Fanfiction And Fanfiction Ideas

[Ninjapacman]

Well, from what I've seen of Morganas, I believe it's been said somewhere that inside their fog, you feel their aura... their name. Like the further you go into the aura of Paranoia, the more you think something is trying to get you, and the less you trust those around you. Also, corruption's interlude provides good insight into why the morgana hate us. Corruption believes we are corrupt... and it sees us as "too bright and loud." We're an itch it needs to scratch to cleanse itself.

[Historynerd]

Well, from what I've seen of Morganas, I believe it's been said somewhere that inside their fog, you feel their aura... their name. Like the further you go into the aura of Paranoia, the more you think something is trying to get you, and the less you trust those around you. Also, corruption's interlude provides good insight into why the morgana hate us. Corruption believes we are corrupt... and it sees us as "too bright and loud." We're an itch it needs to scratch to cleanse itself.

 

...Dude, are you sure they're just Morganas and not manifestations of Slender Man?

[RockyArby]

Well we gathered that the Morgana do not see themselves as malevolent. However, there's no Indicator of national pride or a more concrete identity. I wager they're the embodiment of every evil thing that could happened to ships and sailors on the open ocean and during war. They're a collaboration of different nations and most likely speak in different languages. They take the sailors to get an identity. This mish mash of sailors matches their psychy

[DrYuriMom]

Below I pulled all the official material about the Morgana I could find

===

There is no moon to reveal her presence. There are no eyes to see her as she slips behind.

Corruption, that was her name.

They gave it to her, and destruction followed in its wake.

She is not corrupt.

She is not, she is not, she is not.

The ships sailing before her, the ships with human crews and Belle-women who shine like torches: are they corrupt?

She doesn’t know. She doesn’t remember.

But they’re so loud and so bright.

She and her sisters are the twilight, and the mist, and the quiet dark.

Within there was the protocol. The procedure upon the tip of her tongue (when she chose to have a tongue); if she wanted to explain what they were doing, she could just start, and the words would come.

But the Belles and the human beings are so loud and so bright.

Then she remembers that they are corrupt.

They’ll fight, but she can take bits and pieces of them and fix herself, and then she’ll be stronger. She’ll be able to tell them how they can be saved.

Well, not the dead ones.

Maybe not any of them, any of the fighters in their World War Too.

But the ones at home. The poster told the story.

The Belles and the humans are firing at her – maybe she started shooting first – but for just a second, there it is in her mind’s eye: ocean, yes of course, but the cool, silver lights dance out across the water.

Children. Children singing.

Children sing.

Here, it’s just KadeKo. F. Scott Fitzgerald staggering through the last years of his life and people in Ukraine praying (no, enforced atheist, not praying, hoping) it won’t come again and restless ideas in the land of clay. Depressions and Long Marches and…

...and these stupid, loud Belles and these stupid, bright humans insist on dragging it all out, on keeping her and her sisters from…

Won’t…

Corruption, she thinks. It’s all about corruption.

Oh, it will be like scratching an itch when they die.

===

On September 1, 1939, the major powers of the world are engaged in a war that will change the course of history. Europe is on fire, the shadow of Japan has fallen across East Asia, and it’s finally clear to every nation - Axis, Allied, or non-aligned - that the War to End All Wars was really nothing more than a preamble to one last great global collision of empires.

But this will not be the war that history expected.

From every ocean and every sea rise fleets of strange new combatants - far more numerous, far more powerful and far more savage than any armada the world has ever known. These fearsome new enemies, the Morganas, have declared war on all of humanity. The navies of the Axis and Allied powers must unite against them - even if their governments sometimes have other ideas.

Our greatest allies are the courageous and powerful Belles. Woken from deep slumber, the Belles are the souls of their namesake ships taken form. With a Belle on deck, a ship becomes stronger, more accurate, and capable of enduring more punishment than otherwise physically possible.

