Sorry for the short segment today. A scene later on is giving me severe Writer's Starlight Breaker Target.
Dartz: That's part of the framing device, which will be expanded upon when this hits SB. I will mention that this was originally going to be a trollfic, but the Prime Mover's role has changed significantly since then...
Also, if that's the only thing keeping you reading, I'm doing something wrong. What do I need to change?
CD: My perception of the Nanohaverse has been significantly shaped by Admiral Tigerclaw's MSLN Test Dummies, at least in the way magic and Devices work. One of the bits in that has high-level magic hitting the mage and their Device with quite a bit of heat. I thought that that was logical, so I kept it.
Rob: There should be a way to fit Doktor and his collection of left hands into that somewhere...
Also, JS spends half his screentime being a GIANT HAM. The trick of dealing with him is figuring out when he's being literal, when he's being theatrically metaphorical, and when he wants to dissect you FOR SCIENCE!, and selecting the proper response for each.
Adam Jensen social battle, anybody?
Sirrocco: Doesn't work that way. We don't really know how they're supposed to work, but my headcanon is that the Device works by tying itself into the mage's linker core while active, so it can do some of the math and serve as a focal point for spells. Having it store linked mana is like saying 'Hey, let's lock some of this explosion up in that antenna you're carrying, and save it for later!'
Also, the original plotbunny for the fic was something like 'what if the SI could do Full Power Total Destruction, and nothing else?'
**********
The possible Devices floated over to where I was standing, arranging themselves around me by type. I just stood there, a silly grin in my face; it's sort of hard to be aware of the world when you're trying your hardest to restrain a rather unmanly squee. Five seconds later, the grin faded, my eyes refocused, and I started feeling rather hemmed in.
If anything, Scaglietti's smile grew wider. "The first step, young Mister Prefect, is for you to choose a battle form for your Device. Magically speaking, no form is better than any other- what matters is how familiar the weapon is to you, and how well it fits your position in my forces." He paused, thinking. "You were interested in providing long-range fire support, correct? You may want to consider a staff or a gun, simply because of how easy they are to aim."
I thought that over for a bit, looking over all the equipment the doctor had conjured. "You have a point, Doctor," I said, pacing as I thought over the issue. "I need something that can be easily aimed... something I'm familiar with... but also something I can fight with in close quarters, if need be." I stopped moving, closing my eyes as I thought.
"Can I assume that each of these represents a general type of weapon, rather than a specific design?," I asked, not even opening my eyes. The doctor gave me an affirmative grunt in response, letting me continue my train of thought. "How would I remove types from consideration?"
I heard the sound of a few keys being pushed, and then a response. "The constructs will respond to you. Move them out of the circle, and they will disappear."
I nodded, opening my eyes. "Good." Walking around the circle of options, I began removing the least fitting of them. No interest in the axe... sorry, Vita, but it's not Hammer Time... shields? Why would I have a shield?!...
After one lap, there were just a handful of options left- the gun, the staff, the bow, and the sword- spaced evenly around me. After a moment of thought, I pulled the bow from the circle, and threw it as far as I could. Aww... I was hoping it'd break when it hit the wall. Anticlimactic derez is anticlimactic. The sword soon followed, bouncing off the floor once before turning into a cloud of sparkles and vanishing.
I reached out to the staff, running one hand up and down its length. It actually feels real- cool, smooth, and metallic! Very impressive... Then I took it in both hands, spun it around a bit (almost smacking myself upside the head), and set it down on the ground. ...just not my thing.
All that was left was the gun. Before I could ask to see subcategories, the gun divided into two, then four, then six. Pistol, SMG, assault rifle, battle rifle, sniper rifle, and rocket launcher. Well, the SMG is first to go; never liked those stupid things, anyway. Pistol next- it might work for Teana, but I'm a gun of a larger caliber. I removed those two from the circle, then dragged the other four forward into a line.
Assault rifle is all about small bullets at mid-range, and doesn't really work as a physical weapon at all. Fails on both counts. Battle rifle? It's at least a better spear than the AR, not that that's saying all that much. Doesn't feel right, somehow... that, and I've lost too many games of Halo to BR-snobs to pick one up now. Dropping those two from the line just left the sniper rifle and rocket launcher, and neither of those quite felt right, either. The RL has the right 'big gun' theme to it, but it's just too clumsy- too large and too awkward to use. I'd get owned up close. The sniper rifle isn't much better... but it lacks something else. Can't quite put my finger on it... wait a second! In a flash of inspiration, the perfect design came to me. Snapping my head up to look the doctor in the eye, I grinned. In my best innocent voice, I asked "Hey, Doctor? Why do these all look like mass weapons? Don't you have anything more... futuristic?"
He blinked. "What did you have in mind?"
