed it wherever it went. They smashed cases, ransacked scenery, and made a general mess of the place. When the Japanese Ghostbusters team was called in, they found that the face was the source of the trouble and took it with them, but not before capturing all of the ghosts.
Professor Kubota keeps it in an opaque, ghost-proof cask in the Cursed Artifacts storeroom. ================================= SIDE NOTE: I think I have just figured out how to get Eguchi from Sara Backer's American Fuji into the storyline as the Ghostbusters' benefactor.
Eguchi, in the book, was the owner of several profitable businesses, including a funeral arrangement company called "Gone with the Wind," which specialized in cremations (har har har). I wouldn't want to spoil anything else, so I'll just leave it at that. Anyhoo, the conceit is that he also owns the Beatles museum; he's so enamored with the idea of the Ghostbusters thing that he offers to buy the franchise from Prof. Kubota in exchange for a truly massive cash infusion. From this you get all of my current drawings--the uniforms, the new equipment, the car, etc.
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Post by nix on Sept 3, 2012 14:52:35 GMT -5
This is Megumi's ghost sniffer, also known as the "Sampler." Long story short, it's a small, lightweight, vacuum-like device that can take ectoplasmic residue samples and store them in a small test-tube for later analysis. It doesn't require too much suction to capture a slime sample, so the motor can be smaller than on a regular vacuum. The little doohickey's got a backstory behind it, too. Initially, Megs used a simple test tube and scooper, but an attempt to take a Black Slime sample made her severely ill, and she had to spend three days in hospital. Doctors and staff could only keep her comfortable (her condition was psychic, not physical) while Prof. Kubota worked on a treatment, which ultimately led to the development of the Slime Blower and the hiring of Tetsuo. While Megumi slept, Jiyuko went to work on the Sniffer as a means of capturing samples at a safe distance.
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Post by nix on Nov 13, 2012 18:54:37 GMT -5
An encyclopedia entry for you.
From the Encyclopedic Guide to Ghostbusting DARK MATTER:
Dark matter is everywhere (and no, it doesn't mean "evil" or "not light," but simply "we don't know what it is").
It faintly crackles in the air and light around you. But don't worry; it's harmless in its normally very low density, so it most likely won't kill you. You can't see it, feel it, or hear it without specialized equipment, but it's there.
Interestingly enough, it's why ghosts--a product of another dimension--leave ectoplasmic residue when they make contact with our world, and also why some of them can move at the speed of light in their world but are somewhat sluggish in ours.
Why is any of this important? Well...Egon and I have modified the Proton Packs to absorb and concentrate dark matter to a point where it can impose a crude physical form onto an ectoplasmic entity, and slow them down to near-immobility. Slow-down time is inversely proportional to the size of the entity: smaller ones, such as minor Constructs, remain frozen for a full minute, whereas larger ones like Golems can break free within seven to ten seconds. Still, that's seven to ten extra seconds to escape.
The Dark Matter Accelerator comes in two distinct flavors. The Stasis Beam creates the aforementioned "slow-down effect." The Shock Blast, on the other hand, discharges a split-second burst of more highly-concentrated dark matter. (We call it the "Shock Blast" because its effect is not unlike the phenomenon of thermal shock--pouring ice-cold water into a very hot beaker that can't withstand such extremes.)
(Section 7 of the appendix contains mathematical data and wavelength charts, but if you're sufficiently inclined and have a little too much free time, you could probably do them yourself.)
--STANTZ
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Post by nix on Nov 15, 2012 18:32:03 GMT -5
I've been wondering for a few months now (besides all the other stuff, like finding a job, etc.): What would a Japanese GB team use to build a safer, cleaner Proton Pack? One answer lies in this Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_fluoride_thorium_reactorThey don't generate that much heat (which may eliminate shutdown issues); they don't create a lot of waste; they can refuel online (no need to shut it down and take it apart); they don't need a lot of fuel; they can air-cool (an actual reactor doesn't need cooling towers)...beryllium's really toxic, but this shouldn't be too much of a problem for a Proton Pack. I'm convinced that they'd use a larger (but still small) LFTR to power the Containment Unit.
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