The first Belles to wake on that dark September day have chosen you as their Captain and it is up to you lead them into battle against the Morganas. You hold the fate of humanity in your capable hands, and the battle for the future of the world is yours to win.

===

I. The appearance of the Morgana and the Belles

The first Morgana attacks on the morning of 1 September 1939 went almost without notice in diplomatic channels. Most of the European legations were preoccupied by the promise of general war on the continent, and few took notice of the disquieting rumors from the seas and the navies.

Of course, the reports of unknown combatants made more of a ripple in the Pacific, Captain, where Imperial Japanese convoys were sunk by unknown ships, and British & U.S. merchantmen vanished seemingly into thin air.

By late afternoon Greenwich time, however, major raids affected almost every naval power on Earth. American vessels were attacked within sight of the Brooklyn Navy Yard; the British were hit near Scapa Flow. Off the Moroccan coast, in spitting distance of Danzig and Leningrad, in plain view of Bari, on the edge of Maizuru Harbor, and in so many other places, mists appeared from nowhere, and ships were blasted apart in a thunder of guns and fire.

===

The Morgana Threat

The first reports of Morgana activity- in particular, their Mists, came in the pre-dawn hours of 1 September, 1939. At first considered to be meteorological events, any vessels entering them quickly discovered that wasn’t the case. Only a handful of ships survived those encounters, Captain, and almost all of those had Belles manifest aboard.

From that date, the Morganas have shown clear intent to expand not just their Mists, but their operational area- sending out fleets on a daily basis to harass shipping, prevent maneuver, and, chillingly, raid coasts. Early conventional attempts to stop them ended in disaster, but we Belles have proven their equal. And, may I add, sir? Will always. *Ahem!*

Their attacks appear essentially at random, and while dangerous, show no signs of a larger strategic goal. About that, sir...well, before we come to that, I suppose we ought to discuss where our information primarily comes from.

How we know what we know

As the Morganas do not communicate, and since very few conventional ships have survived one of their attacks, you may have asked yourself: how do we know anything at all about them? How did we name their ships? How is it that we are able to defeat them? The answer is, of course, we Belles.

Sir, it is a little difficult to explain, but among our talents is the ability to know when a Morgana is near, what her name is, and a general sense of course and heading. In battle, we can sometimes tell if they are wounded, and where, and even the best place to direct our fire.

I’m afraid that I cannot shed any light on how we know, sir, only that we *do* know. I…*ahem*...dislike relying on, shall we say, intuition, but in this case everything we feel to be true seems to be correct. I trust that more scientific analysis will eventually replace this over-reliance on emotion, sir!

Morgana Metallurgy

Although approaching a dying Morgana has its risks, enterprising Captains have attempted the perilous crossing more than once, and modern science is very glad for it!

Hull materials range from easily recognized Krupp steel, to truly exotic materials, which flake and shard under the lightest touch. Simple tests indicate similar performance to our armor, sir, in regards to the Krupp samples- the other material does not seem to have any value, as even normal shipboard vibrations can render it to dust!

Captured machine parts are capable of independent functioning -even in the absence of a power source!- and have resulted in numerous injuries in the past. Please handle salvage of this type with caution, sir!

Internal machinery has been confirmed by chemists to be largely made of a porous tantalum of great refinement. Sadly, we’ve thus far been unable to gain access to a Morgana boiler or engine room, so their method of powering their ships is as yet unknown.

Hasty sketches and small cuttings from their naval rifles and anti-aircraft guns give an unknown origin but conventional type of weapon, as well as indicate an enemy capable of production of exquisite gun barrel steel. *Ahem* Combat results seem to vindicate these conclusions as well, sir.

Captain, whoever the Morganas are, their underlying ships are the equal of our own.

Morgana Mists

Wherever the Morgana attack, they are accompanied by their Mists.

This generally cold, generally purple-hued mist limits vision to point-blank range, can confuse electronics, and disrupts aerial operations entirely. Ships which win free of the Mist are often coated in a strange, semi-luminescent gloss, similar to the colorful patterns of an oil slick. It can take some doing to get that out of clothing, sir!

