[ Leaning into him, comfortable, she looks at the pages he brings up to show her... Then she looks at him as he begins to talk about it. He seems so excited. He’s smiling, at ease.
This is what she wishes to preserve. ] Such as incorporating beasts that honor other worlds? You’re very mindful...
[ Hm. ] Whatever design you take, let’s... [ A pause, a head tilt. Some Of her hair falls past her ears to her cheek. She lifts a hand to retuck the strands behind her ear. ] incorporate a mechanic of touch. Maybe only the most effective attacks or spells are possible when holding hands with another. Or, ah, those enemies can only be defeated by a finishing, ranged blow— [ Her hand swipes out, as if gesturing swinging a sword dramatically. Smiling and relaxing, she looks back at him. ] —but only when another’s hand is upon your shoulder.
[ It can be part of the... ethos of the game, that one is strongest when fighting alongside others, not alone. That nothing can be accomplished by oneself. ]
[Mindful? That's generous. He mostly just doesn't want to play an MMO by himself. Parties work best with four!]
Oh, yeah, that's actually a pretty good idea. There's a mechanic for combo moves, I'm used to doing that in real life anyway so I figured it'd transfer over... no reason why we couldn't come up with a few that'd trigger with different kinds of contact.
[He scoots down to the bottom of the document to start tapping in new notes.]
There's one Gladio and me do back home, where we hook arms and he swings me around and throws me. Something like that maybe...?
[ Sure Noctis is scrawny slender but THAT SOUNDS LIKE A PRETTY INTENSE MOVE. She’s picturing him being used by this Gladio guy as a sword that he throws to do a warp-strike of his own... ]
[ .....WELL... okay, she can see that, knowing that parents will playfully pick up their children and whatnot. But this still sounds. Dangerous.
She clears her throat. ]
I.... I suppose that works, mm. [ For the game. After a beat, she gently suggests: ] But let’s keep in mind of how accessible you wish this to be for others. Not everyone has the relationship you had with Gladio to trust them to throw them, er, straight into the maw of a dragon.
[ Let alone the strength. Then again, this is VR. She wonders if people will be able to create their own avatars and gain extra perks and different armor. But that’s for consideration further down the line. ]
Oh, sure- yeah, that's fine. I just figure we've got some options.
[He knows accessibility issues well enough, he can recognize the importance of it. (Thanks, shitty childhood.) So he's quick to nod, noting down more. Swing throw combo attack! But also: other combos. Yes. He likes it.]
Speaking of dragons though, you said there were robots?
[He gives her a somewhat puzzled look at her tone; by her texts he'd thought she was excited for this, so why the sudden reservation?]
Uh... anything, I guess. Eos has mechs and a few dragon-like monsters but not a combination of both. Are they part-robot, part-dragon, or all robot-dragon? Have they just existed naturally or did someone make them? Are they peaceful or do they attack people? What do they look like?
[He's trying to stay cool about it - again, especially with that tone she'd taken - but it's hard...
[ She closes her eyes for a moment. Funny, she had thought it would be simple to ride on the enthusiasm from before, but this is...
Pyra smiles all too easily. ]
The one we have in our world is— all mechanical. Not that many [ Anyone. ] have ever managed to get close enough to see. So you have to keep that a secret, okay? [ Have a playful wink. She continues without missing a beat: ] Ophion is its name. This dragon is serpentine, and its length is easily the diameter of this city. Ophion... is dangerous, though. [ The reasons why, she does not say.
Pyra claps her hands together, tone enthusiastic. ] So it’ll be appropriate to have him be one of the superbosses and celebrate his defeat! It’s sure to make anyone who plays the game feel like a hero, for ridding this fantasy world of something so frightening.
[By the time she's done talking he's actually leaning in, drinking in every detail like a little kid hearing a bedtime story. He has the addictive eagerness of a thrillseeker in his eyes, because he is terrible like that.]
That's huge... that's as big as Adamantoise! We might have to scale it down just to make it fit, but that sounds amazing...!
[HE ALREADY WANTS TO FIGHT IT. Dammit, why must this still be only a figment of his imagination. Though her first comment gives him pause, his head tilting thoughtfully.]
If it's meant to be a secret, should we call it something else in the game? Like an inside story only we'd know.
[ She appears pleased by his enthusiasm, her smile widening in response to his own. ] I'm fine with it keeping its name... But the secret that it is based on something from my own world-- that... I like it, if it will only be between us.
[ How wonderful would it be, if Noctis could destroy the actual Ophion in her own world, one of her Artifices, one of the many dangers to humanity, to the world, one of her many facets that ought to be destroyed and rid from this plane of existence...
She continues easily, mirroring his excitement. ] So!
I look forward to seeing you defeating it-- but I'm not going to go easy on you if I get to design it. [ She gives him a playful nudge alongside him. ] You better be prepared for lots of lasers!
