- Location
- Here and there
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I suppose they technically remember Ozymandias as well.
Dragon Ball: After the End
- Location
- Academy City
- Pronouns
- They
Ozymandias is remembered even after generations of pharaohs tried to expunge him from existence / claim credit for his works, civilization collapsed at the end of the bronze age, and then thousands of years passed. Not really all that comparable imo.
HoratioVonBecker
Imperfectly Aligned
To be perfectly clear, what I thought I said was that "in-game rewards turn out to be a surprisingly strong motivator to write - and they're assigned in a way that seems to disincentivize quality". (Regardless of whether or not 'cool probably-noncanon ideas included' actually lowers the chance of a major bonus compared to 'kind of incomplete but canonical', the very perception that it might is making it harder for me to write the former.)
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
What, Ramesses II? Fuck yeah they do!
Suffice to say that people weren't really having a problem with this until you started writing omakes, so this seems to be something of a Horatio-specific problem.
Most people write one-piece omakes of whatever length they need in order to tell the story. There have been a few exceptions, but the only omakes I can think of that got explicitly chunked up into multiple posts despite being "all one story" were my pieces featuring Mitsuba Roma, Buzzsaw and Auger. And I chunked those up because otherwise they'd have been five or ten thousand word posts, too long for many people to want to read in one sitting and too long for me to finish and clean up in one sitting so that I might as well release them as serials.
And, lo and behold, I got a single omake reward for each story. Not one per two or three thousand word chapter. One per story. And I did not complain (which was only partly because they were pretty freaking sweet awards).
The countervailing problem- people writing hyper-short omakes and stressing out again and again over how to make them 'canon' while writing on subjects where the QM clearly has specific ideas of their own which they do not wish to reveal for the sake of avoiding pointless infodumps- simply hasn't been happening until now.
This is because ultimately, we weren't writing the omakes for the bonuses, we were writing them because we felt like telling a story.
I didn't write Maximum because I wanted a useful bonus- not that I'd have turned one down had it been offered- but it wasn't about the bonus.
I wrote that story because Legendary Super Saiyan Jaffur, in all his green-haired glory, was pounding on the inside of my skull screaming "FAATHHERR!" at a power level well over one point one billion units, and he wanted out. Speaking for myself, I didn't so much as slow down on account of knowing there was no possible way this would get anything other than a 'non-canon' bonus.
...
And I'm sorry if your experience is different and it's ruining your creative process that we have an award system that in some purely theoretical sense incentivizes short canon omakes over long non-canon ones. But for the rest of us, worrying about that is just completely missing the point, and I suspect a lot of us are more worried about you indirectly bringing down the omake bonus system entirely by complaining about it than we are about some abstract perverse incentive system that isn't actually causing us to do anything perverse.
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Well, Auger technically got the auto-resolve for Jaffur, but that's a...very special case.
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- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Right-o. One award. One very sweet award, but still one. Note that I'm not complaining the least little bit here; that wasn't my point.
The point is, I didn't split the story up into five chapters because I was angling for five omake bonuses.
I split the story up because it had long since swelled to novella length, because someone in this thread has to keep up the tradition of fights actually taking six jillion episodes to resolve and you keep dropping the ball by having things end with realistically brutal speed!
[/joke]
Also, uh... PM incoming.
- Location
- Here and there
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Ozymandias may have been the wrong pick. Nero, perhaps.
- Location
- Somewhere I shouldn't be
Man, they hadn't even invented fiddles when he was around. He really started a trend.
- Location
- Here and there
- Pronouns
- He/Him
...God, is this Piccalo's life? No wonder he meditates 24/7.
- Location
- in between
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
*claws way to the surface from World of Warships, eyes crazed*
One more tier...one more tier...
More seriously: just resolved the critical issue holding up this update. Not a really satisfactory solution, but it just will have to do. Unfortunately, SV wiped my draft, but I can tell that I'll be able to rewrite this one quickly.
One more tier...one more tier...
More seriously: just resolved the critical issue holding up this update. Not a really satisfactory solution, but it just will have to do. Unfortunately, SV wiped my draft, but I can tell that I'll be able to rewrite this one quickly.