Entering the mists to take samples is a dangerous affair, and our best scientists have not yet drawn any firm conclusions about its nature. It is possible that the Mists are some derivative of nitrogen smoke, similar to the theatrical fog you’ll find in Harlem, only on a massive scale.

Another theory is that the Morganas have some method to dramatically reduce air pressure at the level of the seas, resulting in the water boiling at far below 216 degrees Fahrenheit. *Ahem* The Mists are not scalding, however, but that is not itself conclusive as they do seem to warm as you go further in.

It is unclear for what purpose the Morgana generate the Mists, unless it is to hide their maneuvers, or make a more effective defense. We Belles notice that the Morganas can somehow ‘sense’ when a ship enters, however, so perhaps it is like the web of a spider. What a chilling analogy!

One thing is true, even for a Belle: entering the Mists is dangerous. We can quickly come under the 31” main gun of a Treason-class battleship at point blank range, and even the most powerful among us can’t treat that lightly!

Morgana Crew

The Morganas' crew have never been seen, nor have any bodies of the fallen been found on those few attempts at recovering a Morgana vessel. Our scientists believe that remote control is not feasible, given the complexity of their maneuver, gunfire and damage control, but it may be that the crew are entirely below, sealed behind bulkheads in some fashion.

The Morgana do take prisoners -although it does not appear to be a mercy, given the screams of those left behind- so, they must have some way to accommodate sailors. At least, for those left behind, we certainly hope so.

The Morganas

The Morgana "women” are entirely unknown to us. They can be seen upon the decks, hidden in the superstructure, or sometimes in the waters near their hulls. Little more can be said, even by we Belles, as they do not communicate, are immediately hostile, and are dangerous to the final gun.

Morgana Ships

The Morgana appear to loosely have the same, or similar, types of ships that our navies do, sir, with one -or, perhaps, two- notable exceptions.

They range from Submarines all the way to Battleships, and their names (which we can ‘feel’ as we near them) share a common grotesquerie. I personally have encountered Asphyxiation, a Submarine, Delusion, an Aircraft Carrier, and Paranoia, a Heavy Cruiser. Other Belles report such 'names' as: Disease, Despair, Sabotage and Starvation, to name but a few.

Morganas can share a single name- for instance, you may face a Fleet of Sin-class Morganas. When multiple of the same class appear, they seem to grow stronger, Captain. Bear that in mind, when you engage!

Morgana Terrors

There is no ship so powerful as a Terror, in any Navy the world has ever seen. She carries more firepower than an entire battle-line, her armor shatters 16” shells, and her size dwarfs our engineer’s understanding. While I have never seen one myself, they are described as an amalgamation of ships, towering and twisted, bristling with weapons of all sorts.

Fortunately, Morgana Terrors have never been sighted outside of their Mists, and although they have great range, rarely seem to engage at long distances. Captain, despite the great danger, I must tell you that to ignore so great a concentration of naval power would surely be a mistake. At some point, we must gird ourselves for war, and defeat these enemies wherever they hide!

*Ahem*...but perhaps you might bring along several Battleships, sir!

Maelstroms

There are four unique meteorological phenomenon which we believe arose upon the appearance of the Morgana. I say ‘we believe’ because they were not discovered until some days and weeks later.

These ‘Maelstroms’ are titanic vortices of Morgana Mist, water, lightning and sleet which seem to remain fixed where they have formed: the Mid-Atlantic, the Southern Indian Ocean, the South Pacific, and the North Pacific.

No ship has dared enter one of these, and the Morgana Mists which spread from it hide some of the most powerful among the enemy Fleet. Captain, I truly cannot say whether this is the product of an as-yet unknown Morgana or the work of a device -perhaps it is simply nature rebelling against their foulness!- but I can tell you that approach a Maelstrom is to invite destruction, even with a Fleet of battle-tested Belles. You have been warned!

