[Art/Writing] Jairus: Merry Christmas

[Jairus]

On FA, "gantries" in the first little section is mis-spelled. Here, it is not. Curious..

That is because I caught the typo after I reformatted the post to work on FA and made the PDF for people. It's basically a little too much of a hassle to fix, so I'm just gonna let it slide but update the saved version that I have and use that for all subsequent posts.

XD That was awesome! Can't wait to see what else happens! 

Heheh. Oh, I can sum it up in just one word: "payback."

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Heh. Loved the story, though.

[Jairus]

Chapter 2 is now ready and raring to go, so here it is! Chapter 1 and an explanation of the story may be read here. Jay attempts to repair the AR/P Gun enough to return Zig to normal, and Zig ends up getting a lot more attention than he anticipated...

Jay's Revenge
A Shades of Grey story

Chapter 2: One Step Backwards...

   Zig pushed himself up off of the changing machine's mat as the mechanical arms folded away, leaving him wearing a brand new pair of training pants and nothing else.
   "That felt really weird," Zig commented as Jay helped him down. "What is that thing, anyway?"
   "Changing station for the base's daycare center, I told you that."
   "No, I mean..." Zig pulled at the training pant's elastic waistband. "These fit perfectly. How many sizes does it store?"
   "Oh, it doesn't." Jay handed Zig his shirt back. As Zig pulled the far-too-large shirt over his head to let it drape and cover the white garment, Jay continued. "It actually stores raw material inside of its body, which is then "woven" into the proper pattern to fit the subject's needs. An advanced series of scanners tailors the garment to fit the subject perfectly, which helps to cut down on leaks and makes the garment more comfortable."
   "Huh," Zig said: he was at home with technology, but it was not his strong suit. "And, um, it does all of that in like five seconds?"
   "Yup," Jay said. "Come on, let's get back to the gun and fix it, okay?" he asked as he offered his hand to Zig.
   "I can walk by myself, Jay. That'th... I mean, that's not my problem."
   "Oh, I know. Just wanted to make sure you didn't get lost or separated from me."
   "It's not that far, Jay."
   "Okay then. Come on." The two walked off, Jay slowing his step so that Zig could keep up without having to jog.
   "So, um," Zig continued. "How well does it work?"
   "Oh, great. The daycare center absolutely loves it. I mean, the center has to deal with thirty-seven children, ages ranging between a month old and four years, of thirteen different species, including Enkidu children where you need to accommodate for tail size and vastly different body builds and such." Zig's tail twitched slightly in response: on reflection, the tail hole did feel nice and snug without being too tight. "This way, they just need raw material instead of having to buy two dozen different types of diapers and such, which is a great cost and time saver. They had a few requests, of course."
   Zig noticed that they'd made it back to the clearing where the broken gun was. Jay pulled over a backed stool for Zig to sit on and helped him climb up onto it before clearing out enough space to work and pulling up his own stool. He whistled, and a tall tool-covered robot rolled into position near him, ready to offer its services. Jay got to work on fixing the broken gun, Zig watching intently.
   "So, um, what were those requests?" Zig asked quietly.
   "Oh, minor things, really. Originally, for example, you couldn't set it up so that a caretaker could change the kids: the table did it automatically." The gun was already in three major pieces, and Jay was carefully disassembling one of them.
   "And that'th bad? I mean, I've had to deal with little kidth... kids, and you'd think that not having to change them would be a bonus."
   "Yeah, but some of the kids didn't react to well to being handled by half a dozen mechanical arms, so that's one thing. Now they can be set to just hold supplies for the caretaker."
   "I see." The barrel was now opened up, and Zig could see layers of wires and tiny crystal circuits.
   "Also, as you probably noticed, they're just plain white... well, except for a wetness indicator to make it easier to check." Zig had noticed it. "One thing they wanted was the ability to select colors and patterns and stuff, which is no biggie, just takes modifying a pigmentation layer to the design since it's already set to white and such. Oh, and they'd like it to be a little bit smoother, less likely for a kid to hurt themselves..."
   Jay seemed to have gotten lost in his own little world again, well, two of them anyway. On the one hand, he was talking about raw materials and settings and the psychological needs for the children that would be using the changing station. On the other hand, his attention seemed clearly focused on the gun in front of him, his hands seeming to dance as they grabbed tools from the robot and repaired the mechanism. And Zig was officially over his head in regards to the ray gun.
   "Um... Jay?" he interrupted quietly. He was afraid that Jay might accidentally break something if he distracted him too much.
   "Yes Zig?" he asked as he stopped midway though a description of the history of the disposable diaper.
   Zig briefly reflected on how Jay sometimes seemed like an encyclopedia of knowledge on the inventions and machines he was building. "Um... how does it work?"
   Jay actually looked up at Zig, looking a confused and a little worried. "Are you okay Zig?"
   "Yeah, why?"
   "Are you having memory problems? Are you feeling alright?"
   "Huh?"
   Jay set his tools down and turned to Zig. "I've been talking about how it works for five minutes or so. Can't you remember?"
   "Oh!" Zig shook his head. "No, not the changing machine, the ray gun!"
   "Oh! I see!" Jay looked slightly relieved and laughed quietly before nodding and changing tack as he returned to work. "Um, it uses a high-powered genetic scanner to analyze and extrapolate what the subject would look like at a certain age and then uses a focused quantum cohesion beam to rebuild the subject's current body in a younger or older form, depending on how you've set it." Jay clipped a set of magnifying lenses to the side of his glasses and flipped them into position so that he could look closer at the barrel. "It's not actually reversing your age so much as it's making your body younger, and yes there is a difference." Apparently satisfied with the rest of the barrel, Jay removed the projection antenna on the end to begin repairing it. "There's also a whole bunch of safeties and such, so you couldn't be regressed to younger than a month or so or aged to death."
   "Um... quantum cohesion...?"
   Jay nodded and looked at Zig for a moment. "Don't worry about it, Zig. It's a lot more complicated than what I've just said."
   "Is this another one of your super inventions?"
   "Um... yeah. Yeah it is, Zig."
   "Oh, okay. So, um..."
   ZHING! CLANG!
   Zig jumped slightly and tried to spin around before he realized that it was the main door opening, followed by it closing.
   "Wait, who's that?" he asked Jay.
   "Oh shit."
   "What?!"
   "Julee." Jay actually removed his glasses in order to slap himself in the face.
   "Julee?"
   "Aw, man! I forgot about her! She and Shiah went out to get lunch right before you came in!"
   "Wait... Shiah? You didn't leave her with your sisters today?" Zig said as he started to panic.
   "No, they had a training exercise, and Shiah wanted to come to watch me work today," Jay said apologetically.
   "Do you have any idea what she'll do to me?!" Zig squeaked. "Hide me! Hide me!"
   "Where?" Jay asked.
   "I can hear you, big brother!" Shiah's excited voice carried well in the room. "We're coming! We're coming!"
   "Hey, Jay, they were out of avocado at Subspace's. Sorry about that!" a pleasant voice called from the other side of a tall rack. Zig froze, his eyes desperately pleading with Jay for some form of mercy.
   But time ran out.
   Julee and Shiah stepped out from around a rack of parts, a ferret only a bit taller than Jay and a two-meter tall adult kangaroo with a pink bow in her hair and carrying a bag of sandwiches. Julee saw her boyfriend at his worktable, waved at him, and grabbed Shiah's hand to lead her over.
   "Oh, and they were out of orange soda, so I got you lemon-lime instead," the young ferret continued until she noticed Zig. She smiled sweetly at the unexpected guest. "Oh, why, hello there, sweetie." She patted Zig on the head and turned to Jay. "Who is he and why is he here?"
