Brockton's Celestial Forge (Worm/Jumpchain)

Emizaquel · Jan 14, 2021

So...

I was just thinking.

About life fibers, what's so special about bare skin that allows for better heat dissipation.

wouldn't it be better to integrate Tetra into some sort of high-tech outfit that removed heat from the body more effectively than bare skin on air?

I mean, at a certain point, you're producing heat fast enough to cook yourself, but I'm assuming that his demigod perks deal with that...

actually, won't his demigod perks deal with his issues with heat anyways? or the Fashion perk along with a highly thermally resistant Armour piece?

I'm not sure why his theoretical Kamui needs to be skimpy. He's far more capable of handling the stresses Tetra might cause, and even if the Kamui is skimpy, there are way better ways to wick away heat from the body than just letting it radiate from skin.

Sterlyn · Jan 14, 2021

Emizaquel said:
I'm not sure why his theoretical Kamui needs to be skimpy. He's far more capable of handling the stresses Tetra might cause, and even if the Kamui is skimpy, there are way better ways to wick away heat from the body than just letting it radiate from skin.

Lord has their reasons, it's mainly not about the heat but the physical and mental stress and they believe it wouldn't be worth it. But you can ask Lord about this on Ao3. However, people have asked about this before and Lord seems pretty set on this.

LightLan · Jan 14, 2021

LordRoustabout said:
It was a crystal beast of magic and machine ready to strike down this madness.

So is Piggot having Nilbog flashbacks yet?

adoltin · Jan 14, 2021

LightLan said:
So is Piggot having Nilbog flashbacks yet?

I still looks like a really well designed mechanical drone so I don't think it would trigger anything. I think the "beast" part is more along the lines of a "beast of a machine" type thing.

LightLan · Jan 14, 2021

adoltin said:
I still looks like a really well designed mechanical drone so I don't think it would trigger anything. I think the "beast" part is more along the lines of a "beast of a machine" type thing.

Machine Army then?

adoltin · Jan 14, 2021

LightLan said:
Machine Army then?

More like a hit squad right now. Just wait until Joe gets access to like... Geth from Mass Effect or droids from Star Wars. That's when the real robot army happens!

Edit:
I vaguely remember seeing a list of perks Lord Roustabout is drawing from for the jumpchain, but I don't remember where I saw it or what was on it so I don't really know if either of those are actually possible.

Cheetored20 · Jan 14, 2021

adoltin said:
More like a hit squad right now. Just wait until Joe gets access to like... Geth from Mass Effect or droids from Star Wars. That's when the real robot army happens!

Edit:
I vaguely remember seeing a list of perks Lord Roustabout is drawing from for the jumpchain, but I don't remember where I saw it or what was on it so I don't really know if either of those are actually possible.

Geth isn't, droid army from starwars is.

adoltin · Jan 14, 2021

Cheetored20 said:
Geth isn't, droid army from starwars is.

While a shame about the Geth, I don't suppose the Starforge from KOTOR is one there? Joe doesn't really need a factory using material harvested from a star to aid in construction, but it would be so cool.

Also... HK-47 best droid. Probably shouldn't make an appearance in this story though, no matter how funny it might be.

The Shallow · Jan 14, 2021

adoltin said:
I vaguely remember seeing a list of perks Lord Roustabout is drawing from for the jumpchain, but I don't remember where I saw it or what was on it so I don't really know if either of those are actually possible.

You're thinking of the Brockton's Celestial Forge Reference, it's pretty poggers

Motorata · Jan 14, 2021

Cheetored20 said:
Geth isn't, droid army from starwars is.

So an army of droids its possible,
Now i am imagining a army of hadcrafted Clankers that are actually competent ,shouting :Roger Roger while gunning down Nilbog monsters
It feels awesome and weird at the same time

Wallawallaman · Jan 14, 2021

I think Joe being held back by the Forge makes sense.

