Agreed. Though I would stress that Harry isn't as naive as all that, and it was being made pretty clear that he was getting pushed by what could be dramatically called 'Heroic Instinct' which is, in fact, in his genes.

It's amusing how quickly Dumbledore tried to resort to the political pressure angle to keep Harry in Hogwarts. He has no fucking clue how little Sma could give a shit about that. They could literally turn England into a smoking crater without breaking a sweat. If only he had a clue... bricks would be shit- shat... whatever.

The problem with writing a fascinating story is that when you write [-----] this much, your addicts/readers are craving [---------------] this much.

Edit: Post 444, whee!

 

WARNING. I rambled a bit too much and yes this may earn a tl;dr or two.

I can see how one might dislike Dumbledore's characterization, and how easily he is 'handled' by Sma. And to those unfamiliar with the Culture it may even feel like the typical crossover suckiness where essentially an OC completely alters your understanding and appreciation for one of the universes. (Like a Buffy meets HP cross where Willow is the uber-witch who can completely own everything JKR ever created with a small twitch of her nose. In this one, it seems like an above average competence woman can manipulate the HP world's master manipulator with just a little effort.)

And then of course the offensive capabilities of the Culture make wizard magic look like kids playing with sticks. An intelligent gel-field suit with which a whacking by an angry troll leaves only a bruise? The smaller simpler drones turn a troll into liquid mist? Some move at the speed of light?

All of these things force a reader to reassess where the known world of JKR's magic fits into the scheme of things. Suddenly, major threats seem like minor nuisances and the expected drama and conflict is absent.

This is where "crossovers" often lose their appeal to some readers. You basically have to be willing to accept that Sma is smarter and coming from a different perspective than anyone you know in the HP world. That the dangers and feelings of shock and awe that certain scenes and experiences from canon will be absent here. We as HP fans think a deadly battle with a basilisk is exciting and dangerous. And to see a new concept (like the Culture) thrown into a world we obviously liked and to completely disrespect it feels like an insult to us and the things we liked. It can make for an interesting story while leaving a reader feeling conflicted.

A certain Iron Man crossover comes to mind and how readers felt when they hear Voldemort's a nuisance that uncle Thor could crush at any time. While yes, logic dictates an immortal god of thunder should be able to spank a dark wizard who wishes he were an immortal god, at the same time bringing those two things together sucks a lot of the fun and drama from JKR's entire world. We don't fear for the fate of the world, we don't worry and agonize over wondering how to find the horcruxes or stop Voldemort. Instead the world HP fans are less familiar with is the home of the uber-ness while the world of JKR is suddenly an unimportant kiddie playground.

This is why so many crossovers about alternate-fandom-X raising baby Harry and then Harry going through Hogwarts suck so damn much (Naruto!Harry, DBZ!Harry, vampire hunter Harry, etc...). Harry at Hogwarts is the home for all our understanding of JKR's world. Shezza's pulled this off pretty damn well primarily because the HP world is every bit as dangerous and powerful as the Dresdenverse. It's an equal sort of respect for both fandoms.

Clell65619's Invincible Technomage doesn't balance that very well and it's annoyed a number of HP fans. Ruskbyte in this fic, so far hasn't balanced it very well. But from what I can tell, he may not ever. I get the feeling this fic is more about how the Culture accepts and understands that magic is a real thing. And a real thing they haven't been able to break down and understand yet.

The way the JKR world reacts to this very different Harry feels secondary compared to the Culture.

This is why I think the crossover will appeal more to fans of the Culture. And those HP fans who can readily accept things like JKR's facts and rules suddenly seeming like unimportant suggestions will also be better able to enjoy this fic. But if you're looking for Dumbledore to act like JKR's Dumbledore or for a magic wand to be one of the deadliest weapons in existence, you may be sorely disappointed.

That said, it feels like after 56,000 words or so, we've barely scratched the surface. The pacing is extremely slow and the way we see scenes 2 and 3 times through from different perspectives is really getting on my nerves. It certainly seemed odd the way Harry felt obliged to help Hermione and I hope there's a more thorough explanation for that but for now, I'm still left waiting.

This fic is full of potential, it's just taking longer than I'd like to reach any of that potential. Where these fics succeed in spite of reader's conflicted feelings is where the authors create new forms of conflict and drama from situations that'd only arise in a meshing of the two worlds. If the addition of combat drones protecting Harry means the basilisk poses little threat, then we need a different source of drama instead. Few authors can find those things and make a good story out of them, but I think Ruskbyte is one of the ones who can.

 

This troll scene was the weakest part of this chapter, and it was probably for the reason that IP suggests--Ruskbyte trying to twist the scene to echo canon.

If his drones were going to liquefy the troll, why did they wait until *after* it had already hit Harry with the club? Particularly since it was established that the gel suit was more than adequate protection (relegating the troll to "nuisance" rather than "actual threat" status).

Still a good read, since I have a soft spot for Ruskbyte's particular brand of WildlyOverpowered!Harry.

 

I thought it was Sma's drone that actually killed the troll...?

 

Sma ordered her briefcase to “Find Harry and kill anything in the vicinity that isn't Harry," which, of course, appalled Dumbledore. The little drones were tasked to protect Harry, so they should have attacked as soon as the troll aimed its club at him. They Were Not prepared to "attack any possible threat as soon as identified." They didn't understand the situation, and (intelligently) delayed to analyse what was happening. Remember, even Harry didn't want to kill it at first: he tried to pull Hermione to him, presumably in order to get both of them away.
Potter wasn't actually at risk until he teleported (I don't know the correct term in this instance) between the troll and Hermione, and intercepted a swing aimed at her. Still, as soon as he appeared in the line of fire, the little drones should have reacted lethally.
God knows they are fast enough to interfere. As for "vaporizing" the troll instead of simply killing it (by decapitation, let's say, or blowing a hole through its chest,) well, they didn't know its vulnerabilities. Instead of risking an attack that might not be totally incapacitating, or risking a ton of troll meat crushing the children, the drones went for "there is no overkill."