[He just grins, his eyes practically dancing with excitement. It may just be a VR game, but you wouldn't be able to tell that just by looking at him. He looks as if she'd just handed him an epic challenge.]
I can handle lasers. Bring it on, gimme all you've got.
[Even if he'll know plenty of its secrets through the design process, experiencing it in practice is never the same as reading about it on paper. No matter how this turns out, it's going to be awesome, he can feel it.]
So can you describe it? Without paper I can't do much more than take notes, but that's a start.
[ Pyra reaches for her tablet, opening up a rudimentary drawing application to begin a rough, simple sketch. ]
Let's see... [ It. She will continue to refer to Ophion as an it here. ] Like I mentioned, it's serpentine, large. Each of its segments of its tail are... [ BASICALLY, she's describing this!
Unfortunately, the picture she actually draws simply looks like a danger noodle with a frilled neckline. Pyra opens up another page, then drawing a square; one of the tiles that comprises as its scales. ] The panels constructing Ophion are made from a special alloy of dark ether and matter that makes it resistant to normal oxidizing processes; it's a part of a reason it has apparently lived for so long. This material also has a structural memory to it, so if damaged it can reform what was lost.
Legend has it that Ophion used to reside in outer space... So as you can imagine, it's constructed of something durable enough to handle freezing temperatures, extremely low pressures, and potent radiation. For protection from anything else, it can construct a barrier that nullifies energy. Whoever or whatever [ Heh. ] made this mechanical dragon must have had the intention for it to last eons.
[what WHAT how did he not notice there was a program for drawing, that will make this project so much easier...!
Aside from the lack of an actual drawing pen... on second thought, watching her draw with a finger makes it look difficult, too. Maybe he'll look into that later- digital art is obviously a thing here, so they must have ways of producing it.]
It came from space? [What the heck, that's awesome too. The coolest thing to come from space in Eos was the meteor, which may or may not have brought the Starscourge with it, making it incredibly uncool.] Forget level boss, this is sounding like final boss material.
[ ....OH.... oh. He actually seems interested in what she's talking about? And about space? And that Ophion is an incredibly cool thing from her world--
[You got him all riled up, now live with his very curious consequences.]
Part of it, yeah. But all that durability, too! That material, and the shields... a lot of the magic is element-based, so something that's strong against cold, heat, or pressure - that's usually related to earth - has gotta be powerful. What about lightning? If it's metal, could lightning work on it?
[ ....Oh. Traditional elements! She can talk about Ophion's attributes as well! ] Ophion... isn't immune to the elements, and besides using its massive size as a general means of attack, its other attacks deal wind, fire, electric, and dark-type damage, if you wish to be technical.
In my world, his primary element is darkness; this means that light is a great weakness.
[That makes him hesitate, ever-so-briefly, if only because it's something he's acutely familiar with and therefore wary of.]
Right, that makes sense. King's Knight had an elemental aspect to it, we can include that here too. Something that big's gotta be physically strong, too.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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This is what she wishes to preserve. ] Such as incorporating beasts that honor other worlds? You’re very mindful...
[ Hm. ] Whatever design you take, let’s... [ A pause, a head tilt. Some
Of her hair falls past her ears to her cheek. She lifts a hand to retuck the strands behind her ear. ] incorporate a mechanic of touch. Maybe only the most effective attacks or spells are possible when holding hands with another. Or, ah, those enemies can only be defeated by a finishing, ranged blow— [ Her hand swipes out, as if gesturing swinging a sword dramatically. Smiling and relaxing, she looks back at him. ] —but only when another’s hand is upon your shoulder.
[ It can be part of the... ethos of the game, that one is strongest when fighting alongside others, not alone. That nothing can be accomplished by oneself. ]
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Oh, yeah, that's actually a pretty good idea. There's a mechanic for combo moves, I'm used to doing that in real life anyway so I figured it'd transfer over... no reason why we couldn't come up with a few that'd trigger with different kinds of contact.
[He scoots down to the bottom of the document to start tapping in new notes.]
There's one Gladio and me do back home, where we hook arms and he swings me around and throws me. Something like that maybe...?
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Record scratch. ]
He picks you up, ... swings and throws you?
[ Sure Noctis is
scrawnyslender but THAT SOUNDS LIKE A PRETTY INTENSE MOVE. She’s picturing him being used by this Gladio guy as a sword that he throws to do a warp-strike of his own... ]no subject
[He doesn't even look up from his typing, like it's no big thing at all. And she's not that far off either.]
When I was little I couldn't get the warp strike to work, so he said he'd get me where I needed to go. It kind of just became a thing for us.
[To a 12-year-old this officially cemented Gladio as the Best Shield Ever.]
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She balks at him. ]
That— that sounds excessively dangerous..!
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[He finally glances over at her, a wry grin quirking at his lips at her expression.]
I was kind of a solemn kid. I think he just wanted to make me laugh.