This fic certainly shows that the SI embodied in the forge is pretty "fanon". I could easily see it wanting to stretch out the matchups, if for nothing else, it wants him to face "the characters" that it knows about. The Forge wants Joe to be Awesomely Entertaining, but entertainment isn't the most direct path from A to B. I think that it is an urge just like the standard conflict drive, but less directly damaging to his phyche.

Personally, I'm hoping the ABB collapses soon, because I think the Coil/Undersiders/PRT/C53 segments will be equally entertaining. This ABB version already stands out against the usual canon rails, so I bet the usual e88 ID trope won't happen.

I want more oblivious Joe making unique non-fighting masterpeices, and making the PRT scratch their heads on his angle. And a slowly growing support base of healed, beautified case 53s that Joe will fix for a half sandwich, or something like that. After he makes Gully the worlds most stylish and effective shovel of course!

I hope he takes a trip up to Boston to work with Accord. Remodeling Accord's office to Joe's standards would probably improve the world by itself, since Accord's power would allow him to chill out, making it easier for him to play nice with others. On a larger scale, it almost seems like Joe _wants_ to help fix big issues for people, but doesn't have the self confidence to start anything beyond defending himself and his allies.

Definitely hyped for the next interludes too! Unreliable narrator is great.

adoltin · Jan 14, 2021

The Shallow said:
You're thinking of the Brockton's Celestial Forge Reference, it's pretty poggers

Thank you! I could not for the life of me find it or remember where I found it last time!

Phyrexia Unbound · Jan 14, 2021

Wallawallaman said:
After he makes Gully the worlds most stylish and effective shovel of course!

Is there a TF2 Perk in the Forge?

Nimeroni · Jan 14, 2021

prussiangrandier said:
I shall predict what will happen with 100% accuracy
:A cluster fuck

*gasp*

Ghost in a wall said:
personally I enjoy this story the way it is. I don't think we need to worry much about curbstomping- and from a narrative perspective, it's not *fun* to write an OP character, the power growth is great, but when you are One-Punch-Man, the story is boring

You can absolutely make OP characters entertaining, and One Punch Man is a great example.

Emizaquel said:
About life fibers, what's so special about bare skin that allows for better heat dissipation.

Heat is only part of the reason why kamui are so skimpy. Too much skin contact also overwhelm the wearer (and mind control him).

Finally, there's a part about "accepting your body" as shown around the beginning of the anime, but that might be a metaphor about girls growing into womanhood (Kill la kill is pretty heavy on the symbolism).

goku90504 · Jan 14, 2021

LordRoustabout said:
"Knowledge that will soon become markable rarer." The gas-masked tinker broke in, forcing another shift into her formal posture, a process that contrasted sharply with March's behavior.

markably

LordRoustabout said:
"Imply whatever you want. I am perfectly entitled to find you actions stupid and distasteful, though I suppose I should have come to expect that from you."

find your actions

LordRoustabout said:
"Exactly." Bakuda shouted in triumph. "Power and direction." She spared a glance at the rabbit mask, apparently willing to forgive the intrusion in her moment of triumph. "Already I motion, and if you want to have any chance of stopping it…"

the 'Already I motion' bit is clearly not quite right but I'm not sure if that 'I' was supposed to be 'I am in' or just 'in'

LordRoustabout said:
"So…" I stated coldly. My stance shifted again and I saw a ripple of apprehension pass through both capes. "You lashed out at those who slipped your grasp. Breaking toys that would be taken from you. And you thought this childish would stay my hand against you?"

childishness?