   "Ooooh! A new baby brother!" Shiah squealed. She moved towards Zig as if to grab him, and Zig desperately tried to climb backwards over his stool and hide behind it.
   "Shiah!" Julee said. "What have I said about handling small children?"
   "Um, be gentle and ask you first?" Shiah asked, her arms crossed in front of her as she looked down at the floor in the face of Julee's chastisement. She looked worried: she knew she'd almost gotten in trouble.
   "Good girl, Shiah." Julee patted her friend on the upper arm, as high as she could reach, and took the bag from Shiah's hands. "Now, why don't you get us some chairs, and we can eat?" Shiah nodded happily and went off to drag the seats over. "I'm sorry sweetie," she said to Zig as she picked him up and set him back down on his stool, "But we don't have a sandwich for you."
   "I'll share with him, Julee!" Shiah called out.
   "Thank you Shiah, that's very nice of you."
   "So," she said to Zig, "What's your name, sweetie?"
   "It's Zig," Jay answered for him.
   Julee looked at Jay. "Pardon?"
   "That's Zig."
   "Zig?"
   "Yes." Jay nodded.
   "The Zig?"
   "Yes." He nodded again.
   "As in, Siegfried Faradeus Nox?"
   "Yes."
   Julee looked at Zig. "Zig?"
   "Yeah, it's me, Julee." He was blushing. And he looked worried.
   Julee was not one to panic or overreact: it was one of the things that Jay liked about her. Julee set the bag on the floor, and immediately began to give Zig a quick physical checkup to see that he was healthy, as well as a few questions regarding his mental health. Shiah walked up behind them at this point, and looked very curious, but silently waited to ask her questions: she knew that when her big sister got like this, it was best to only bug her with an emergency.
   Much like Zig, a long and complicated story had eventually led the pair to Mars, though Julee and Shianah's involved super soldiers, cybernetic enhancements, lost technology of the Ancients, and artificially induced secondary personalities capable of gleefully committing mass murder. They were not sisters, but they were old friends who had known and supported each other for a long time. Julee Carreni was a ferret with a penchant for inventing and a passion for lost technology, while Shianah Merah was a kangaroo with a lot of mental trauma and two personalities. Considering the alternative, she usually thought and acted like a little girl, which was a major downside because she was also amazingly physical strong: much like Jay's adoptive big sisters, Shiah could have snapped his back in half with very little difficulty. Which is part of the reason Zig was afraid of her: the other part of the reason was that she loved anything cute, like her big brother Jay. Or this new baby.
   Finally, Julee was satisfied that Zig was alright given the definition and his current circumstance, and then turned back to Jay. "Um... how did this happen?"
   "Long story short: I used my new age regression/progression ray gun on him as revenge for him turning me into a balloon last week," Julee nodded at this: she remembered almost floating off holding onto her boyfriend's tail, "And the gun fell and broke, and now I'm trying to fix it."
   Zig noticed that Jay had left out how it got broken. He decided not to clarify matters: Julee might consider leaving him this way for a day or so to teach him a lesson.
   "Is he okay? Can it be reversed?" she asked.
   "Oh, sure. I just need to finish fixing the gun and he'll be right back to normal. No big deal."
   "Well, that's good to hear."
   "Um..." Shiah said as she raised her hand.
   "Yes, Shiah, thank you for being so patient. What is it?" Jay asked.
   "That's Zig, right? Shouldn't he be, um, bigger?"
   Julee was used to this by now. "Your big brother made a gun that made Zig younger, and now he's trying to put him back to normal."
   "Oh, okay." She shuffled her feet a bit. "Um... can I hold him?"
   "Um... Zig, is that alright?" she asked the kitten.
   Truth be told, Zig was afraid of Shiah most of the time, and now was no different. But... he guessed it wouldn't hurt, and she looked so eager...
   "Um... okay. Yeah, that'll be okay." Julee and Jay both caught the slight tremble of fear in his voice. Julee decided to fix that.
   She picked Zig up and directed Shiah over to where Zig had been sitting, before turning to her and giving her a serious look. "Now, remember Shiah: Zig can get hurt a lot easier now, so you have to be gentle. He is not one of your dolls or stuff animals. Understand? You promise to be gentle?"
   "Uh-huh! I promise!" she earnestly said as she nodded.
   "Good girl." Julee helped position Zig on Shiah's lap, and made sure she was holding him right before she turned back to Jay and almost tripped over the bag of sandwiches.
   "Whoops," she said. "Almost forgot about them."
   "Me too, for that matter," Jay said as he turned back to the gun.
   "You hungry, Jay?"
   "I'll eat once I've fixed this."
   "Okay." She turned to Shiah. "You still hungry?"
   "Uh-huh!"
   "Okay. Zig, I'm sorry, but we don't have a sandwich for you..."
   "Oh, I'll share mine! He can have some of mine! Would you like some of my sandwich, Ziggy?
   "Um... sure, if you um, want to share..."
   "I do! I do!"
   "Okay! Okay!" Julee said loudly over the two. "Here, let me get these sandwiches out..."
   It took a minute of organizing, but eventually both Shiah and Zig were munching down on their lunch. After Julee had tied napkins around both of their necks. Finally, she pulled her own lunch out and turned to Jay. "Need help, sweetie?"
   "Um... not really. I think I've almost got this figured out."
   "You sure?" she asked. "Remember what happened the last time you had something figured out?" she teased.
   "Okay, first of all, that was sabotage," and the emphasis made Zig flinch a little bit, "combined with a number of spells that didn't help much. In other words, not my fault."
   "I know, sweetie." She ruffled his hair a bit.
   "Well, there was that time I ended up with a broken leg after that other time..."
   "Listing off every time you've gotten hurt or something went wrong because you had something figured out would leave us here all day, Jay," she said before taking a bit out of her turkey sandwich.
   "True."
   "Say, would Pagan be of any help?" she asked after swallowing.
   "Not really," Jay said as he began to work on the main body of the gun. "My bro's good at figuring me out and doing what I need him to do, but at the end of the day this kind of stuff is just a little above him."
   "It's a little above most of us." She reached over with a napkin to wipe at a bit of food on the side of Shiah's mouth, and then did the same for Zig despite his slight protests. "After all, this looks like one of your signature works."
   "Oh, it is."
   "Speaking of Pagan, shouldn't he be back by now?"
   "Eh, he should be back soon. He called me while you were out and told me he'd met up with Jayce and he was treating him to lunch and then they'd come back over here for a bit."
   "Well, that's nice of Pagan."
   "Yup."
   A chime buzzed from up near Jay's office area. Jay looked down at his wristwatch. "Com, open. Hello?"
   "Jay? It's Ren!" a deep powerful voice rang out from the small speaker.
   "Oh, hey Ren. What's up?" Jay responded.
   "Let us in, bro!" the voice said.
   "Who's us?" Julee asked.
   "Hi, big brother!" Shiah yelled out, making Zig wince in pain and massage his ears.
   "Hi, Julee. Hi, Shiah. Gast and I bumped into Pagan and Jayce, and I figured we should at least drop by and say hi."
   "No!" Zig shouted. "Send them away, please!"
   "Wait, who's that?" a second voice asked, one that Jay identified as Gast's voice.
   "That's Zig, silly!" Shiah said. "Say hi to your boyfriend, Ziggy!"
   "Ah! Zig's there too? Good! I've been wanting to do a little sparring. Come on, Jay, let us in, bro."
   Jay turned to Julee. "Did you guys lock the door after you?"
   Julee shrugged. "Must have. Probably an accident."
   "Eh, that's cool."
   "No it's not!" Zig shouted.
   "Hey, Zig?" a third voice - Jayce, Jay realized - asked, "You sound kinda funny. Are you feeling okay?"
   "No! I'm not feeling okay! I've caught some horrible deadly disease and you should all go away!"
   "You're not sick, Ziggy, you're just a baby!" Shiah said with obvious confusion.
   "Wait, what?" That was Pagan, Jay's little brother.
   "Zig's a WHAT?" Ren asked.
   "Go away!" Zig shouted, pleading.
   "Bro, we're coming in," Pagan said, and a moment later the connection cut off with a beep, followed by the door opening, and then closing a few seconds later.