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Meaning he thought this sort of training was fun! And effective! ]
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She clears her throat. ]
I.... I suppose that works, mm. [ For the game. After a beat, she gently suggests: ] But let’s keep in mind of how accessible you wish this to be for others. Not everyone has the relationship you had with Gladio to trust them to throw them, er, straight into the maw of a dragon.
[ Let alone the strength. Then again, this is VR. She wonders if people will be able to create their own avatars and gain extra perks and different armor. But that’s for consideration further down the line. ]
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[He knows accessibility issues well enough, he can recognize the importance of it. (Thanks, shitty childhood.) So he's quick to nod, noting down more. Swing throw combo attack! But also: other combos. Yes. He likes it.]
Speaking of dragons though, you said there were robots?
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What... do you wish to know?
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Uh... anything, I guess. Eos has mechs and a few dragon-like monsters but not a combination of both. Are they part-robot, part-dragon, or all robot-dragon? Have they just existed naturally or did someone make them? Are they peaceful or do they attack people? What do they look like?
[He's trying to stay cool about it - again, especially with that tone she'd taken - but it's hard...
...Robot dragons! They just sound so neat.]
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Pyra smiles all too easily. ]
The one we have in our world is— all mechanical. Not that many [ Anyone. ] have ever managed to get close enough to see. So you have to keep that a secret, okay? [ Have a playful wink. She continues without missing a beat: ] Ophion is its name. This dragon is serpentine, and its length is easily the diameter of this city. Ophion... is dangerous, though. [ The reasons why, she does not say.
Pyra claps her hands together, tone enthusiastic. ] So it’ll be appropriate to have him be one of the superbosses and celebrate his defeat! It’s sure to make anyone who plays the game feel like a hero, for ridding this fantasy world of something so frightening.
no subject
That's huge... that's as big as Adamantoise! We might have to scale it down just to make it fit, but that sounds amazing...!
[HE ALREADY WANTS TO FIGHT IT. Dammit, why must this still be only a figment of his imagination. Though her first comment gives him pause, his head tilting thoughtfully.]
If it's meant to be a secret, should we call it something else in the game? Like an inside story only we'd know.
no subject
[ How wonderful would it be, if Noctis could destroy the actual Ophion in her own world, one of her Artifices, one of the many dangers to humanity, to the world, one of her many facets that ought to be destroyed and rid from this plane of existence...
She continues easily, mirroring his excitement. ] So!
I look forward to seeing you defeating it-- but I'm not going to go easy on you if I get to design it. [ She gives him a playful nudge alongside him. ] You better be prepared for lots of lasers!
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I can handle lasers. Bring it on, gimme all you've got.
[Even if he'll know plenty of its secrets through the design process, experiencing it in practice is never the same as reading about it on paper. No matter how this turns out, it's going to be awesome, he can feel it.]
So can you describe it? Without paper I can't do much more than take notes, but that's a start.
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Let's see... [ It. She will continue to refer to Ophion as an it here. ] Like I mentioned, it's serpentine, large. Each of its segments of its tail are... [ BASICALLY, she's describing this!
Unfortunately, the picture she actually draws simply looks like a danger noodle with a frilled neckline. Pyra opens up another page, then drawing a square; one of the tiles that comprises as its scales. ] The panels constructing Ophion are made from a special alloy of dark ether and matter that makes it resistant to normal oxidizing processes; it's a part of a reason it has apparently lived for so long. This material also has a structural memory to it, so if damaged it can reform what was lost.
Legend has it that Ophion used to reside in outer space... So as you can imagine, it's constructed of something durable enough to handle freezing temperatures, extremely low pressures, and potent radiation. For protection from anything else, it can construct a barrier that nullifies energy. Whoever or whatever [ Heh. ] made this mechanical dragon must have had the intention for it to last eons.
no subject
Aside from the lack of an actual drawing pen... on second thought, watching her draw with a finger makes it look difficult, too. Maybe he'll look into that later- digital art is obviously a thing here, so they must have ways of producing it.]
It came from space? [What the heck, that's awesome too. The coolest thing to come from space in Eos was the meteor, which may or may not have brought the Starscourge with it, making it incredibly uncool.] Forget level boss, this is sounding like final boss material.
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Her smile appears to relax. ]
Why, because it is otherworldly?
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Part of it, yeah. But all that durability, too! That material, and the shields... a lot of the magic is element-based, so something that's strong against cold, heat, or pressure - that's usually related to earth - has gotta be powerful. What about lightning? If it's metal, could lightning work on it?
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In my world, his primary element is darkness; this means that light is a great weakness.
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Right, that makes sense. King's Knight had an elemental aspect to it, we can include that here too. Something that big's gotta be physically strong, too.
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For Ophion, I won't settle for anything less than fifteen million health points.
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THAT'S A LOT OF HIT POINTS]
Definitely a final boss.
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Think you can rise to the challenge?
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I fought a mountain already. There's no way I'm gonna back down from this either!
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