 

Wouldn't the "kill anything that's not Harry" order have included Hermione?

Awkward...

 

No. The drones are far more intelligent than our computers. Even a dog is smart enough to understand the concept of "when not to obey orders." You can tell a dog to stay, but it WILL leave a burning building, no matter how well trained.
Sma's briefcase knew that protecting Harry was the highest priority, but it didn't blow holes in loadbearing walls, it didn't cause permanent hearing loss to the children, it went around Snape instead of through him. All those were decisions made by analyzing its orders and adapting them to the circumstances and its ethical training.

 

*Whoosh*

(You might have noticed something passing by the top of your head just now)

 

Yeah. I had a happy few minutes picturing something that looks like the combat training drone from "A New Hope" decloaking itself in the Great Hall and (with a sound that isn't QUITE a sonic boom,) taking off down the halls.
The muggleborn students will be more startled by it than the kids raised in the magickal world. Malfoy and Weasley would think it's an odd sort of spell (perhaps a giant snitch?) - but anyone who was muggle raised would see a several-generations-in-the-future robot. And they would KNOW we are no where near able to build it.
The letters home are going out even as we speak.

 

@Banner, you just earned my respect by this explanation.

 

A girl knowing about star wars... It cannot be! Your awesome-o is going critical

 

just wanted to say that when i think about culture drones i mostly think about them looking like that to(unless i get a description)....but just this drone i want to imagen looking like one of those spy drones the sith use on tatooine in episode 1...


...but thats just me...and dont realy mather^^

 

Sigh...

Once again I find myself wishing we still had the Rep system in play.

Α Ω

Your posts have earned the Golden Alpha and Omega award. Go forth and conquer.​

 

Am I the only one that finds this line funny?

 

* bows to the group *
Thank you!

 

This story blows.

Sick and tired of Harry having some bloody protector that plays more of a role in the story than he does.

Unless Sma dies in the next chapter, I see little hope of this story being anything I would pay attention to.

Harry and Sma are the least likable characters in this story.

Do you know why it took 6 chapters to get to Hogwarts, because this "Culture" is so technologically advanced that once in Britain there is little hope of anything at all posing a challenge for Harry, bar social interactions and the occasional magic surprise.

Also, Ruskbyte does a piss poor job of actually explaining The Culture. After reading every word of those 6 chapters I've gathered, Harry has a robot cat, he lived on a ship like thing with its own mind (of which there are many, that have boring ass conversations), theres some sort of grid thing that Harry can access but nobody else can (Magic) , and they have millimeter long missiles and centimeter long knife-missiles that can cut people to shreds with zero chance of defending themselves.

Total shit.

 

The Culture is a part of the crossover, he doesn't need to explain anything. I would recommend that you wait a few chapters, as I'm pretty sure they're will be more conflict than a troll.

 

Death Eaters perhaps? And then what, they'll be liquefied by RoboCat?

These 6 chapters could have been done in 2, unnecessary interaction with adolescent girls that we're likely to never see again.

Sma is an unlikable character. Perhaps that would be different if I was a Culture fan reading this crossover, but I'm not, I'm a HP fan.

I just want somebody to Avada her dumb ass and be done with it. The story would be far more intriguing if Harry was suddenly cut off from all of his technology and contacts and was suddenly thrust into a world of magic that completely defies all of his scientific preconceptions.

Sma treating Dumbledore with no respect whatsoever bothers me more than anything. Just because you're from an "advanced" civilization doesn't make you better than others. People are people. The technology that they have has, in my observations to this point, made them arrogant and foolhardy. Approach every situation with caution, observe then act accordingly. Her negative disposition has automatically made her a source of conflict with Dumbledore and by extension the rest of the staff, order, and whoever else Dumbledore feels like discussing her with.

If the Culture is so advanced then perhaps they should have learned some fucking manners.

 

Strange Lulz has a point.

I still think it's entertaining, but I'm very curious as to how Ruskbyte could possibly make anything by the wizards enough of a conflict/challenge to Harry, Sma, and Robocat (I liked that). The story would probably read better if it was done like Syao's "Burn Baby, Burn". Still, I'm intrigued enough to see how wizards will challenge the Culture.

 

I think it is more likely to be that the Culture would underestimate the innate abilities of magic. They operate on laws of science and reasoning things, but it is hard to reason why that couch suddenly became a pig.

I think that the most likely events are going to be where Magic crosses past the point of reason for some things, and things that the Culture has not taken into account before.

An equivalence I can see is the fact that (sorry about this) America thought that we could win through technological force in Iraq. That's great that your multi-million dollar tank can shoot through walls, has radar tracking, GPS, and armor that can prevent anti-tank shells from penetrating, but a blast from an unexpected angle made from improvised materials throws the track off it, and now you have a multi-million dollar turret.

The interesting aspects to this fic seem to be how the reader views the magical world from a different perspective coming into it. We see it as coming from a modern society where space travel and the laws of physics still apply. Now it's coming from a post-modern society, and I think it's interesting to see if even with the vastly superior technologies magic can give the Culture some surprises.