- Location
- in between
...I know the feeling. I know it so very well.
- Location
- Somewhere I shouldn't be
Is that like playing Civilization for 'one more turn'?
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Yes, but it takes way longer and involves getting shot by more torpedoes.
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
Oh no. We've lost another. First Avalanche, now poptart.
- Location
- The Great Beyond
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
SV automatically wipes drafts after 48~ hours. I try to work on (or at least tell it to re-save) anything I have in the draft box at least once a day to avoid that, and copy paste it to something more permanent if I figure I won't be able to, personally.
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Alright, I have accepted that my frenzied rush to get to carriers so I can have one of every kind of ship has gotten me tiered beyond my skill level. I'm leaving off and writing an update.
Who wants to see the rolls? Those who do, who wants to see them prior to, in, or after the update?
Who wants to see the rolls? Those who do, who wants to see them prior to, in, or after the update?
- Location
- Academy City
- Pronouns
- They
I would like to see rolls. As for when, I have a slight preference for reverse order (ie, after >in>before), but any order would be perfectly fine.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Before the update.
EDIT:
[scrambles to finish his omake]
EDIT:
[scrambles to finish his omake]
KnightDisciple
Love God. Do Right. Fear No Man.
- Location
- Midwest, USA
In or After; if included within the update, spoilered or otherwise unobtrusive.
- Location
- The Great Beyond
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
In is my typical preference.
Canon Omake: Three Against One
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Three Against One
Practice Session
The Garenhuld Exiles' Hall
Three Months before Lord Berra's Tournament
You wave excitedly as your husband descends feet-first into to the wide open spaces of the Hall, stopping close by you and your disciples.
"Sorry I'm late, Mitsuba; got caught up talking with your parents."
"It's okay, honey, we were just talking about how to gang up on you." You gesture to Mikan and Budo, at your left and right hands, respectively.
"Wait, me?"
"Hey, just because you don't do pro tournaments doesn't mean I don't think you can fight. Besides, for what we have in mind, a Trunks stylist is just what we need!"
"I thought you said we'd be talking about how to fight the aliens together. Dealing with power level restrictions, working in teams, that kind of thing."
"Exactly! And the best kind of talking is the kind with punching, don't I always say that?"
"No. No you do not."
"Huh. Maybe I should start. What do you think-?" You bite off a 'dear,' you never say 'dear' when you're telling him a joke. Bana's iffy on sarcasm and deadpan sometimes, and he's always needed a way to tell when you're not teasing him.
"I think three against one sounds rough." With the unspoken addendum, especially if one of the three is you, against me. There are couples that spar affectionately. There are couples that spar where one partner's kind of a bully about it. You long since resolved that you would be the first, or neither. On the other hand, that resolution is perfectly consistent with the plan.
"Stop being such a big baby, we'll spot you a power level advantage! Budo, Mikan, six fifty. I'll be at six hundred."
"And me?"
"Let's just say that the last time you clocked yourself, you evil alien, you were at... one million." You pronounce the words with relish and a mockery of a traditional loremaster's oratorical pose.
"Gotcha. Okay... that sounds... maaaybe."
And even with him not being a pro, but rather a charming roguish dilettante- if you do say so your own biased self...
The hell of it is, even three-on-one, it just might be. Bana may focus so much around the sword that even by Trunks Style traditions he's a bit lopsided, but he does fight according to its precepts. Agile, counterpunchy. Not much time wasted. Practically designed around being able to defend against two enemies at once, almost as well as against one. Practical, as most of the sagas depict Future Trunks. And hoo boy is keeping up distance control tough- and all the more important- when your opponent is waving around one of those glorified skewers!
And all of that is how Trunks Style is supposed to work when they don't have a power level advantage. This is going to be good practice, for working together to tackle a stronger opponent.
You go airborne, carefully moderating your power levels. Budo takes a moment to stabilize- sloppy, should work on that- and Bana's a bit high, but eh, good enough.
He folds his arms, clearly getting into the spirit of the thing, letting out a surprisingly good bone-chilling laugh.
