Chapter 13 Teaser

[Bob Schroeck]

I went home. I did a post-mortem on the fight, and then I crashed. By the end of my analysis -- which, by the way, I flunked myself on -- I was running solely on fumes and caffeine from a cup of mint tea I'd made myself, and the latter was about to run dry. I had almost no energy reserves to speak of, so I could barely heal myself before crashing; I managed to knit my broken ribs and scab over the worst of the wounds and that was it. I did manage to undress myself before falling into the chirping metallic hammock that pretended to be my bed.Of course, I had to get up a mere five and a half hours later. Most other days, five hours' sleep would've let me pop right up, fresh and energetic, but that morning I felt like an extra in a George Romero movie. My energy reserves were there -- I finished healing myself before getting into the shower -- but I simply hadn't gotten enough sleep to shake a general feeling of headachy exhaustion. "Gods help me if I have to fight anyone or anything today," I muttered to myself as I got dressed. I made it to work without crashing my bike, and stumbled into the lobby, carrying my helmet in via the bowling ball bag again. I managed to be polite and friendly to Kendra as I tottered through to the cube farm beyond -- she was still a little twitchy, poor thing -- but I only grunted when Chizue threw me my morning bagel.I had already taken a couple bites from it when I pounded on Ohara's door."Come," was the muffled reply."Good morning, and aren't we the picture of health," he said as Istaggered in and put down the bag.I didn't feel like clever repartee that morning. "I thought youwere going to quit it with the fucking boomers."Ohara put down his pencil and looked up at me with honest surprise in his eyes. "We did.""The bunch that I fought last night all locked on to me just like the little army you deployed against me at Bunko's. You're telling me they weren't yours?""They certainly weren't," Ohara declared. "Why the hell would we do that? We *have* you already. The only reason we sent boomers after you was to capture or test you, and to study what you could do. We can do that a lot more safely -- and *cheaply* -- here in the Tower."If I hadn't been so fried from the aftereffects of the battle, Iprobably would have thought of that myself. I hadn't, though, soI made the universal gesture of "oh what a schmuck I am" by wipingmy hand down my face and groaning as the obvious implication finally made itself known to me. "Oh, great. Just great," Igrowled. "A third player's joined the game."Ohara thought about that for a moment, then nodded soberly. "Ithink you may be right.""I *know* I'm right." I rubbed my eyes and wished for some aspirin."Gods, I hate this world."Ohara smiled his little not-smile smile. "I don't blame you. I'mnot too fond of it myself sometimes."
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Star Ranger4]

Oh Boy.....
So, when does 13 get released to the Usual Suspects?"I was an Otaku before those kids came along and changed the meaning of the word."
-- HM "Howling Mad" Wilson to more than one team-mate.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Ace Dreamer]

Yup.
Definately a teaser.
[grin]
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[Bob Schroeck]

---

So, when does 13 get released to the Usual Suspects?

---

It goes to the prereaders on a scene-by-scene basis, as the scenes get written. Every once in a while, usually when someone says "we need to see what this looks like all together", I post the whole thing as it stands to them. But mostly it's one or two scenes at a time. The advantages to this are: a) you don't lose your prereaders to disinterest in the months between releases, and b) they can focus down tightly on each part as needed, and not have to feel intimidated by 200K of rock'em sock'em action dropping bricklike into their inboxes.
As a rough rule of thumb, every time the chapter's size changes on the forums' top page banner subtitle, a new scene has gone to the prereaders. I tend to write one or two scenes a day when possessed by the muse (as I have been for some weeks now).

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Bob Schroeck]

---

Definately a teaser.

---

You wouldn't believe the trouble I had selecting a passage to post. I have a fair amount to choose from now, after all... Maybe in a week or so I'll put up my second choice...

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[zojojojo]

Why not save yourself the grief and post the work in progress?
-Z, Post-reader at Medium
----
If architects built buildings the way programmers write programs, the first woodpecker to come along would destroy civilization.