LordRoustabout said:
The most frustrating part about fighting a thinker was the constant second guessing of yourself. Were you disrupting their plans, or only playing into a higher level of the game? Personally, I'm willing to bet most thinkers were much less confident that they presented themselves and were willing to claim things went 'just as planned' in the event of any possible positive outcome. Tattletale was the best example of this, as seen in the slow deterioration of the girl's mental state as she repeatedly had to admit to not knowing things and that her plans were not working out.

confident than they

LordRoustabout said:
Variable weapon technology allowed items to be further compressed. Not normally the kind of thing used of expendable munitions, but said munitions weren't usually built and hundreds of times normal speed in batches of five while hybridized with secondary technology.

used on expendable.... built at hundreds

LordRoustabout said:
The power was material based, and functioned as an improved version of my Advanced Materials power. It was called Exotic Compatibility and helped integrate new, exotic materials into my work. It also improved my ability to research new materials, and that research could help improve production numbers. Beyond those useful but mundane aspects it also allowed me to treat any material as plain iron while working or forging it, right until I started building with it. Effectively it allowed me to take the strongest adamantium allow and melt or mill like an iron block.

alloy?

LordRoustabout said:
That extended much further than expected. The core skills were covered, of course, but also the production and maintenance of the tools of the craft. Planning and organizing work, including time management and scheduling. Every aspect of running a tailoring business also fell under the umbrella of this power. Stock organization, management of employees, securing business permits, managing finances, taxes, and bookkeeping. It if was even remotely related to being a tailor it was covered by this power. If I had gotten it yesterday I could have set up Garment's shop in my sleep. As it stood I would probably end up helping her manage a lot more details of that location that I had expected.

than I had

LordRoustabout said:
That left me as the only one who could deal with the nightmare gripping the surface. It was a situation I could only hope to meet with overwhelming force. If this was just a matter of countering untrained gang members I could keep flying around and picking them off. With the chaos posed to spread across the city I could hope to do that. At my current rate by the time the last of the ABB forces was subdued a third the city would be uninhabitable with the rest spilling into calculated chaos.

I couldn't hope to do that?

LordRoustabout said:
And every time I acted, every use of a new technology or technique gave march another datapoint to play with. The powers I was throwing around were immense and bordered on unstoppable, but knowledge of them, of the effects they could bring to bear, might give that girl the pieces she needed to mount an attack.

March ... data point?

LordRoustabout said:
I frowned at that. Forces spread thin at a critical moment. I couldn't call them back, but I couldn't let this slip. "We can't risk March putting a plan in place. I need to hit them before they're ready. This is probably Lung and might be Oni Lee as well. You know what it means if we can take them out." There was a grudging agreement through the link. "I'll maintain distance and full sensors. Hit with drones and ranged attacks. No risks. You two use your discretion at those sights. Do what you can. I'll do the same."

sites?

LordRoustabout said:
The Guild hero dragon has announced that she will be accelerating the deployment of her Cetus response suit, and is expected to deploy it upon arrival to the city, estimated at 40-65 minutes. It is unknown if Dragon will be acting as an independent Guild agent or in support of Protectorate forces.

Dragon

Nimeroni said:
You can absolutely make OP characters entertaining, and One Punch Man is a great example.

Except that I don't find OPM entertaining so the statement should be that some people find OP characters entertaining ... that said I do find some OP characters entertaining just not OPM
But I am very much enjoying this story as is

prussiangrandier · Jan 14, 2021

FirstPhilosopher said:
Hey wow, I think you are right. Celestial bronze should totally work on the Siberian. Pop that bubble. (I always imagined her like an empty indestructible soap bubble)

What happens if you put Siberian in a time stop?

What happens if you try to use human transmutation?

What if you try to sell her to the devil?

Subrosian_Smithy · Jan 14, 2021

readerdreamer said:
I actually wonder. Given his aesthetic powers, would curing a Case 53 for him automatically turn them all into supermodels if he does it successfully? In that case, you could easily see fairy tale comparisons with Apeiron being the Fairy Godfather. Or the prince that broke the princess' curse, if people are feeling shippy.

What's that? You already promised to heal Weld? That's so... romantic.

We can share, though, right?

Bob Saget · Jan 14, 2021

akatoshslayer said:
Three Motoroids from the last encounter, three updated and totally "different" motoroids from this encounter, and the one frozen in time. The average person does not know Joe only has one motoroid which is being copied through magic. To them he built seven separate motoroids and is either refusing to use three of them for being outdated or because he can't control more than three at a time.

