Un: TerribleTinkerer | Text

[badnewsandshitlist]

If money has no meaning here, then what do people do with themselves? Adventure for the sport of it? Build things only to watch them gather dust?

I prefer problems that bite back or explode in my hands, but it seems difficult to call that work in a place where every need is already seen to.

So. What passes for an occupation here—when merit and coin are both irrelevant?

Comments

[badnewsandshitlist]

“Shoot the shit." And once you tire of that, you simply aim at one another? How quaint.

I should warn you, though-I carry three firearms and a frankly indecent number of bullets. That gives me a rather unfair advantage in your little pastime. Hardly sport, unless you enjoy starting at a disadvantage.

[leastdramatic]

Nah. I think we’re usually a little civil than that. There’s a shooting range. What kind of firearms you got on you?

[badnewsandshitlist]

A range, then. Splendid. I have been wanting a place to practice without alarming the neighbors.

Since it piqued your interest, allow me introductions. There is Retort, a four-shot pepperbox, quick and clever, the sort of companion that always seems to have one last word ready. Then Animus, six barrels, heavier, more temperamental, but dependable once you have earned her trust. And finally Bad News, my long rifle. She is fussy and demands patience and preparation, but rewards it with a reach and precision that borders on cruel.

I admit I speak of them as though they were children, but in a way they are. Each with a temperament and a history of its own. I would be very glad to see what others here have raised or acquired. Perhaps we might make an afternoon of it.

[leastdramatic]

[Oh this guy sounds like a fun nerd]

You're on. You got some good names for your guns, especially the rifle.

[badnewsandshitlist]

Fun nerd is hardly the worst thing I have been called. I will take it.

The names came naturally enough. Once you have put the work in, they begin to feel less like objects and more like companions. A rifle that has saved your life more than once deserves a proper title.

I look forward to seeing what you bring to the range. Perhaps you will give me a few ideas for the next christening.

[leastdramatic]

Yeah, sure. It's a good way to kill some time at least. How long have you've been using those guns?

[badnewsandshitlist]

Long enough that they feel like extensions of myself rather than curiosities. Retort is quick, Animus has bite, but Bad News is the one I favor.

She asks for patience, for calculation, for breath held at just the right moment. When the shot lands true, there is a silence that follows, a kind of stillness that feels almost sacred.

If I ever lost her, I think I would feel not only unarmed but incomplete.

[leastdramatic]

You made Bad News yourself?

[Jason is just guessing but from the way Percy talks about his weapons, it feels more than just a typical user who bought their weapons]

[badnewsandshitlist]

Bad News is mine entire, from conception to craft, and she remains the companion I trust above all others outside the circle of Vox Machina.

Retort and Animus were reclaimed from less worthy hands, but Bad News has always been mine. She has been broken and rebuilt, tested and proven, and through it all she has never failed me.

There is comfort in that constancy, and no small pride as well. To have built something that endures when so much else can be taken is, I think, an accomplishment worthy of the name De Rolo.

[leastdramatic]

[Huh. The new guy has an ego. Hopefully that translates well on the shooting range]

If she's as good as you say she is, you gotta give some notes after we're done with our little contest. I've only had to buy and then make some tweaks with my guns

[badnewsandshitlist]

If she performs as she ought to, you will see soon enough why I hold her in such regard. And yes, I would be glad to share notes afterward.

Buying a weapon is the first step, but when you begin shaping one entirely of your own design, that is when it truly becomes yours. There is a peculiar satisfaction in holding something that exists because you imagined it and then brought it into the world.

You clearly have the instinct for it. I suspect, with the right push, you could craft a piece that would put most shop-bought arms to shame.

[leastdramatic]

I've done some tinkering here and there but outright forging would be pretty new to me. It sounds pretty satisfying though

But I wanna see how you shoot first

[badnewsandshitlist]

Tinkering is how it begins. A sight adjusted here, a trigger tuned there, and soon enough you will be sketching designs of your own at midnight. Forging one from the ground up takes more work than most expect, but the satisfaction is unmatched.

And if you want to see me shoot first, then by all means. Bad News and I will be happy to demonstrate. Just promise you will not be too crestfallen when she outperforms whatever you brought along.

[leastdramatic]

Ha. Fair enough. Just don't think I'm some chump with a little pellet gun

[badnewsandshitlist]

Good. I would hate for this to be over too quickly.

Bring your best, and we will see whose shot carries farther. Targets have a way of stripping away pretensions and leaving the truth in plain view.

And if you happen to keep pace with me, I may even buy the first round after.

[leastdramatic]

Deal. When do you wanna do this?

[badnewsandshitlist]

Since arriving I have come to find an abundant amout of time on my hands. I am free to go whenever it is most convenient for you.

[leastdramatic]

See you soon then. I'll going over to the range now

So old but just needed one more to count.

[badnewsandshitlist]

Then I shall not keep you waiting. I will gather the essentials and join you shortly. Prepare yourself; I intend to hold you to that drink when I win.

[leastdramatic]

If I'm gonna lose, at least make this fun somehow