Drunkard's Walk Forums

paladindythe Wrote:This story never fails at being interesting.
This little cliffhanger isn't super dramatic or anything--it's merely funny.

Agreed.  A thought on how it could be resolved: the Nanoha-verse has duct tape, right?
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Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

A mayonnaise jar would work as well...
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DEATH is Certain. The hour, Uncertain...

Kurisu Wrote:A mayonnaise jar would work as well...

That could lead to some hilarity down the road.

[Random Person rooting through his backpack] "Why do you have this jar of mayonnaise in your bag?

"OH CHRIST BE CAREFUL WITH THAT!"
---
Jon
"And that must have caused my dad's brain to break in half, replaced by a purely mechanical engine of revenge!"

Herr Bad Moon Wrote:

Kurisu Wrote:A mayonnaise jar would work as well...

That could lead to some hilarity down the road.
[Random Person rooting through his backpack] "Why do you have this jar of mayonnaise in your bag?
"OH CHRIST BE CAREFUL WITH THAT!"

Thanks, Bad Moon!  You just got me to do my Demented Laugh.  (^_^)

[snrk]

'WAAAAAAIIIIT!!!! That's not food."
Actually, that little arrangement could make things a little more funnier.
(laughs) "What a complete moron!  The gun fight has just started and he starts throwing food-"
out rolls the metal pineapple...
"-around... what the"{BOOM} 

(A sandwich just isn't a sandwich...)
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DEATH is Certain. The hour, Uncertain...

What's the deal, if he still has the pin? I had a practice grenade I picked up at a flea market as a kid, and it was easy to disarm after you'd pulled the pin, even if you lost the pin. Has grenade design changed so dramatically since the 70s that this isn't the case any more?
-- Bob
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Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

I think it has. At least, the US Navy doesn't use pineapple style frags. We use a canister style these days, and the general knowledge over here is that once you pull the pin you will throw that sucker.
Of course, that's the training doctrine.

Well, I would think that the body style is irrelevant -- the one I had was spherical and bright blue with what was (at least then) the standard trigger/fuse arrangement on the top. With it, basically you pull the pin and the only thing holding a spring-loaded striker down is your hand pressure on the spoon (I think that's the right term). Release that, and the spring is enough to throw the spoon free and snap the striker through an arc to slam down on the top of the grenade where, presumably, a firing cap or fuse or something would be. And as long as you were holding down the spoon, it was trivial to re-insert the pin or another long, thin metal object to lock it down and "safe" the grenade again.

If grenade design has changed so much in 30 years that this isn't even close any more I'd be very interested in learning what replaced it.
-- Bob
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Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

Bob's description is correct. That's still how most grenades work. There are other types, but the basic concept hasn't changed much since the classic pineapple grenade.
When I did basic military training in 2003 with the Singapore Armed Forces, the proper procedure after pulling out the safety ring (the pin) was to place the thing on top of the bunker wall so the officer can see you've removed it properly and set it aside.
Then you continue to hold the grenade with both hands behind the bunker wall until given the signal to throw. Yeah, this comes within a couple of seconds, but there's a definite pause. The point is that you remove the safety ring a couple of seconds in advance of when you actually throw it, so you have a moment to aim. You're not supposed to just yank the pin and let fly - if you do it too fast, you'll mess up.
So yeah, holding on to a live grenade is perfectly safe so long as you're applying pressure to the grenade's handle. Without the pin, the whole mechanism would come loose and arm the grenade if that handle was released...but you're fine so long as you keep a grip on the thing. One of the guys in my company actually did throw the safety ring and take cover with a live grenade. He...didn't die.
In any case, even after the safety lever comes off, there's generally a few seconds fuse on the thing before it explodes. We used about 10 seconds. I'm not sure if that's a standard time, or a slightly longer one for training purposes, since we were all horribly incompetent recruits.
-- Acyl

The episode of Deadliest Warrior with the Green Berets v Spetsnaz gave fuse times of three seconds for RGD-5 Grenades and around three to five seconds for a M67 Grenade. Either way after three with no spoon, Mr grenade is no longer your friend.

Acyl, I take it that after that marvelous attempt at gaining a Darwin Award that trooper was no longer allowed near live frag grenades?

Quote:Rod H wrote:

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The episode of Deadliest Warrior with the Green Berets v Spetsnaz gave fuse times of three seconds for RGD-5 Grenades and around three to five seconds for a M67 Grenade. Either way after three with no spoon, Mr grenade is no longer your friend.
Acyl, I take it that after that marvelous attempt at gaining a Darwin Award that trooper was no longer allowed near live frag grenades?