Ah, yeah, that line of logic makes sense. Since everytime he goes out his motoroid *looks* different. But I believe the specifics are off.

He made an appearance Saturday night with one motoroid. Another when he went to save Aisha. Another when he went to fight Uber and Leet, of which two motoroids 'survived'. And he has three out now.

That adds up to seven. I don't think they'd include the one frozen in time, and even if they did, that would still only add up to six, going by the above quoted criteria for counting.

TitanFrost · Jan 14, 2021

I find the idea that Joe's actions are guided by the forge to be purposefully inefficient and showy unbelievably lame. Why would I want to read about a protagonist whose every victory, loss, personal flaw, and deeply held belief is artificial, just guided factors in the service of a higher being knocking people together like toys. This story does not have the correct themes or focus to make that interesting. Also, Lord has been pretty open about how Joe's connection to the forge works, and mind control or insidious subtle influence are not a part of it.

Joe isn't hacking all surveillance systems and other tech in the Bay to find people because that's fucking creepy. And now that shit is hitting the fan in a direct enough sense to potentially tempt such an action, Dragon is around to interfere.

Joe isn't making a large drone or robot swarm to exercise control/surveillance over a larger portion of the city because that's fucking creepy. Nobody in universe likes people who do that, and for good reason. Reverse engineering and PR concerns are just icing on the cake excuses to the real heart of the matter: it's wrong to create a robot police state, especially one under your sole control. Like, jeez, that's just inherently wrong, even if you're a "good person" who uses it "the right way." Even if you just set it up temporarily. Maybe others here disagree, but I don't think this would be an unreasonable opinion for Joe to hold.

As an addendum, in the case of Joe's magically divine mass effect drones, isn't it the case that they still float using a mass effect field Joe is emitting? So he couldn't just spawn a million of them, because they can't actually get too far away from him? Could be wrong here, but I think that's how it worked and probably still works to an extent. Just in case any of these drone arguments centered on them.

Really, I think "If I did this I would be a supermassive creep on the scale of sci-fi horror movie shit" is reason enough to do things the old fashioned way of running around so fast that people mistake your one robot for five robots and can't even see you. Like, I don't think Joe has yet reached the point of lamenting any of his previous decisions. It seems like he's fulfilling the role of a one man reactionary army/rescue team pretty dang well.

Altered · Jan 14, 2021

adoltin said:
While a shame about the Geth, I don't suppose the Starforge from KOTOR is one there? Joe doesn't really need a factory using material harvested from a star to aid in construction, but it would be so cool.

The closest thing he can get to the Star Forge comes from the Toolkit domain and it's just the warehouse add-ons otherwise Gundams and the Halo Gladius Corvette are likely the only space worthy things at the moment.

Callidus · Jan 14, 2021

TitanFrost said:
I find the idea that Joe's actions are guided by the forge to be purposefully inefficient and showy unbelievably lame. Why would I want to read about a protagonist whose every victory, loss, personal flaw, and deeply held belief is artificial, just guided factors in the service of a higher being knocking people together like toys. This story does not have the correct themes or focus to make that interesting. Also, Lord has been pretty open about how Joe's connection to the forge works, and mind control or insidious subtle influence are not a part of it.

Joe isn't hacking all surveillance systems and other tech in the Bay to find people because that's fucking creepy. And now that shit is hitting the fan in a direct enough sense to potentially tempt such an action, Dragon is around to interfere.

Joe isn't making a large drone or robot swarm to exercise control/surveillance over a larger portion of the city because that's fucking creepy. Nobody in universe likes people who do that, and for good reason. Reverse engineering and PR concerns are just icing on the cake excuses to the real heart of the matter: it's wrong to create a robot police state, especially one under your sole control. Like, jeez, that's just inherently wrong, even if you're a "good person" who uses it "the right way." Even if you just set it up temporarily. Maybe others here disagree, but I don't think this would be an unreasonable opinion for Joe to hold.