   "Shit," Zig said, somewhat cute in his little kitten's voice.
   "Uh-oh, Zig, you said a bad word."
   "That is SO not my concern right now, Shiah!" Zig shouted.
   "Hey, bro, what did Shiah say about Zig being a baby?" a voice Jay knew as his little brother's asked from around the corner.
   "Well, then again, it's not like his personality and behavior is much better than one," Ren quipped as the motley group of a white and black feline, two hyenas, and a brown ferret stepped around the corner and towards them.
   "Heh, quite true," one of the hyenas - the gray one in purple knee-length shorts and tank top and a dozen earrings - said with a smile.
   "Hey Jay! Hey Julee!" the ferret Jayce said as he waved. "Hey Shiah! Hey... um, who is that?" he asked.
   "This is Zig!" Shiah said as she held Zig up in her hands, proudly showing him off the to the four of them. "Jay shot him and he turned into a baby!"
   A pin falling to the ground could have been heard in the shocked silence. All four of their mouths dropped at the same time, staring at the three year old in the too-big shirt, while Zig blushed and tried to avert his gaze. Finally, Pagan - the other hyena, the one with the brown fur and red star-shaped birth mark over his right eye - looked at his adoptive older brother. "Um... Zig?" he asked, pointing at the small kitten.
   Jay nodded.
   "BuWAHWAHWaAHAWAHAAHAAAAWAAA!!!!!"
   Both Pagan and Ren collapsed against each other laughing their heads off, Gast covering his mouth with one hand as he tried in vain to control the giggles, with only Jayce showing any concern.
   "He's alright, right? I mean, you can change him back, right Jay?" he asked worriedly.
   "Oh, I think we should be more worried about the chance about having to change him now," Pagan quipped after catching his breath, setting off another round of giggles from the feline Holy Knight of Asheron leaning against him for support.
   Zig started to squirm in Shiah's grip, but her grip was too firm for him to shake loose. Jay, meanwhile, deciding to let the explanations wait, went back to repairing the gun: there wasn't much left to do.
   "It's just... wow, Zig really is a baby," Jayce said in shock.
   "Well, not really," Julee answered. "I mean, he's three, and apparently toilet-trained, so would you count that as a baby?"
   "Well, yeah, that is kinda pushing it."
   "Aww, Zig, you've never looked so cute!" Ren walked over and plucked Zig out of Shiah's arms, cuddling him and tickling his foot. This was too good. It really was.
   "Ren! Stop it!" Zig shouted at his caretaker in his adorable kid's voice.
   "But Ziggy, you really are the cutest little prince of demons that has ever lived! You're gonna get all the babes looking like this!" On a whim, Ren tweaked Zig's cute little button nose. Zig snapped at Ren's finger in response, but Ren was faster. "Oh, tsk tsk. That wasn't very nice of you, Zig. Very bad, in fact!"
   Pagan walked over too, and tickled Zig's other foot in order to get an irate giggle out of the kitten. An evil smirk crossed his muzzle, and he lifted Zig's shirt up to get a look at his training pants.
   "Wow, Ziggy, you certainly aren't as impressive this way," he commented teasingly.
   "Argh!" Zig yelled.
   "Now now, boys, be nice." Gast walked over, holding his hands out to take his boyfriend from Ren's arms. Ren gave him up without a fuss, and Gast snuggled him up tight to him. Zig seemed to relax slightly and let his guard down a bit in Gast's arms. "Oh, baby," Gast said in a seductive voice, "you are just looking so cute today."
   And the moment dead. "Shut up, Gast," Zig snapped at Gast, his voice filled with angry venom.
   "Oh, that was so worth what you're gonna do to me for pay back later," Gast laughed as he joined Ren and Pagan in lightly tormenting Zig.
   "Phew..." Ren exclaimed. "Ho boy, my sides are gonna be aching for the rest of the day." He took a deep breath, and then turned towards Jay. "In all seriousness, he is okay, isn't he?"
   "Yes," Jay said. "I'm almost done with my repairs, and then we can turn him back to normal. There should be no long-term physiological affects."
   "So, Zig's not going to have a bedwetting problem that I'm going to have to worry about?" Gast asked teasingly. Zig somehow managed to scowl even harder.
   "Not that I can foresee," Jay responded.
   "Well, I suppose that's good to hear," Pagan said.
   "So, how was lunch?" Jay asked Pagan without looking up from the gun.
   "Um, we never got around to it," Pagan said, blushing with a hand behind his head, looking affectionately at Jayce.
   "Well, we're out of sandwiches, so you guys'll have to get your own," Shiah enthusiastically called out from where she was sitting.
   Julee smiled. "Well, so long as you two had fun."
   "Oh, we did," Jayce said with a nod.
   "It's a sad day when a knight's squire is getting more action than the knight himself," Ren commented.
   "Not my fault, oh Sir Ren."
   "Um... can I be put back on the floor now, pwease... um, please?" Zig pleaded.
   "Why? I mean, the floor can't be very warm, and you are still barefoot," Gast asked.
   "Um... I um, I kinda... I kinda have to pee," Zig said quietly, his cheeks blushing with embarrassment.
   "Ah," Gast said.
   "Here, I know where it is," Pagan piped up. "I'll rake him there. You don't want to have an accident, do you Zig?"
   Zig meeped quietly and shook his head.
   "Might as well wait a minute, since I just finished my repairs," Jay answered.
   "Wait, seriously?" Ren asked. "You're done?"
   "The damage was mostly small stuff, but I think I got it all. I just finished a diagnostic on all the parts, and nothing came up, though I suppose I could run a more intense analysis while you take Zig to the bathroom..."
   "No!" Zig shouted. "Change me back now!"
   "What's the magic word, Ziggy?" Shiah asked from her chair.
   "Not now, Shiah. Please, Jay? Can you please turn me back right now?"
   "Awww... I was hoping we'd get a few more hours to play with little Ziggy," Ren moaned.
   "Zig, are you sure you don't Jay to double check? Seriously, it'd be a good idea, and you can run to the bathroom in the meantime..." Jayce asked from the rack he was leaning against.
   "I can pee after I'm back in my regular body, okay?"
   "Okay, okay, not a problem, Zig," Jay said, waving his hands in surrender. "Gast, could you please set him down on the floor? Jayce, could you grab his clothes for him?" Both did so, Zig standing impatiently in the middle of the floor, tapping his foot as Jay clicked the modules back together and fully powered the weapon up before flipping a switch on the side. "Okay, Zig, you ready?"
   "Yeeeeessss!" Zig whined. "Come on, please?"
   "Ah, Zig, keep your pants on!" Ren commented. Pagan and Gast snerked. Zig pouted, and crossed his arms waiting to get zapped.
   "Anyway, see you on the other side, Zig! Three, two one..."
   The blue-and-red streams of light arced out from the barrel of the gun, playing over Zig's body and covering him in the corona of golden light again. The light was bright enough to force everyone else to either close their eyes or look away from the light.
   After a few seconds, Jay took his finger off the trigger, and the light faded, leaving everyone slightly dazzled for a few moments while their eyes readjusted to the light. And then they looked at Zig.
   Well, he wasn't any bigger. If anything, he was slightly smaller.
   "Um, guys?" Zig piped up. "I'm thtill little."
   "Oh crap." It didn't matter who said it, it pretty much summed the whole thing up.
   Zig was pudgier, his face even rounder, his eyes seemingly bigger in his head, his fur poofier than before. His voice even sounded younger. He was no older than two or so now.
   The gun was still broken, except instead of not working, it had made Zig even younger.
   "Zig's a real baby now!" Shiah said, her voice even more gleeful than before
   "Um... guys?" Zig asked. "I still gotta go." He hiked his shirt up - which hung even lower on him now, actually slipping over one shoulder somewhat - and grabbed at his training pants, which everyone could see weren't fitting him anymore, trying to hold them up so they wouldn't fall off. His feet did a little bit of a dance on the floor, his eyes pleading. "Um, help?"
   Just as Pagan stepped forward to run him to the bathroom, Zig stopped moving. And then the wetness indicator on the front of the training pants faded. He'd just had an accident in his pants.
   "Oh crap" pretty much summed it all up, really.