If you do choose to brave a Maelstrom, be sure to bring Belles that can manage the Sea State...and who are very well experienced and equipped!

Conclusions

Even we Belles cannot provide any illumination into the Morgana. We can not sense their intention, nor their plans- and although their attacks seem entirely random- well, sir, I can tell you that this surely cannot be the case. A foe that is capable of building these ships and these weapons...they are certainly capable of planning. And their intent to seize control of the seas, even in the remotest corners, suggests a great design, sir.

Might I suggest that in your battles you take along an experienced strategist? Someone like…*ahem*...oh, look at the time!

[Historynerd]

 

...in plain view of Bari,...

 

 

I wonder why they put Bari in the fold.

Bari wasn't a military naval base of any relevant importance in either WWI or WWII; nearby, there was Brindisi.

And the main naval bases of Italy since it was unified have always been La Spezia and Taranto.

[Legate of Mineta]

Historynerd;

 

I am not sure, but that's likely a mistake- thinking about it, I'm nearly 100% sure they must have been thinking of Taranto.

[Metis]

Is there confirmation in there that the Morganas are controlling the mist, and not the other way around?

 

EDIT: And speaking of mistake, Legate, "World War Too"?

[Historynerd]

Historynerd;

 

I am not sure, but that's likely a mistake- thinking about it, I'm nearly 100% sure they must have been thinking of Taranto.

 

You might be right.

 

Well, since it's early, they have time to realize that and fix that little typo.

[DrYuriMom]

EDIT: And speaking of mistake, Legate, "World War Too"?

I am 100% confident that is NOT a typo. I'm sure they vetted that bit with a lice comb before releasing it. This interlude is an absolutely delicious taste of how Morgana think.

[Metis]

You'd be amazed what kind of typos, and how many for that matter, can slip through repeated proof-readings anyway.

[Fifrein]

I know what kinds can slip through. I'm also sure that bit's intentional though. Corruption doesn't truly understand the way we think, the reasons we call things what we do. She probably has no memory of anything before her birth on september 1st, and frankly she probably doesn't care to know or research it.

[Legate of Mineta]

That is 100% not a typo.

[DrYuriMom]

That is 100% not a typo.

Which makes me a very happy girl :-)

[HallowedFury]

Here's a question I want to pose to all the captains. I may have blazed the FF trail, but I know others are toying with accepting my challenge. This brings up an obstacle we'll all face. The Morgana. Other than what we learn from the Kickstarter summary, from Mahan, and from Corruption's delicious interlude - we got nothin'. For the next nine months I suggest we need a "working canon". Anyone want to help me develop this?

 

So far we have the green mist/fog. It feels thick, leaving residue on clothes and such. Radio cannot penetrate it. Within the mist, the Morgana seem to know all movement to some extent. It appears Corruption was traveling without a mist, though, so it seems something the Morgana can but don't have to call up.

 

The Morgana themselves seem mechanical in nature. Corruption spoke of gathering parts to repair/improve herself? We also have heard that they capture humans whose screams can be heard by fleeing ships.

 

So many questions. How high does the mist go? How does it affect conventional and/or Belle-enhanced aircraft? Does it go underwater (i.e. subs)? Does the residue do anything? We know Morgana ships use weapons reasonably familiar to us captains, but do they have special traits? Do they fight their ships like we captains fight ours? Do Morgana fight to the death, or will they withdraw when tactics call for it? What do they do with captured humans? Why to they do that?

 

Thoughts, knowing that this can and likely will all be blown to Hell when BCS announces canon?

 

The first update from kickstarter implies that the Morgana mists can cause combat to begin at closer ranges than on the open sea. it also seems to directly imply that the mists hamper aircraft maneuvers.

to quote the update. "The scout planes are color-coded red because scouting in the clammy miasma is more difficult than usual. For the same reasons, our carrier strikes may be impaired." So it seems that direct interference from the mists is canon, at least in some capacity.

 

Here's the link if you want to double check my thoughts, it would also be appreciated to have a second opinion.