My grin changed, becoming less innocent and more predatory, as I began to describe my idea.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.
Dartz: That's part of the framing device, which will be expanded upon when this hits SB. I will mention that this was originally going to be a trollfic, but the Prime Mover's role has changed significantly since then...
Also, if that's the only thing keeping you reading, I'm doing something wrong. What do I need to change?
CD: My perception of the Nanohaverse has been significantly shaped by Admiral Tigerclaw's MSLN Test Dummies, at least in the way magic and Devices work. One of the bits in that has high-level magic hitting the mage and their Device with quite a bit of heat. I thought that that was logical, so I kept it.
Rob: There should be a way to fit Doktor and his collection of left hands into that somewhere...
Also, JS spends half his screentime being a GIANT HAM. The trick of dealing with him is figuring out when he's being literal, when he's being theatrically metaphorical, and when he wants to dissect you FOR SCIENCE!, and selecting the proper response for each.
Adam Jensen social battle, anybody?
Sirrocco: Doesn't work that way. We don't really know how they're supposed to work, but my headcanon is that the Device works by tying itself into the mage's linker core while active, so it can do some of the math and serve as a focal point for spells. Having it store linked mana is like saying 'Hey, let's lock some of this explosion up in that antenna you're carrying, and save it for later!'
Also, the original plotbunny for the fic was something like 'what if the SI could do Full Power Total Destruction, and nothing else?'
**********
The possible Devices floated over to where I was standing, arranging themselves around me by type. I just stood there, a silly grin in my face; it's sort of hard to be aware of the world when you're trying your hardest to restrain a rather unmanly squee. Five seconds later, the grin faded, my eyes refocused, and I started feeling rather hemmed in.
If anything, Scaglietti's smile grew wider. "The first step, young Mister Prefect, is for you to choose a battle form for your Device. Magically speaking, no form is better than any other- what matters is how familiar the weapon is to you, and how well it fits your position in my forces." He paused, thinking. "You were interested in providing long-range fire support, correct? You may want to consider a staff or a gun, simply because of how easy they are to aim."
I thought that over for a bit, looking over all the equipment the doctor had conjured. "You have a point, Doctor," I said, pacing as I thought over the issue. "I need something that can be easily aimed... something I'm familiar with... but also something I can fight with in close quarters, if need be." I stopped moving, closing my eyes as I thought.
"Can I assume that each of these represents a general type of weapon, rather than a specific design?," I asked, not even opening my eyes. The doctor gave me an affirmative grunt in response, letting me continue my train of thought. "How would I remove types from consideration?"
I heard the sound of a few keys being pushed, and then a response. "The constructs will respond to you. Move them out of the circle, and they will disappear."
I nodded, opening my eyes. "Good." Walking around the circle of options, I began removing the least fitting of them. No interest in the axe... sorry, Vita, but it's not Hammer Time... shields? Why would I have a shield?!...
After one lap, there were just a handful of options left- the gun, the staff, the bow, and the sword- spaced evenly around me. After a moment of thought, I pulled the bow from the circle, and threw it as far as I could. Aww... I was hoping it'd break when it hit the wall. Anticlimactic derez is anticlimactic. The sword soon followed, bouncing off the floor once before turning into a cloud of sparkles and vanishing.
I reached out to the staff, running one hand up and down its length. It actually feels real- cool, smooth, and metallic! Very impressive... Then I took it in both hands, spun it around a bit (almost smacking myself upside the head), and set it down on the ground. ...just not my thing.
All that was left was the gun. Before I could ask to see subcategories, the gun divided into two, then four, then six. Pistol, SMG, assault rifle, battle rifle, sniper rifle, and rocket launcher. Well, the SMG is first to go; never liked those stupid things, anyway. Pistol next- it might work for Teana, but I'm a gun of a larger caliber. I removed those two from the circle, then dragged the other four forward into a line.
Assault rifle is all about small bullets at mid-range, and doesn't really work as a physical weapon at all. Fails on both counts. Battle rifle? It's at least a better spear than the AR, not that that's saying all that much. Doesn't feel right, somehow... that, and I've lost too many games of Halo to BR-snobs to pick one up now. Dropping those two from the line just left the sniper rifle and rocket launcher, and neither of those quite felt right, either. The RL has the right 'big gun' theme to it, but it's just too clumsy- too large and too awkward to use. I'd get owned up close. The sniper rifle isn't much better... but it lacks something else. Can't quite put my finger on it... wait a second! In a flash of inspiration, the perfect design came to me. Snapping my head up to look the doctor in the eye, I grinned. In my best innocent voice, I asked "Hey, Doctor? Why do these all look like mass weapons? Don't you have anything more... futuristic?"
He blinked. "What did you have in mind?"
My grin changed, becoming less innocent and more predatory, as I began to describe my idea.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.