"Guardians of Garenhuld! You may have destroyed my scouter, but I've seen quite enough. Feeble wretches, you cannot hope to resist the power and skill of QADGOP THE MERCOTAN! Soon you will all fall beneath my blade!" He draws his training sword.
Qadgop the Mercotan, huh? You laugh inwardly. He may not be good at sarcasm, but he's still funny.
And with a lovable steel core, under all that goofiness.
You tilt your head towards one of your disciples, then the other. "Boys? Let's get 'im." Mikan and Budo spread outwards, angling out and tossing blasts at 'Qadgop,' keeping your husband zigzagging as you circle low and underneath.
The sword whips out on the end of its long, woven-wire lanyard, and Budo jets backwards to avoid the blade. You've seen that, occasionally. Lots of Trunks stylists use a lanyard. Slinging the sword out on it isn't really a technique as such, too hard to control, but it can be a good way to buy time and space, sometimes.
And Trunks Style is all about buying time and space to land a shot in against a stronger opponent. Against weaker ones- Well, Budo's disengaged long enough that Bana must have decided he can take liberties.
"Ha-ha-HA!" He barks out a stuttering war cry as his hands twirl around one another.
You love Bana more than fighting, more than victory, more than anything in any world, save perhaps your son Taro- but you have to admit, your husband is not the best Trunks stylist you've ever fought. With its criss-crossing hand motions, the Burning Attack is a telegraphed punch by default. He's moving fast and you still have time to realize what's going on. You close in to pin his arm just as he lets fly, spoil his aim, and give Mikan or Budo a clear shot and get him to say 'uncle-'
Your husband isn't the best of Trunks stylists. He is also not stupid.
He may not be a pro, but he knows you, and he knows your eye for an opening.
And a sixty percent margin of power level superiority covereth a multitude of weaknesses.
Fast, fast, Bana whirls to face you before releasing the blast, turning his back on Mikan and beginning to roll with the punch he has to know is coming-
THOOM
You'd begun to pour power into your hands to deflect, and you knew you wouldn't manage it in time, and you didn't have to because now you twist lithely and push to one side, letting recoil and opposing pressures angle you to one side as the yellow-white fireball roars past. It works, sort of- but the heart of the burning wasn't all you managed to redirect, and some of it went directions you wish it hadn't. The sphere of ki deforms, begins to fragment, and it's running hotter than you're ready for, scorching the floor of the battle-space across a broad area. Sidescatter washes across your face like you'd looked into the open door of a furnace and OW OW FACE HURTS-
Inhale, exhale. There is no pain.
You don't see it, but while this may be one of Bana's blunted training blades, Mikan's honoring the threat just as well as if he was the real thing- and it's still a metal rod, heavy and thin enough to leave a hell of a mark. Against that power level advantage, it's all Mikan can do to avoid the sword- and he doesn't avoid the kicks very well. By the time you open your eyes and can think straight through the haze of FACE STINGS DAMMIT he's already been thumped three times, and a sharpened blade would have trimmed Mikan's hair from that last stroke.
But to go on the attack against Mikan means he's not fending off Budo with the blade anymore. A punch delivered to where Mikan had to dodge into to escape the sword sends one of your disciples tumbling groundward at hypersonic speeds, but the other one lands a numbing blow to his sword arm.
Nice punch.
His hand spasms open and the sword goes flying- to the end of the lanyard. And in the instant his hand opens, you see your opportunity, with an aerobatic downward twist to follow the curving path of the weapon on its wire, pouring ki into the edge of your bladed hand-
"HAAA!"
-and chop your hand through the lanyard.
As the Krillin stylists would say, he's stronger than any of you, but he's not stronger than all of you.
WHAM
OOF!
Aaand Bana kicked off of Budo and now he's got you in a literal flying tackle. That's happening now.
Ground. GROUND!
You somewhere find the leverage to twist and angle your own aura and he's suddenly towing an aerofoil in exactly the wrong place. And it flips him and now you're both tumbling together and you're used to this, you love this, but Trunks Style trains for aerobatics and you try to slip free but you just can't... quite... break loose... even with the leverage, because he is- leveled off and exactly as damn strong as you asked him to be dammit.