To be continued...

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Heheheehe.

That's just so evil. He deserves it, sure, but... hehehehe.

[techmaster-glitch]

Whoo. After all this time, I finally got around to reading this (though it was mostly because I am completely unfamiliar with all the backstory, even the prior incident, but I just went 'screw it").

Your avatar certainly is an evil little dude, Jay I found this piece quite amusing. Especially with the...description...of Zig given in the beginning of the first part, this must be hell for him.

[Jairus]

Whoo. After all this time, I finally got around to reading this (though it was mostly because I am completely unfamiliar with all the backstory, even the prior incident, but I just went 'screw it").

Your avatar certainly is an evil little dude, Jay I found this piece quite amusing. Especially with the...description...of Zig given in the beginning of the first part, this must be hell for him.

Yeah, the über-complicated backstory is part of the reason that I put the story on hold, because A) I'd have to rewrite it to make the backstory more apparent and B) the backstory is really complicated. And yes, it is quite hell for him. Especially because of Zig's childhood. Anyway! Onto other things!

Sachsen
Please click for full-sized view!

This here is the in-progress map for the story I'm working on, titled Mad Ventures. I found (surprise surprise) that having a map makes it easier to plot a story out. Funny how that works. Yes, it needs work. Yes, I misspelled "Plain." Anyway, any questions, just ask.

[Jairus]

Just some weapon concepts for my Mad Ventures storyline. Gotta show my thread some love somehow.

Chemical Thrower, Concept 1

The original concept sketch for a multi-use chemical thrower that can function as a flamethrower, an "ice blaster," and an acid thrower with some part swapping. While I do not like this design very much and it will not serve as an influence for the final design, I will be recycling/revisiting this design for a more primitive and experimental chemical thrower.

Chemical Thrower, Concept 2

Now this is much closer to what I have in mind. More streamlined and advanced looking, while also being a bit more rugged-looking. I am currently working on some ideas for Version 3, which will be fairly similar to this, except I'll be swapping the "ammo" components. At the time I drew this, I had this thought that the gun actually used FOUR types of ammo, a base and then three sub types which would be combined together to form the mix. However, because I am A) trying to simplify the necessary resources for the gun and B) stupid, I've decided that somehow I'll only use one type of ammo that can be used for fire, ice, and acid. How that will eventually work out, I have yet to decide. Either it is a complex chemical that can normally be ignited but becomes acidic when a certain component is filtered out and can also remain a liquid even at low temperatures, or it is a complicated affair where the "filters" do in fact remove specific components to modify the liquid (sort of like a color wheel, I suppose). I am aided in this insane quest in that it was invented by a mad genius who can make machines that do not follow the laws of physics. Which is handy, I guess.

As a random trivia fact, it IS actually possible to make a weapon like this using real-world chemicals and compounds: a single chemical where the byproducts can be used for a flamethrower, to freeze stuff, or as an acid. The chemicals are remarkably dangerous, the fire probably won't burn very hot, the ice could freeze water at best, the acid would be dangerous to control, the mechanisms necessary would be bulky and you'd probably have to synthesize ozone so you'd need some energy to do that, it would probably only work two or three times at best, and if it failed it would either stop working or explode in your face. In short, while it's not AS useful for a book where magic and mad science run rampant across the world, it is certainly an interesting thought experiment.

[Jairus]

Wow, it HAS been a long time, hasn't it? Let's see if I can correct that by posting some of my over here, hm? I'll start with a short fanfic I wrote last night based on The Legend of Zelda series. First, the fanfic, and then my explanation of it.