[offsides]

Because those of us who are pre-readers wouldn't appreciate it - after all, that's our job
Seriously, I think that not releasing it until it's finished makes for a better piece of writing, for two reasons: First, posting the work in progress publicly tempts criticism by committee, which usually takes the fun out and brings the writing process to a halt. Sure, the _creative_ process blooms, but with so many ideas it gets that much harder to actually write the darn thing. And second, Bob (and his muse have some definite ideas about where they want to go with the story, and while it's always good to get outside opinions, it's still _his_ story. So while he needs people to bounce stuff off of (and I think that we have contributed some good stuff on occasion), he doesn't need that many. Plus, how is he gonna surprise you guys if he lets you in on the joke before it's worked itself out?
Be patient - it'll be worth it, trust me.
Offsides
Drunkard's Walk Forum Moderator and Prereader At Large

[Bob Schroeck]

---

(and I think that we have contributed some good stuff on occasion)

---

Are you kidding? Nathan, Ed and you have all created entire chunks of DW2 (not to mention DW6!). And in material I've already sent to the Prereaders' List I not only took a suggestion from Captain Kangarooski, but actually used his text. (Don't worry, Capt K, you're getting an "Additional material by" credit at the end of the chapter!)

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Star Ranger4]

Ah. Silly me. And here I thought that because you said you had some of 14 written and were posting teasers to 13 that you were almost ready to release it to RAAC and FFML.
Great. That'll teach me to think at 2 in the am."I was an Otaku before those kids came along and changed the meaning of the word."
-- HM "Howling Mad" Wilson to more than one team-mate.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Ace Dreamer]

> Quote:
> > Definately a teaser.
>
> You wouldn't believe the trouble I had selecting a
> passage to post. I have a fair amount to choose from
> now, after all...
I would humbly suggest this is better than the alterative.
[grin]
> Maybe in a week or so I'll put up my second choice...
You are a cruel, cruel, man! [grin]
Cheers! Glad it seems to be going OK.
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[Bob Schroeck]

---

Ah. Silly me. And here I thought that because you said you had some of 14 written and were posting teasers to 13 that you were almost ready to release it to RAAC and FFML.

---

Sorry, no. I have a definite place I want to be at for the end of this chapter, and I'm working like mad to get there. A couple of the prereaders have suggested I break the chapter up like I did the last time, but there's really no good point at which to divide it -- you'd end up with a chapter 13 that, while it advances the plot, had no action and nothing really compelling in the way of a chapter end.
You've probably noticed that I like compelling chapter ends.
The thing is, if my muse keeps mainlining caffiene as she has, it's entirely possible I could be done with chapter 13 in as little as a week (tho' by no means will I promise that); failing that, I'm confident it will be in your sweaty little hands no later than the end of September. It's not like you have another 8 months to wait. I started including chapter 14 updates to the banner subtitle or whatever it's called so people can see just how close we are to the end, but much of that chapter has been written for literally years -- just because there's 70K of it doesn't mean I've been actively working on it while writing C13.
Anyway. The main reason I posted a teaser was because it was getting quiet here in the forums, and because I figured that I had enough material to chose from that I could find something "safe" and spoiler-free. I was surprised to find a couple good candidates -- and I'll probably share them if the rest of the chapter takes more than a week to complete -- but for me, a teaser isn't "coming soon", it's "please wait, we're getting there".

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Star Ranger4]

Yup. Like I said.... That'll larn me to try and think at 2am instead of sleep."I was an Otaku before those kids came along and changed the meaning of the word."
-- HM "Howling Mad" Wilson to more than one team-mate.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Bob Schroeck]

Don't worry about it.

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[cpt kangarooski]

Wait, what the hell did I do?

[Bob Schroeck]

---

Wait, what the hell did I do?

---

You posted the following, which I used word-for-word in chapter 13:

---

Chizue: "You have a crate from the military weapons division
in here?"
Me: "Yeah, read the label. It's great."
Chizue: "Contents: 1 (One) Pulse-Laser, Plasma, Phased, 40
Watts."
Me: "Just what you see, pal."

---

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Star Ranger4]

Oh gods....
Doug does "Terminator"!!!!!!!!!!!!!
=D"I was an Otaku before those kids came along and changed the meaning of the word."
-- HM "Howling Mad" Wilson to more than one team-mate.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Bob Schroeck]

---

Oh gods....
Doug does "Terminator"!!!!!!!!!!!!!
=D

---

Nah, not quite.

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Star Ranger4]

True, but go back and watch T1 sometime... And listen to what he trys to buy from the gun store."I was an Otaku before those kids came along and changed the meaning of the word."
-- HM "Howling Mad" Wilson to more than one team-mate.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Ebony]

---

True, but go back and watch T1 sometime... And listen to what he trys to buy from the gun store.

