The Perk- Thursday afternoon

[thatwaslucky]

Rey had been making the rounds and talking to friends, but she hadn't really been getting out much lately. Therefore it felt like a good idea to hang out at the Perk for a bit after training today, sitting at a table with a small coffee and a large pastry.

She also ended up asking a barista for a pen, since today's work had kind of put her in mind of a lightsaber design she wanted to get out of her head and onto paper. Even if said paper was a coffee shop napkin. It had been on her mind for a few weeks now, maybe it was time she actually started doing something with it.


[Open!]

Comments

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph kept a small fridge stocked with drinks in the shop, because you had to provide gamers with fuel, but she'd just finished a two hour Zoom session with her fellow LARP organizers, she needed an extra caffeine boost, and you didn't step on other businesses' toes, okay?

Also she was making up for last week's deprivation.

"Designing anything cool?" she asked idly on her way to the counter.

[thatwaslucky]

"I don't know if it's cool, but it's functional." Shut up, Rey, it's cool. "It's a weapon."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"No shit?" Steph's face lit up with interest, and she tried to lean over to get a better look. "I like designing fantasy weapons just to look cool and stuff, but nothing that's supposed to actually work."

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm not sure this will actually work," Rey admitted, turning the napkin so Steph could see the lightsaber. She had some talent with the drawing, too. "I've seen schematics for other kinds of these but I'm basing my design on something I've only ever seen and trying to adapt it."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Oh, damn," said Steph, in a tone that suggested she agreed that Rey was pretty good at drawing. "This kind of technical stuff isn't in my wheelhouse, so all I can really say is that it looks really sick. I think. What's it... supposed to do, exactly?"

She was genre-savvy, but not willing to just assume, okay.

[thatwaslucky]

"It's a lightsaber," Rey said. "A laser sword, basically."

Not exactly the way she was drawing it, where there would be a blade on each end, and it folded up in the middle. But basically.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Siiiiiiick," Steph said again, grinning in clear approval. "That seems like the kind of thing that would be super portable."

She wasn't always the kind of DM who was super strict about characters' equipment weight restrictions, but it did occur to her that this would totally have a bonus in that regard.

[thatwaslucky]

"Well yeah, you just clip it to your belt," Rey said, not sure what else that could mean.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Yeah, and not have to worry about the extra weight of a scabbard so you don't accidentally chop a limb off --" Steph, the GFFA found ways to do that anyway -- "or having to carry it a certain way so the blade doesn't keep tripping you up. Super convenient, right?"

[thatwaslucky]

"Yeah. You think about all that with fantasy weapons?" Rey asked.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Oh, totally." Because Steph was a devious GM. "Also I know a lot of costuming nerds. This is your original design?"

[thatwaslucky]

"Not really. I've seen it in holos so I can't claim credit," Rey told her.

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph was going to assume that meant something like 'films,' and just roll with it.

"Dude, respect. Recreating something from image references is tough, but making it functional? I'm impressed."

Steph, it wasn't a real functional thing yet.

[thatwaslucky]

"Thanks. It'll be more impressive once I know I won't cut off a limb," Rey said with a little smile.

[drumsticksandd20s]

"You mean like..." Steph's eyes widened. "Oh, wow, yeah, how do you even like... QC test something like this?"

[thatwaslucky]

"I think you turn it on and hope it doesn't explode? They never talk about that part in the texts I've found."

Could she like, text Tenel Ka or something maybe?

[drumsticksandd20s]

If anyone would know...

"Sounds like your engineer types really like to live on the edge," Steph told her.

[thatwaslucky]

"It's not really engineers doing this," Rey told her. "It's more a rite of passage. I suppose it could also be a really easy way to weed out those who weren't ready..."

She joked because she wanted to keep all her original parts, if it could be helped.

[drumsticksandd20s]

Steph took a moment to contemplate the implications of the fact that this was the construction of an energy based weapon entirely left to amateurs, basically, and her expression turned comically horrified.

"I mean... that seems kind of stressful."

[thatwaslucky]

"At this point, not really," Rey said, half realizing it as she said it. "I had to fix one of these already. I think after that, it gets easier? Maybe that's strange."

[drumsticksandd20s]

"No, I... think that makes sense?" Steph's hands on tech experience was mostly of the stage manager variety so this was probably above her pay grade. "You at least already have a working reference to go off of."

She laughed sheepishly.

"I think I'm good sticking to my fantasy weapons. And the occasional foam LARP one."

Don't tell her about your weapon collection, Rey.

[thatwaslucky]

"It definitely sounds safer," Rey agreed. Which, she approved of! Lightsabers? Kinda scary!

[drumsticksandd20s]

"Yeah. No disrespect to you all and your actual ass-kicking, but --" Steph grinned. "I know when to stay in my own lane."

A beat.

"And yell encouragement out the window."