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE SILENT HERO

   My name is Link.
   Yes, THE Link. The Hero of Time, Hero of Winds, Triforce of Courage, Wielder of the Master Sword. Yeah, it's all me. At least, I think it is. It's complicated. They're ALL me, but they're all who they are, and there's this whole soul thing about it, and don't get me started on parallel timelines... gyah. Oh, it doesn't matter. Long story short, I'm Link. Hi.
   And I hate my life.
   Seriously.
   Yeah, it's nice being the Hero of Whatever-it-is-this week and the Triforce comes with a cool tattoo and the sword is sweet, but, on the other hand, my life REALLY sucks. Wanna know why?
   ...
   Didja hear that?
   No, you didn't. Wanna know what you didn't hear? My voice. That's right. No one in the world can hear me when I talk. Writing this out is the ONLY way you'll ever get an idea for what I want to say.
   I don't know why. Maybe it's a curse on my family or something, or my voice is at this perfect frequency so that nothing in the world can hear it, maybe everyone in the world is a huge freaking jerk and is ignoring me as a collective entity, or maybe I'm crazy and I just THINK I'm talking. But it doesn't matter, because the end result is the same. NO ONE can here me when I talk. And it SUCKS. I'm sick and tired of it! For as long as I can remember, it's been this way!
   Everyone thinks I'm this silent stoic hero, traveling the world and saving it and being all badass without speaking a single world. Well, I'm not! Well, okay, I am badass, but I'm not silent! I have opinions. I have thoughts. I get afraid of things. And I'm trying to tell everyone, or heck, ANYONE, but nope! Everyone just goes on and on, while I try to get my voice heard so that they can understand that I'm trying to get a word in edgewise, but they just. Keep. TALKING.
   I don't CARE about your life or that freaking windmill or your bloody cow and its freaking delicious milk or your magical flute or what you had for dinner last night or what your bowel movement was like this movement! I am trying to save the world here, I do not need to hear your life story every time I bump into me. Tell me what I need to know or do, and let me get on with saving your sorry hides. We can take the time to ahve tea and crumpets and talk about every. Freaking. Detail of your life AFTER I've beaten Ganon or Gannon or Ganondorf or Agahnim or whoever it is this time. You know, AFTER I've saved the world from being destroyed! The world YOU live on! And don't even get me started on those Koridians, those freaky Eevil mutants who kept repeating themselves every time I bumped into one of them or so much as glanced in the general direction of some place they've been to at some point in their lives! Screw the Eye of Glutgo or whatever it is! I GET IT! I understood it the FIRST time you told me, you don't have to repeat everything you've already said to me everytime I walk up to you! It gets annoying!
   Oh, and don't even get me started on my sidekicks. They're the worst. You'd think that someone who spent days or weeks with me and my every waking moment would notice my problem, but nope! It's just "Hey! Look! Listen!" everywhere I go. I get it! I can see stuff! You don't have to remind me every ten seconds about something that I will remember for the rest of my life after you've driven it into my skull! Whether it's a hat or a weird freaky princess or a ghost or that FREAKING FAIRY, I don't need your help. Stop helping me. I possess a working brain and a scrap of common sense, but it's like they think I'm this retarded child! Oh, durr, I no notice stick on ground me put hat on foot go drool on green shirt and then pee pants durr durr dokay. Gyah!
   And it's EVERYONE. Even the magical princess, who is "supposed" to be wielding the Triforce of Wisdom. I seriously sometimes think the thing was misnamed or screwed up over the years, because it's more like the Triforce of Missing the Obvious. Yeah, she's not as bad as everyone else, but could she not possibly use her magical powers and her brain to figure out that I have a problem and try and help me? Naaah, I'm just the silent hero who saves her butt every time. Then again, since she always seems to have the hots for me I guess I can live with that. I'd love to be HER fourth Triforce, if you get what I'm saying.
   In all seriousness, it's aggravating. All I am to these people is someone to come by and save their butts. Great fairies forbid anyone else learn how to swing a sword and go "Ya!" It's not that freaking hard, people. I always pick it up again in five seconds. Sure, maybe I'm the only one who can wield the Master Sword and be the bla-bla sword of evil's bla-bla bane, but surely someone else can hold the fort down while I'm out? Oh, and those sages? Yeah, sure, they help, but apprently guardians of magic can't, you know, FIGHT without me around or something like that. And it's not just fighting, it's EVERYTHING. It's like these people think that just because I can't talk means that I'll do anything for them. I have to explore the big dying tree, I have to find the missing jewels, I have to clear the landslide, I have to battle the ghosts, and I have to buy the freaking sails for the magical talking boat! I'm surprised that I haven't had to give someone a pedicure at this point in order to save the world!
   Oh, and Ganon. Ganon Ganon Ganon. I can count on both hands the time it HASN'T been Ganon in some way or another. Odds are, if evil is on the rise, it's Ganon. Why is everyone surprised when it's him? Of COURSE it's him. He's got the Triforce of Power. He's the most memorable bad guy I can ever remember facing. Of COURSE he's gonna show up over and over and OVER again. Except for Majora, that kid freaked me out. But... geez. Why is it such a big surprise whenever he figures out some new trick to come back or get back power of some sort? Its Ganon! Like him or not, we're stuck with him. As stuck with him as I am with this green tunics.
   Speaking of which, and I know I'm just moaning and groaning at this point about stuff that isn't as big of a problem, and I don't care, but here goes: why is it so hard for me to find something that ISN'T green? I mean, yeah, I like green, but it gets a little dull after a while. And blue and red aren't much better. The one time I found a tunic that was a different color, it was purple. PURPLE. I don't like purple! I swear, I have never found anyone who can give me a bit of choice in the matter. Even my own grandma forced the darned things on me! Yeah, sure, pre-industrial society, not much choice in clothing colo, blah blah blah blah COWCRAP. Our princess is walking around in multi-colored clothes with fancy designs, the sea captains look like walking Festival Floats, half the people I meet have nice colorful clothes, and there's enough rupies and stuff lying around that we could all be wearing suits of solid gemstones. You can afford to get me something a little nicer! Maybe some armor! So that I don't DIE! Oh, and before I forget: Trains. TRAINS. And no cotton gin? It's all wool, people. All of it. And it itches like nothing else. You are so lucky I'm not allergic to sheep, otherwise you'd have no hero.
   Oh, and the temples. Temples temples temples TEMPLES. Is every architect in this world stupid? Or evil? Do they only get away with this because all of their clients die horribly and thus can't spread negative feedback on them? A temple is a place for people to come and worship their gods or sacred artifacts, not get burned alive because of some fiery death trap! Are we trying to make sure that the faithful are truly faithful, that they're loyal enough to risk life and limb just to get a blessing or something like that?
   And monsters! Nah, falling and burning floors and ceilings or needing a magical wand that makes blocks in midair or even magnetic boots aren't enough, we need MONSTERS patrolling the temples? Giant flying eyeballs and living suits of armor and spiky things that slam against me and almost pierce every one of my internal organs, and I've forgotten what else there is there are so many of them. And no matter how many of them I kill, there are always more! I don't want to know where they're coming from, unless I would be able to shut that place down for good, in which case I'll willingly go in there and chop everything up. I can understand these traps being in tombs and such. I cannot understand the need to protect your temples this way. Is this why all of those old religions died out and there's no one left in there. Must be. I mean, either the ones crazy enough to believe this stuff got their dumb butts killed, or they all wised up and left! Can't blame 'em! So, why am I the one going into the crewed up death trap temple? Oh, right. Because no one else is brave or stupid enough to do it! Must be that bloody Triforce again, making me not care how stupid this all is!
   But really... I dunno. I'm tired. I really am. But... yeah, my life sucks, but I can't leave it. For all that I gripe and complain, I just can't turn my back on these people and stop. My life may suck, but, well, no one else can do what I do. And I' ve been afraid a lot of times, I'll admit that. I'm afraid of people dying, or evil winning. It's a fear I have to live with, even with the Triforce. There's a difference between being courageous and being fearless, and I am certainly not fearless. True courage is having fear, and facing it, not letting it beat you. And I guess I have that. There have been times I almost turned around and ran away, but I won't, because I know that I can't. The Triforce... well, it helps. It's like, no matter where I go, I'm not alone. It's always there, a silent reminder of the responsibility I have, but also that, well, I do mean the world to these people. And, well, they need me. So, I'll do it. Every time they need me, I'll be there. Because, well, that's who I am. Deep down, that's just what I am. A hero. And, well, I guess I can live with that.
   Heh. That's one last thing. My name. It's not Link. Yeah, I know, that's what you think it is. But it's not my real name. My real name is...
   ...
   You know what? It's okay. Link. Call me Link. I'm the Hero of Time and Winds and Light. The Wind Waker. Hero of the Essences of Time and Nature. The Minish Hero. Sworn Brother of the Gorons. The Ocean King's Chosen Hero. The Royal Engineer. The Hero of Hyrule. I am the silent hero.


...
Well, thank you for slogging through all of that. And now, my notes.
The original idea was something I heard during a machinima called "Freeman's Mind," where Gordon Freeman says to himself that it's like no one can hear him talking. This kind of got me thinking about if so-called "mute heroes" aren't actually mute, and it's just that no one can perceive them speaking. This eventually developed into a story from Link's perspective on what it's like being a mute hero. And well, here we are.
Now, a few things here. First, I have never beaten a Zelda game. I have played a bit of Ocarina of time and a bit of A Link to the Past, but not much. I am writing from the perspective who only knows superficial info and tropes about the the Zelda series. Okay? Don't leap down my throat for screwing up some name or violating canon or something like that. This was just meant to be fun. Second, I am aware that - as far as we know - Link would not be this much of a jerk. I am willing to justify this by saying that he is simply venting some steam after several iterations of his adventures. Sort of a brief bout of anger and such before he calms down. Third, yes, I am aware that - except for a handful of direct sequels - they're all different Links. I am not stupid. The idea I came up with to justify this is that they're all Link, the same spirit being reincarnated in each generation that needs a hero like him: I imagine that Zelda has a similar situation. And that, well, we find him here somewhere in between lives and existences, in the pensive mood of a person who has lived dozens of lives, and possibly many many more (I'll get there in a moment). I am not suggesting that this is in any way canon. Consider it an alternate character interpretation. And alternatively, you could pretend that this is not only a Link who is aware of all of the other Links, but also that he might be aware of all of the hundreds of millions of times the Zelda games have been played, that each of those is an incarnation of Link as well. Essentially, he has undergone the same stories over and over again. Imagine that. Knowing that you have lived through so many incarnations, all of the deaths and alternate pathways. It'd weigh on anyone's mind, Triforce of courage or not.
Now, some other notes (geez this is getting long). Originally, this was going to be much sillier than it already is (frightening, I know). For example, at the end he was going to break down and start yelling with joy that he could finally reveal his true name, only to either get cut off or realize that even when written he can't reveal his real name, leading him to declare "F*ck you, Miyamoto!" And the title was originally "The Sound of Silence," which kind of reflects how much less respect I was giving to Link. But, well, I got a lot more pensive towards the end, and decided to give him a bit more dignity worthy of the hero that he ultimately is, as if he's over his outburst and is reminding himself (and us) why he puts up with it. Also, I managed to slip in a few references, like to the fan myth of the "fourth Triforce" or how Ganon's name was originally spelled. So, anyway, I hope you enjoyed this.