---

On a slight tangent, when I was playing Villains & Vigilantes many years ago with my group, Nightstalker (my uber-ninja mad scientist secret agent rockstar [*]) played the same scene out in a House of Knives (a mall chain back in the late 80s; it was exactly what the name says). I believe that the "Only what you see, pal" was a request for a 17th Century katana, but my memory fails me.
And no, Nightstalker did not kill the guy behind the counter. He was a Hero. He paid with plastic.
Ebony the Black Dragon
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
www.lrgames.com
* - I was 17. Deal.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Star Ranger4]

That makes at least 3 people who've played V&V around here.
Yet, you go to a gaming convention and mention it and you either get "What?" or "Oh yeah... That Champions Ripoff"...
And Nevermind the fact that Champions was much more suceptable to MinMaxing than V&V EVER was"I was an Otaku before those kids came along and changed the meaning of the word."
-- HM "Howling Mad" Wilson to more than one team-mate.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Bob Schroeck]

You know, I honestly didn't know it was a Terminator reference. Well, that's another one for the concordance, I guess.

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Ace Dreamer]

The 40W laser is _supposed_ to be one of the mistakes that Arnie made, due to his limited command of English, in T1, though exactly what [grin] the rating was supposed to be (40MW?) was unclear.
> That makes at least 3 people who've played V&V around here.
You can put me on that list... [grin]
But, I've also played Marvel Superhero, DC Hero, Superworld, and (nearly) played Superhero 2044. Not GURPS Supers, though, though Champions (III and IV), of course.
> Yet, you go to a gaming convention and mention it and you either get "What?" or "Oh
> yeah... That Champions Ripoff"...
>
> And Nevermind the fact that Champions was much more suceptable to MinMaxing than
> V&V EVER was
Champions is a generic game, which fits the "design the character you want" mould, V&V is a specific game, of the "you get a playable character" variety. The later is a lot easier to write, but if you are prepared to go along with it you can have a good game. Someone who just wants a more powerful character than all the other players isn't really roleplaying... And, simply because you _can_ generate it with the rules in no way means that the GM should feel obliged to let it be played. ("Fits my campaign? Naww!")
I wonder what Doug would do if he ran into someone who his instincts felt were off, in some way, due to them having been minimaxed... [grin]
It is interesting to speculate what Doug might leave behind him in Mega Tokyo, both in the form of magic, and things he has done to the local tech, but I am pretty sure we will find out in due course! [grin]
I am pretty sure any hopes for Magical Girl BU-33S will be disappointed...
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[Bob Schroeck]

---

The 40W laser is _supposed_ to be one of the mistakes that Arnie made, due to his limited command of English, in T1, though exactly what [grin] the rating was supposed to be (40MW?) was unclear.

---

D'oh! I never even noticed that when cut'n'pasting the Captain's suggestion. Now I understand the intended humor in what Doug is saying...

---

And, simply because you _can_ generate it with the rules in no way means that the GM should feel obliged to let it be played. ("Fits my campaign? Naww!")

---

Silverbolt went through that when she was first created, as I think I've recounted elsewhere; Peg hit one of V&V's infamous recursive loops in rolling up her powers, and god, was she a monster when it was all done. Silverbolt as played and as you see her in DW2 is a scaled-back version, lacking some of the more ... outre powers she started with.
(Side humor: I recently suggested to Peggy that because of the origin of her powers and the fact that she needs to power up to use them, Silverbolt was in fact a magical girl. Peggy in response threatened to disembowel me. )

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Ace Dreamer]

> > The 40W laser is _supposed_ to be one of the mistakes that Arnie made,
> > due to his limited command of English, in T1, though exactly what [grin] the
> > rating was supposed to be (40MW?) was unclear.
>
> D'oh! I never even noticed that when cut'n'pasting the Captain's suggestion. Now I
> understand the intended humor in what Doug is saying...
Glad to have helped!
> > And, simply because you _can_ generate it with the rules in no way means
> > that the GM should feel obliged to let it be played. ("Fits my campaign?
> > Naww!")

Many honourable characters have been Magical Girls! [grin]
(And they haven't all worn short skirts/skimpy clothes, either!)
"I am Magical Girl Pretty Buma
For your lack of respect for innocent beings
For your furthering the cause of robotic slavery
In the name of the Loon
I will punish you!"
No? [grin]
Does she get a Doberman as her magical guide?
*** Removed mis-leading snip, humble apologies if it offended anyone ***
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[Star Ranger4]

---

"I am Magical Girl Pretty Buma
For your lack of respect for innocent beings
For your furthering the cause of robotic slavery
In the name of the Loon
I will punish you!"
No? [grin]
Does she get a Doberman as her magical guide?

---

*Facefaults complete with Evil Eye gesture*
Make the bad man stop!!!"I was an Otaku before those kids came along and changed the meaning of the word."
-- HM "Howling Mad" Wilson to more than one team-mate.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children