Might be misremembering the count we used and how it related to the fuse; the handle could, after all, fall off either in flight or upon impact with the ground, so...
As for the grenade guy, well. You'd think they'd get the guy away from any weapons after that...but that wasn't the case. A few days later at the rifle range, one of the safety officers called his name. So he turns round...while carrying a loaded M16 with his finger on the trigger. Officer blinks, and hits the dirt while everyone starts screaming. 
Day after that, he's in waiting detail - standing in line BEHIND the guys who are firing, waiting his turn. The range PA announces that firers should ready. Our friend panics, slaps the magazine in, yanks on the charging lever, assumes a standing-shoulder position...pointing at the back of the soldiers in front of him. Obviously the yelling starts. The guys on firing detail look behind to see what's going on... and then they hit the dirt.
It's not really a Darwin Award when you're a danger to other people. It's hilarious in hindsight, but it's not so funny when you're in the vicinity...
Moral of the story, live weapons are reasonably safe in the hands of a responsible person who knows what they're doing and treats them with respect. Anyone who doesn't fit that criteria...yeah, not so much.
The instructors did at least have the foresight to issue him a blunt bayonet.
-- Acyl

Well, the  way to disarm it if it's the classic grenade is to unscrew the body from the handle. What you have now is a live percussion cap that's about as dangerous as a M10 firecracker. It'll still blow up your hand if if you don't get rid of it fast enough, though.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

Given all the excitement, waving Mossy around, etc, I can see how he might have lost track of the pin at some point. Then again, he may be playing up how dangerous it is, since these folks don't have much experience with earth-standard non-magic weapons. If he gives the impression that he armed the thing without being able to disarm it by himself then that could make Jail lose some of his confidence that he can predict every move of our nameless protagonist.
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No, I don't believe the world has gone mad.  In order for it to go mad it would need to have been sane at some point.

I think you've told us about that winner before, Acyl; at least some of those tales of stupidity sound familiar.
-- Bob
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Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

Well now, Chap 21 is up, and yet again, another cliffhanger.
This one's a doozy too.
(Why do I get the feeling that the Rainbow Crystal has Vivio's name on it...)

.... Whoah.

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DEATH is Certain. The hour, Uncertain...

Something that the author leaked on his spacebattles.com forum:  (colored for spoiler)

Quote:Then I reached the confrontation and tried a few different approaches
before scrapping them. It took two hours to figure out what I was going
to do before I finally settled on 'casting venom'.

Now, the trick was, I was expecting to just be a daunting distraction so
Cinque wouldn't actually fire her shaped-charge daggers.
(Rumble/Ramble Detonator) Which would give Senbei the chance to do his
thing.

What I didn't know was that while Senbei was channeling all his energy
into my body for the effects, the power glove was sucking it up as
'fuel' and reading my intent to produce the correct spell.

So when I hit the activation word 'VENOM!' It didn't just project the
energy, it actually CAST VENOM. Or at least, a very
believable approximation.

Any beys on if he could cast the Dragon Slave by that method?
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Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

No, no, and no. ^^

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My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

Arghh! Sorry about that. My connection kept timing out, so I didn't think it was getting posted. Sorry.
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Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

Hmm.... Bastard! grade destruction spells... I'm looking forward to 'Exodus'
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DEATH is Certain. The hour, Uncertain...

Huh. Multiposts from more than one person. I'll delete the dupes.
ETA:  Or maybe I won't.  Post deletion is hanging without doing anything.  Nothing else I've tried hangs, though.  Grrr.
ETA2:  Okay, it's working -- somewhat -- this morning, so I fixed one of the series of dupes.  The author of the other clearly fixed his already.
-- Bob
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Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

Jorlem Wrote:Any beys on if he could cast the Dragon Slave by that method?

Probably not.  The scope here was a single target attack, not blowing away a city.  I still think the guys on spacebattles are right, and that Cinque just got Befriended.

paladindythe Wrote:

Jorlem Wrote:Any bets on if he could cast the Dragon Slave by that method?

Probably not.  The scope here was a single target attack, not blowing away a city.  I still think the guys on spacebattles are right, and that Cinque just got Befriended.

Ah, ok.  Something more along the lines of a Ra Tilt, then? 
Also, if being knocked out counts for our protagonist's jumps, did he just pick up a new passenger?
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Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.