And this is getting long, so I'll cut off my comments here. Any questions, don't be afraid to ask. Next time, I'll put up some actual artwork. Yay!

[Ren Gaulen]

Wooo, updates! Nice story, I must say. Poor Link, no-one understands him.

[Jairus]

Perhaps he is not simply silent, but speaking another language? Like Esperanto?

[techmaster-glitch]

Jairus and Ren have returned to the forums? REJOICE!

Ooh, I like this story. You say you haven't beaten any of the games, but I think you got the details fine. And this is a very amusing short from an entirely different perspective on the mute dude. I also find the progression interesting. He's ranting about everything that's set against him, but it's ultimately just him venting frustration as in the end, he does acknowledge that he's gotta do what he's gotta do.

[Jairus]

Jairus and Ren have returned to the forums? REJOICE!

Yup! I'm gonna try to get back in here. Somehow.

Ooh, I like this story. You say you haven't beaten any of the games, but I think you got the details fine. And this is a very amusing short from an entirely different perspective on the mute dude. I also find the progression interesting. He's ranting about everything that's set against him, but it's ultimately just him venting frustration as in the end, he does acknowledge that he's gotta do what he's gotta do.

Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. And the wiki was a big help on the spelling, certainly, as well as his many many nicknames. But, yeah. That is kind of what I realized as I was writing it, that yes, he is a hero, and yes, this is just him complaining for a bit, so, it's actually some character progression for me too. But, yeah, it was fun to write, so, I guess I should work on my actual stories next, hm?

Also, a new thought: perhaps he is not mute, but simply speaking some foreign language that no one else understands? Like Esperanto? Or French?

[Jairus]

Okay, Gizmo. There's a fun little story behind him. Basically, he started life as an adoptable fennec on Half_Angel13's FA page (seen here). Part of the rules of adopting him were that I had to draw him (which makes sense). I opted to adopt him because, well, he had Lombax markings, and I thought they were kinda cute. So, here I am, relatively untalented, finding myself with three days to draw the little guy to completion. Now, I did take a few extra days, but the initial sketch was finished on the first day and I explained that I'd basically been away from my sketchpad and such for two days, so I got an extension. Anyway, I eventually finished him, and here we are: Gizmo, a somewhat shy technophile tabby fennec fox. Now, I've already posted this to my DA and FA account, but, well, I want to post stuff here too. So, here we go!

Concept sketch

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e143/J-RasZ/Art/img103.jpg?t=1266743126

The original pose sketch to just figure out what I wanted to draw. I wanted Gizmo to look kind of shy and nervous, and I think I captured that. Though I did later realize that, yes, I had managed to perfectly hide his hands. Not intentional on my part: hands are tricky, but I actually kind of like drawing them. This was about fifteen to thirty minutes to do.

Pencil drawing

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e143/J-RasZ/Art/img107.jpg?t=1266743826

Basically my final version of the finished drawing: this is the second full drawing and roughly the fifteenth one if you include erasures and redrawing of limbs and such. So, this is basically the usual point. Originally, I was going to just print this out and do a pencil coloring, but Ren managed to convince me to try out coloring this in Photoshop, something that I've never done before. So, of course, I did it, because I'm crazy/stupid that way. I honestly don't remember how long this took, either than I ended up staying till two in the morning when I was drawing this because I was trying to be such a perfectionist before scanning and going to bed.

Digital inking

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e143/J-RasZ/Art/gizmo2ink1b.jpg?t=1266744030

This was about two hours of fiddly work, and the end result isn't very pretty up close: there's no smooth lines or anything like that. This is mainly because of my lack of experience with photoshop, I suppose: there's probably a tool or something like that I could have used instead of the paintbrush. Anyway, lots of fun here, including what is basically the best foot I've ever drawn (the right one) and also some clothes that don't look half bad.

Digital coloring

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e143/J-RasZ/Art/Gizmocolored1a.jpg?t=1266744030

Well, the coloring job is REALLY simple, but, again, not much experience here, so I just went with easy colors and tried to stay consistent here. So, yeah. Didn't take anywhere near as long as the inking did.

Finished

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e143/J-RasZ/Art/Gizmocolored1e.jpg?t=1266744030

And here's the (more or less) final version. I basically just stuck the colored layer (with thickened lines for greater contrast) on top of the original pencil drawing and adjusted the opacity until I could faintly see the original version. Since I didn't do any form of shading, I did this to give it a little bit of extra detail, and because I thought it looked kind of cool.

And there you have it: my first bit of real art that I digitally inked and colored. Obviously rough, but I only intend to get better from here. And it is now 1:30 AM, so I'm cutting my story short and going to bed. Good night! As always, constructive criticism and advice (especially pointers for inking/coloring/shading/whatever) are greatly appreciated.

[Tapewolf]

It's looking good.  In your first colour you had the infamous "white edges" effect.  This is because you used an antialiased/feathered brush and then tried to flood-fill it.
The way I deal with that is to either use a solid brush with no feathering, or to use the Threshold filter to reduce it down to black-and-white.  From there you can just flood-fill it without having to go through and fix all the edges later.

Amber seems to do this:

http://www.missmab.com/graphics/Big_Poodle.jpg

The drawback to this process is that at full-res it looks very pixelly since there is no smoothing going on.  The usual way to fix this is to do the full res very large and then scale the final picture down, since the scaling engine will usually do some kind of interpolation and smoothing itself.

...Ren recently discovered that in GIMP you could do a colour-to-alpha process and paint the colours underneath, and he's been using the technique quite successfully on sketches lately.  Doing that on an inked piece seems to me to be more trouble than its worth and it's not really suitable for doing something like the comic IMHO, but if you like the effect it does work quite well to cut out the inking part entirely 

[Jairus]

It's looking good.  In your first colour you had the infamous "white edges" effect.  This is because you used an antialiased/feathered brush and then tried to flood-fill it.
The way I deal with that is to either use a solid brush with no feathering, or to use the Threshold filter to reduce it down to black-and-white.  From there you can just flood-fill it without having to go through and fix all the edges later.

Amber seems to do this:

http://www.missmab.com/graphics/Big_Poodle.jpg

The drawback to this process is that at full-res it looks very pixelly since there is no smoothing going on.  The usual way to fix this is to do the full res very large and then scale the final picture down, since the scaling engine will usually do some kind of interpolation and smoothing itself.

...Ren recently discovered that in GIMP you could do a colour-to-alpha process and paint the colours underneath, and he's been using the technique quite successfully on sketches lately.  Doing that on an inked piece seems to me to be more trouble than its worth and it's not really suitable for doing something like the comic IMHO, but if you like the effect it does work quite well to cut out the inking part entirely 

MH. The white edges thing drove me NUTS the whole time I was coloring this thing. And I couldn't find the proper setting to change that in Photoshop, and besides that, I'd already done the whole inking layer. I will definitely try to fix that on the next picture I do. And yeah, that's another thing to do on the next pic: scale it down when I'm done. These look great at a small size, but once you zoom in they become a lot uglier. And really, the only reason I do the original sketch in the background thing is because, well, it gives my drawing a lot of texture, and it needs that.