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blackchickenstudios/victory-belles/posts/1553070

[Wellington99]

That moment when you finally find the captain of the Manchester during Operation Collar and he's Vice-Admiral Lancelot Holland

 

Welp. Time to do more research and change around the plot

[Legate of Mineta]

W99;

 

...which is the greatest name ever, by the way.

[Wellington99]

W99;

 

...which is the greatest name ever, by the way.

Probably the most British name out there.

 

At the least it'll explain why he took command of Hood (because Manchester's Belle appeared and declared my main character the captain), but I need to try and suss out what he was like. Right now I have it that by late 1940, Churchill and other nations have released similar orders to their fleets to step down command of a ship once a Belle has manifested and chosen their captain. Of course some don't like this because of the non-navy personnel that can be chosen, but it is at least a protocol in place

[Fifrein]

W99;

 

...which is the greatest name ever, by the way.

 

I'm under the impression that Lancelot Holland is but close in the running to Staff Sgt. Max Fightmaster, which is an actual name of an actual guy.

[Legate of Mineta]

OK, Max Fightmaster *may* be better, actually.

[Pillwalker]

But if Hood gets a Belle too then wouldn't she not fight Bismark? Or at least there's a chance she'll survive. This is a time when the course of history is diverging from the original path after all. The Morganas aren't just appearing from nowhere, they're appearing from a different time and reality as well.

[Legate of Mineta]

Pillwalker;

 

Certainly, they are antagonistic, but not to the point that they'll fight one another. Well, I guess if you egg them on, maybe.

[Fifrein]

My Ideas, which I cannot write but I'm willing to let someone steal to see it come to fruit:

 

1) Victory Belles: The Saltiest Captain- A Rear ADM or higher rank becomes a Belle Captain (preferably of his own nation, just to rub it in), and is given the rank Captain of the Belles. This effectively demotes him as he is now no longer in command of a fleet, is below the rank of Commodore, and has to deal with all the red tape and bureaucracy that comes with. He's an all around great man (why the belle chose him), with courage, honor, and loyalty; but he's been on the seas many years and he'll be damned to davy jones if he didn't earn his rank and title. Hence, he's saltier about being chosen than the seas he sails on. Common belle shenanigans and salty captain quotes ensue.

 

2) Victory Belles: Bellephobia- A man with a fear of sailing brought about by Thalassaphobia is required to make a journey across the sea. (whether he's in the military and being redeployed or was sent overseas on work, or is immigrating to avoid the war it doesn't matter, but the latter of the three just compounds the fun.) Perhaps the planes were on a no fly due to weather and it was the last day to get out of the country or whatever, but the date is September 1st 1939. During the crossing, his ship encounters a mist and manifests a belle, who obviously chooses him as her captain for reasons TBD. Maybe he's also a pretty cool guy in every situation where he's not at sea. Maybe she thinks he's cute. Whatever it is; he not only is now required to fight a war, he's required to go to sea regularly and expected to like it. This guy might even be saltier than story 1, and the shenanigans of dialogue would be comedy on the scale of a world war.

 

Thoughts? Improvements? Agreements? Anyone willing to accept these projects and turn them into a reality? (Again, I can't write for crap and they'd never be finished)

[Wellington99]

Fun and interesting ideas, both of them

[Fallschirmjager]

I'm thinking of throwing my hat in. Been thinking of maybe making one about a sub stalking Morganas in the North Atlantic or possibly the Pacific.

 

It will either be a German or American sub.

[Historynerd]

I'm meditating about starting some story myself.

 

Of course, it would have as protagonist an Italian captain (of course ), but I am uncertain on how to play it...

 

Maybe have him trying to get his job done while navigating through unending red tape, because he is not a favourite of the Chief of Staff?

(There were quite a bit of cliques in the Regia Marina IRL; and, even though its influence was not directly, felt, the Big Bald Guy could always spot an interesting fella and give him a push upwards, or ruin an unworthy fellow's career.)