As an addendum, in the case of Joe's magically divine mass effect drones, isn't it the case that they still float using a mass effect field Joe is emitting? So he couldn't just spawn a million of them, because they can't actually get too far away from him? Could be wrong here, but I think that's how it worked and probably still works to an extent. Just in case any of these drone arguments centered on them.

Really, I think "If I did this I would be a supermassive creep on the scale of sci-fi horror movie shit" is reason enough to do things the old fashioned way of running around so fast that people mistake your one robot for five robots and can't even see you. Like, I don't think Joe has yet reached the point of lamenting any of his previous decisions. It seems like he's fulfilling the role of a one man reactionary army/rescue team pretty dang well.

Yeah it would certainly be depressing. I guess the main event of that kind of story centers around the character figuring this out over time and taking steps against the narrative. But yeah, this story isn't exactly built for that kinda conflict. It's more people focused.

I just thought it made sense as a possible angle.

Like yeah Joe's doing way better than any of us would if they were given such power, I suspect.

But then again we live in a world without powers in general lol.

The Shallow · Jan 14, 2021

TitanFrost said:
Reverse engineering and PR concerns are just icing on the cake excuses to the real heart of the matter: it's wrong to create a robot police state, especially one under your sole control. Like, jeez, that's just inherently wrong, even if you're a "good person" who uses it "the right way." Even if you just set it up temporarily. Maybe others here disagree, but I don't think this would be an unreasonable opinion for Joe to hold.

Sad such words had to be said lol
Yeah Joe is actually a person, not a mindless machine of efficiency.

TitanFrost said:
As an addendum, in the case of Joe's magically divine mass effect drones, isn't it the case that they still float using a mass effect field Joe is emitting? So he couldn't just spawn a million of them, because they can't actually get too far away from him? Could be wrong here, but I think that's how it worked and probably still works to an extent. Just in case any of these drone arguments centered on them.

I don't think so, the workshop has multiple drones run by survey floating around, they have their own Mass Effects keeping them up

adamashield · Jan 14, 2021

It will interesting how other people will think about Joe actions in the future using hindsight. Because one (wrong) kind of interpretation is that he is taking control of the city, allowing the villains to destroy stuff so that he can rebuild making them bleed PR and make good PR doing so. Showing himself as one with militar power and with the means for helping the city in other ways, reducing some really shitty/bad villains of USA, 're-directing' some villains that can cause some massive damage (blasto and certainly Taylor counts, lisa too), reshaping how heros, villains and civilians should act. While at same time being a beacon to the '53' and making the bay as a bait by rising so much conflict/ in relevance that the endbringers most come to still be in the eyes of public.

So basically like a thinker 'I am in control' 'this is all part of my master plan'.

The fact that this could be considered a thing so that need to be a mastercraft like plan. only bring me amusement^^.

WillRobinson · Jan 14, 2021

TitanFrost said:
Joe isn't making a large drone or robot swarm to exercise control/surveillance over a larger portion of the city because that's fucking creepy. Nobody in universe likes people who do that, and for good reason. Reverse engineering and PR concerns are just icing on the cake excuses to the real heart of the matter: it's wrong to create a robot police state, especially one under your sole control. Like, jeez, that's just inherently wrong, even if you're a "good person" who uses it "the right way." Even if you just set it up temporarily. Maybe others here disagree, but I don't think this would be an unreasonable opinion for Joe to hold.

Fundamentally, that still raises the issue of Joe letting lots of people die because he doesn't want to look creepy.

He doesn't need to set up a police state, just scale up his use of clones and proactive search efforts in order to track down March. Instead of personally responding, just send out more than 2 clones at once.

He doesn't need to be a mindless efficiency machine, he just needs to not misapply his abilities so much.

Five · Jan 14, 2021

Holding back against a threat worse than the Endbringers (his thoughts) because he doesn't want to look creepy is insane.

Brockton's Celestial Forge (Worm/Jumpchain)

What is a self?

Shallow, Yet Deep

endless

Duality | Redeemed

Shallow, Yet Deep