But yeah, thanks for the tips, Tape!

[WhiteFox]

MH. The white edges thing drove me NUTS the whole time I was coloring this thing. And I couldn't find the proper setting to change that in Photoshop, and besides that, I'd already done the whole inking layer.

I figured that one out, actually. On the Layer panel, there's an option the blend mode (Practically identical to the airbrush blend mode. The default is "Normal"). Set it to "Multiply". This effectively turns a black and white layer into an alpha channel.

When I scan an image, I use grayscale. I never work with B/W anymore. Scaling a B/W image down adds antialiasing, but there's a certain "garbage in, garbage out" effect. If the full sized image is antialiased to begin with, I find the shrunk down image has better antialiasing. There is the matter of cleaning up the scan, but I've actually found B/W and grayscale scans to be the same amount of work to clean up. With Grayscale, unlike B/W, most of it can be done with (Menu) Image>Adjustments>Levels, and to touch up lines I use a small diameter, hard edged airbrush. Cleaning up B/W lines with a pencil (which is not "antialiased") takes hours of fussing and pixel pushing.

When I colour the image, I put a layer underneath the scanned image, trace the areas of colour with the pencil tool (not the airbrush!), then fill with the paint bucket. Using a tablet, this goes by fairly quickly. Not as fast as flood-filling a B/W image, but it's still pretty quick.

[Jairus]

MH. The white edges thing drove me NUTS the whole time I was coloring this thing. And I couldn't find the proper setting to change that in Photoshop, and besides that, I'd already done the whole inking layer.

I figured that one out, actually. On the Layer panel, there's an option the blend mode (Practically identical to the airbrush blend mode. The default is "Normal"). Set it to "Multiply". This effectively turns a black and white layer into an alpha channel.

When I scan an image, I use grayscale. I never work with B/W anymore. Scaling a B/W image down adds antialiasing, but there's a certain "garbage in, garbage out" effect. If the full sized image is antialiased to begin with, I find the shrunk down image has better antialiasing. There is the matter of cleaning up the scan, but I've actually found B/W and grayscale scans to be the same amount of work to clean up. With Grayscale, unlike B/W, most of it can be done with (Menu) Image>Adjustments>Levels, and to touch up lines I use a small diameter, hard edged airbrush. Cleaning up B/W lines with a pencil (which is not "antialiased") takes hours of fussing and pixel pushing.

When I colour the image, I put a layer underneath the scanned image, trace the areas of colour with the pencil tool (not the airbrush!), then fill with the paint bucket. Using a tablet, this goes by fairly quickly. Not as fast as flood-filling a B/W image, but it's still pretty quick.

While this is all very useful, the biggest problem right now is that my tablet is a hundred miles away, so I've only had a mouse available to use. That, and I scan all of my images in full color, because it captures more of what I was trying to get across with my sketch: I find myself losing certain things when I go greyscale and B/W. Should I stop doing that for images I intend to ink/color??

[Tapewolf]

There is no one right answer.  I've seen multilayers from about 8 artists now and they all approach it differently, especially when it comes to shading.  People seem to pick what works best for them.

[WhiteFox]

That, and I scan all of my images in full color, because it captures more of what I was trying to get across with my sketch: I find myself losing certain things when I go greyscale and B/W. Should I stop doing that for images I intend to ink/color??

I wouldn't scan a page in colour unless I had coloured the page.

I've found that the most important thing for getting a clean scan is to keep the paper clean. Things like heavily redrawn areas, pencil lines that won't erase because I pressed too hard, or sketchy inking all add up. They take time to fix, and it's best to just slow down, be careful, and take the time to do it right the first time.

I also found that inking manually is far superior to digitally. Period.

There is no one right answer.  I've seen multilayers from about 8 artists now and they all approach it differently, especially when it comes to shading.  People seem to pick what works best for them.

Quoted for truth.

Good or bad is a moot point... either something works for you, or it doesn't. If it doesn't work, change it.

[Jairus]

Time to post something! Here's a work-in-progress short story that's nowhere near done, but I'd like some feedback on how it looks so far. Oh, and as a quick note, this is supposed to be a translated version of a journal written by a man who doesn't usually write a journal, but for some reason felt like recording his thoughts. Anyway!

Edit: made a minor change


Translated extracts from the journals of Lord Justinian von Radgrund Germanicus

Last night, I had a vision.
A suit of armor strode through a field of battle. It was larger than a man, and moved as a machine does. It encountered a demon, and vanquished it. Then I observed an army of these mechanical knights, hundreds of them shining in the sunlight.
When I awoke, the image of this mechanical knight was burned into my mind. Such a wonderful thing! I
The messenger just arrived: there was another attack on Drezdany last night. the city held, but the defenders suffered many losses.
I cannot help but wonder. If this mechanical knight had been there, might it have made a difference. I do not know. But I know that I must build it. Already, my mind is ablaze with ideas.

...

I have spent a month in my workshop. I lost track of time long ago. The days blended together as if they were nothing. If Phinease had not brought me food, I could have starved and never noticed. I have only felt like this a few times in my life, when the Genius truly consumes me. It is a powerful experience. But what have I created?
I have looked at it with new eyes, no longer my thoughts but now my masterpeice. I know everything about it.
It is a man-sized machine. I used an old suit of armor for the base, mounting the mechanics inside of it. A battery provides power to the motors: it will work for half of an hour before it dies. When it moves, it is smooth and fluid, like a real Person. It can walk. It can run. It has the strength of five men, and I already know how I can improve on this. If it falls, it will pick itself up. Its hands can hold and use any weapon I place in them. Its eyes can distinguish light from shadow. It can even hear sounds. A control wired to it lets me command it.
I have never seen an automaton of this sophistication and size. A dozen similar machines now lie scattered around my workspace, many scavenged for parts after I had moved on to the next new idea. I can see how my thoughts progressed as the days went by. This machine is a work of art, gleaming bronze and ticking clockwork. A true work of Genius. It is
No, it is useless. This is not what I envisioned. It is stupid. It is limited. It cannot learn or think on its own. Despite my best efforts, I cannot replicate in clockwork the mind of a living Person. It is utterly dependent on the control in my hand. It cannot do the things that I saw in my dream. I feel as if I have failed.
I sat in that spot for what felt like hours, lost in my melancholy. But my thoughts raised me out of that dark place. Perhaps all is not lost. This machine is useless, but the idea behind it, perhaps that will be enough.
I need a name for it.
Phineas calls it an "iron knight." I didn't feel like explaining that no iron was used in its design, but I like the sound of it. Iron Knight. That shall do for now.

[techmaster-glitch]

Ahh, he might not be able to create a full automaton, but it seems as if he still needs someone to shout "Think of the possibilities!" at him

[Jairus]

Ahh, he might not be able to create a full automaton, but it seems as if he still needs someone to shout "Think of the possibilities!" at him

Heheh. You'll see. For once, the idea is his alone, and not based on a random comment from one of the peons.

Hm, I'm gonna slip a small edit in.

Edit: done

[Ren Gaulen]

I am IRON KNIGHT.

OK, this is pretty nice. I like this sort of a short story, telling about the birth and evolution of the Iron Knights in form of Justinian's journal entries.

[Jairus]

I am IRON KNIGHT.

OK, this is pretty nice. I like this sort of a short story, telling about the birth and evolution of the Iron Knights in form of Justinian's journal entries.

