IC CONTACT FOR HUGS

[iustaegis]

IC CONTACT

[ Text ♢ Video ♢ Voice ♢ Action ]

[ Pyra ♢ Mythra ♢ Pneuma

[ new post here.]

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[iustaegis]

[ So some guy thought it was smart to chuck a child through the air with a sword.

She balks at him. ]

That— that sounds excessively dangerous..!

[carbungle]

No, just training.

[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.

1/2

[iustaegis]

[ —TO MAKE HIM LAUGH.

Meaning he thought this sort of training was fun! And effective! ]

[iustaegis]

[ .....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. ]

[carbungle]

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?

[iustaegis]

[ After another pause, she uses an equally cautious tone. ]

What... do you wish to know?

[carbungle]

[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...

...Robot dragons! They just sound so neat.]

[iustaegis]

[ 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.

[carbungle]

[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.

[iustaegis]

[ 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!

[carbungle]

[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.

[iustaegis]

[ 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.

[carbungle]

[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.

[iustaegis]

[ ....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--

Her smile appears to relax. ]

Why, because it is otherworldly?

[carbungle]

[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?

[iustaegis]

[ ....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.

[carbungle]

[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.

[iustaegis]

[ She catches the hesitation, but doesn't ask. She gracefully continues the topic. ]

For Ophion, I won't settle for anything less than fifteen million health points.

[carbungle]

[.........

THAT'S A LOT OF HIT POINTS]

Definitely a final boss.

[iustaegis]

[ SUPERBOSS, plz and tnx! ]

Think you can rise to the challenge?

[carbungle]

[He huffs a breath at that, audibly defiant before he even responds.]

I fought a mountain already. There's no way I'm gonna back down from this either!

[iustaegis]

[ She smiles playfully in return, jesting: ] And all you have to do is find someone willing to throw you right at it!

[carbungle]

[He considers that for a moment, then glances over his shoulder at the door, as if he might somehow manifest on command.]

Bet Somnus could do it, if we could get him to play.

[He's not as buff as Gladio (who is, though) but he recognizes the man's strength. He only needs to feel the weight of the Mystic's sword to know the truth.]

[iustaegis]

[ Pyra, believing Somnus is a pious man: ]

...Which is why I suggested adding a mechanic of touch, to honor these gods and help this world. But throwing defeats that purpose, doesn't it? You'll have to make it worthwhile, to play with him.

[ Or for her, for that matter. THERE NEEDS TO BE AN ROI ON THESE ACTIVITIES, otherwise what is the point. The world needs to be saved, etc etc. ]

[carbungle]

...Y'know, if the VR machines are right next to each other, you can hold hands while you play. Then it's really gotta count.

[Is that... double touch!?]