BOOOOM!
Ahh dammit ow ow ow ROCKS!
Stone deforms plastically and splashes out of your way, leaving another crater.
You both stagger to your feet coughing, and he looks as bad off from slamming into stone this fast as you feel from it. Trouble is, you're pretty sure he doesn't feel as bad as you look.
Since he knows the power level differential, he probably knows it too.
You don't actually think about what comes next, it's a tactical reflex, part repeat of what you tried earlier, and part not. And part you having spent a long, long time fighting Trunks stylists.
Wrestling maneuvers aren't one of the most common tricks for a Piccolo stylist to learn, but on the other hand, you've never heard of a Trunks stylist working on them. The entire idea is to not get tangled up... But then, Bana doesn't spar every damn day. He's letting the power level advantage go to his head, forgetting himself a bit, or he'd already be back in the air instead of half-watching Budo and Mikan as they angle for position. A master Trunks stylist would be.
Come to think of it, they're not closing in and firing, and he's not reacting as if he knows you're still a problem. Maybe he's more worried about them. Maybe they're more worried about angling a blast so it doesn't hit you by accident while he's still on the ground.
Maybe they're all expecting you to be closer to down and out than you really are.
Hard to blame them. Ow ow ow.
But you've got enough for this. While his attention is split between their aerobatics and charging energies, you lunge.
He's fast enough to dodge, but not fast enough to react in time to try. You wrap arms around him, twist so-
"WHOAH!"
Bana he struggles like a bull oozaru, trying to throw you off. It's a pretty good hold, won't last long, could be broken, but not right away even with the power advantage. You smile a little, knowing you are right at the range he most needs you not to be...
Budo and Mikan, blank-faced, snap fingers to brow. Crackles of electricity form around their hands as they charge the Special Beam Cannon.
"HNNGH... nhhgh... Love, in real life... nnn... you wouldn't let something like this end with a Raditz, would you?" The poor dear sounds honestly worried about the idea. So sweet of him!
And you laugh and shout "NOPE!" and let him go, even actively slinging him forward as best you can.
He was struggling *hard,* and it felt like you trying to wrestle oozaru. In terms of power level, you kind of were. He catapults forward, the sudden lack of resistance more than even his empowered reflexes can compensate for instantly. In that moment, his location is predictable, and a couple of paces in front of you.
-As your airborne disciples, in the move the three of you drilled together, let fly. The Makankosappos, with their confinement helices deliberately distorted, break containment and explode in two expanding cones of mostly-harmless smoky orange light- spotlighting your husband.
THOOM
Well, mostly harmless. He coughs a bit and wavers on his feet, trails of smoke whispering from his clothes. Staggers once more...
"...Uncle."
You're pretty sure him falling over after that was a pratfall.
"Good job, 'Qadgop.' " You boop Bana playfully on the nose as the four of you settle down for after-action.
Mikan and Budo- and, haltingly for he doesn't do this very often, Bana- go over the spar from their points of view. Dissect, analyze. Plan for next time. You don't know if you'll want Bana along when the real thing goes up or not, part of you wants to keep him safe and sound and deep under a bunker. But still, he deserves to learn all he can.
Eventually, the conversation ends. You flit to a heavily armored locker, reach into your bag. Fish out the dice. All of you roll the dice.
Six eyes look at the dice. Three throats gulp.
"And now?" With a certain glee, you clap your hands together. "My turn!"
You don't know it, but your evil smile echoes a mural your star pupil saw once, as a child. Ancestor Vegeta, facing Android Nineteen.
You do know the men are eyeing each other. Back to you. Each other. You.
They have only one thing to say.
"...Crapbaskets."
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- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Figuring I'll trial a new way of indicating telepathy in this update,
It's amazing. Canon -- it's your OC, after all! -- and the bonus to handling multiple opponents/ganging up on a superior opponent, whichever comes first.
Gonna try and see how I like it, but figured I'd get your preliminary thoughts while I was here.
It's amazing. Canon -- it's your OC, after all! -- and the bonus to handling multiple opponents/ganging up on a superior opponent, whichever comes first.