Thank DJ. It was his idea to tell it this way.

[Jairus]

Here's the next two parts! As always, questions and comments and constructive criticism is appreciated!

...

Eureka.
I cannot give this machine a mechanical mind. But perhaps I could give it a living one?
That is the solution. Why make a machine think like a Man when I can make a Man as strong as the machine? This armor is already fitted for a wearer. Powered armor... why did I not think of it before?

...

I have constructed a new Iron Knight. For the sake of my experiment, I used an identical suit of armor to the last one, and many of the same parts. It was difficult. The human body is ill-designed for such things, but my solution to move the gearing and mechanisms to the back seems to work. For balance, I have attached the battery to the chest. A number of padded switches throughout the armor help the armor move with the wearer, rather than freezing up on them. Entering or exiting it is difficult. The suit essentially needs to be dismantled to do either of those two.
It is ugly. When I stand the two Iron Knights next to each other, the first looks superior to the second. Every part and mechanism is on display. The slightest twitch of a limb makes a dozen parts move. It is nothing like my dream. But I must see this experiment through.
I shall wear it.
I have worn it.
This... powered armor. This is the right choice. I know it. I feel it. I know that soon my vision will be real.
There are problems: a machine is only as perfect as the being that makes it. It is hot and unwieldy. Its reaction times lag behind its wearer's. Its strength is impressive, but it will only work for a third of an hour before the batteries run dry. The hands are only leather gloves with a bit of steel for protection: there is no superhuman strength there. And there is no protection for the parts. A simple sword blow could cripple this machine, to say nothing of a gun.
But there is potential here. I can solve many of these problems in short order. I have already told Phinease to gather the parts I need, and I can see that he is becoming as excited about this project as I am. We shall be working together on this from this point forward. He will not make a good test wearer, but his strength will be valuable in testing this machine. My free hand is scrabbling for scrap paper to begin drawing schmatics, so that Phineas may have an idea of what it is I am thinking of.
I have reread what I have written here. "My needs." What is it that I need this Iron Knight to be? A weapon, obviously. But perhaps there is more.
I dreamt of an army of these soldiers. Not just one. An army of Iron Knights. What could I accomplish with that?
No, I must focus on the task at hand. I do not have a weapon yet. I do not have a knight.

[techmaster-glitch]

Whoooo.

I don't really have much to say other than I am enjoying this, just for being the development of a machine (though I suppose I'm biased... )

[Jairus]

Whoooo.

I don't really have much to say other than I am enjoying this, just for being the development of a machine (though I suppose I'm biased... )

Heheheheh. Well, I'm glad you're liking it. We're going to follow this through to the fifth version, at least. Possibly the sixth.

[Jairus]

Just want to keep this alive! Here's the start of something I'm working on.


There are so many ways I could start this. Well, so many possible starting points. Someone once said "Everything begins somewhere." And that's the problem with real life: it's not as neat and tidy as a fairy tale. There is no "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess" or anything like that. In real life, there's always something before and after the story. But now I'm getting pretentious, so I guess I'll try this the right way.
Maybe this all started the first time I realized that I couldn't do magic. Or it could have been when I started to fiddle with that old skycraft. Or the time I found those boxes filled with a broken robot, and Paul told me that I could have the robot if I could get it working.
You know, I think I'll start with my earliest memory, that seems like a good place to start my story.
On second thought, no, never mind, it's too embarrassing. How about my second earliest memory?
Okay, my second-earliest really clear memory is of being read a bedtime story in the orphanage. I can remember a few of us younger kids clustered around the matron. I can't remember the story she was reading, but I can remember some of the pictures. There was a princess, and a good knight in shining armor battling a dragon, and an evil wizard he had to fight. I don't remember how it ended, because I fell asleep halfway through. And of course, I've never been able to find that blasted book, because I don't remember what it was. Well, what do you expect? I was four, at most.
But that memory, especially of that knight, has stuck with me. I'm not too ashamed to admit that I've had a few dreams where I'm battling a monster and I've got a magical sword and I'm being the hero. I even had a wooden sword and shield that I used to fight imaginary monsters with. I think most people have a dream like that at some point in their lives. Before reality crushes that dream, of course, in one way or another. I'd imagine that it's a part of growing up.
Ah. I know where to start now. I was seven years old. It was winter, the ground covered with a fresh layer of snow. I made a snowelf the next morning. And inside the Cralatav Inn, it was warm and cheerful. And I was up past my bedtime

[Jairus]

This is an edited and cleaned up version of that first part of the "Iron Knight" short story I've been working on. Here is the first part of what I consider to be the definitive version. I'm posting it in parts for two reasons. 1st, for purposes of dramatic law. 2nd, because I'm still working on editing the rest. As always, questions and comments are appreciated.

"Iron Knight"

Translated extracts from the journals of Lord Justinian von Radgrund Germanicus

Last night, I had a vision.
A suit of armor strode through a field of battle. It was like a knight's armor, but larger than a man, and it moved like a machine. It battled a demon, and then vanquished it. Then I saw that there was an army of these strange knights, hundreds of them, shining in the light. When I awoke, the image of this mechanical armor had been burned into my mind.
Such a curious machine. This automaton, I wonder if
A messenger just arrived: there was another attack on Drezdanya last night. The city has held, but the defenders suffered many losses. The raiders were well-armed: I have my suspicions as to the orgins of their armaments. I have ordered some of our people to go and assist the city. Drezdanya must not fall.
My father would know what to do, but with his failing health I cannot call upon him. I can feel the other families breathing down my neck. A sign of weakness now would be fatal.
But I find myself wondering.
An army at my command.
I feel my breath catch.
Impossible.
But I am gifted with Genius. It is what we do.
If I had this armor under my command, could it make a difference? I do not know.
But I know that I must build it. Already, my mind is ablaze with ideas.

...

I have spent two weeks in my workshop. In the face of my latest creation, I lost track of time. I do not like doing that. I do not like losing control of myself.
But my creation is done.
It is a man-sized machine. I used an old suit of armor for the base. The components are all mounted inside of it. If it were dormant, it would resemble any other suit in my family's collection. A single battery powers its motors. It will run for half of an hour before the charge runs dry. It can walk and run. It has the strength of ten men. If it falls, it will pick itself up. Its hands can hold and use any weapon I place in them. Its eyes can distinguish light from shadow. It can even hear. A wired control lets me command it.
I have only heard of automatons of this sophistication and size. A dozen similar machines now lie scattered around my workspace, scavenged for parts once I had moved on to the next new idea. I can follow my thoughts as the days progressed. This machine is a work of art, gleaming steel and ticking clockwork. A true work of Genius. It is
No. This is not what I envisioned. It is stupid. It cannot learn or think on its own. Despite my best efforts, I cannot replicate in clockwork the mind of a living Man. It is utterly dependent on the control in my hand. It cannot do the things I saw in my dream. It is useless. I feel as if I have failed.
Perhaps all is not lost. This machine is useless, but the idea behind it, perhaps that will be enough. I need a name for it.
Phineas called it an "Iron Knight." I didn't feel like explaining to him that no iron was used in its design, and that Mechanical Knight would suit it better, but I must confess that I like the sound of it. Iron Knight. That shall do for now.

...

Eureka.
I cannot give this machine a mechanical mind. But perhaps I could give it a living one?
That is the solution. It must be. Why make a machine think like a Man when I can make a Man as strong as the machine? If I move the parts to the outside, the base armor is already fitted for a wearer...
Powered armor... why did I not think of it before?

[techmaster-glitch]

well, you already know I like this, and I'm just waiting to see the Iron Knight progress through each prototype iteration