fandomhigh | Basic Strategy, Monday, Period 4

Class met in the Danger Shop today, which had been set up to look like a dimly lit dungeon, deserted save for a swarm of small, ugly beasts that looked a bit like purple bears with lizard heads.

"Last week our subject was acknowledging things about ourselves we can't change or forget," Tyrion said without preamble, and with some pride he'd gotten the wolves to show up in Danger Shop again. "This week, we begin a unit on making the best of what you have. You may be strong. You may be clever. You may be lovely to look upon. You may be rich. Unless the gods gave with both hands at your birth, it's unlikely you're all four. It's far more likely you're weak, stupid, ugly or poor -- relatively speaking, of course."

"Your choices are two. You can either concentrate on what you have a gift for and hope it's enough to get you through anything, or you can spend your life trying to master the things you're worst at in hopes of balancing yourself out. All things being equal, and assuming you're being honest with yourself about having tried to improve, I'd say you're usually better off focusing on your skills and making them as good as they can be. A swordsman does not prepare for battle by reading, nor should he, and it makes no more sense for a weakling to spend his days fiddling about with a sword. He might hurt himself."

"But -- because this is my class, and I have the right to be perverse sometimes -- today we will start with a single kind of skill, and pretend we're all trying to improve our strength." He pointed to a beast. "Your job is to fight these lovely fellows. They've no ability to speak or reason -- all you can do is find a way to bash your way out of this one. After you've done that, we'll talk some more."

Before he released the class to fight the beasts, he added, "And by the way, because this got me into trouble last time, I must add these creatures are not real. They're a kind of film and can't hurt you. Don't ask me how it works."

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

As if you are strong, clever, handsome and rich.

Edited 2012-01-09 09:52 (UTC)

Listen to Tyrion. Or just boggle at the purple lizard beasts. Whatever.

There are moddable creatures to spar with, and an array of clubs, swords, shields, knives and bows and arrows to choose from. The fights aren't long, and they won't be especially difficult for anyone with fight training. You can't get hurt, but if the beast knocks you down, it counts as a loss for you and the exercise ends.

Once the beasts were all dead or disappeared or whatever happened to virtual foes, Tyrion spoke again. "My interest in making you do that was to see how it felt to each of you. Do you think of yourself as strong? If you don't, how do you think your experience was different from that of someone who does?"

He paced a few steps. "I set that up so you had no option but the fight. What would you have done if you could have chosen any reaction?"

Once we've pinged in!

And back to bed for meeee.

Tyrion was grateful he didn't have to fight the monsters. Watching other people do it suited his skill set much better.

Firekeeper wasn't boggling so much as grinning, well. Wolfishly. It had been far too long since she'd managed to find herself in a proper fight.

...Even if these were illusion-creatures.

Firekeeper and Blind Seer, as it turns out, had brought their own weapons to the fight. Between Firekeeper's Fang and Blind Seer's claws, soon a half-dozen of the strange creatures lay dead at their feet.

"Fighting," Firekeeper said slowly, "is part of being in a wolf pack. You cannot escape it, except by dying." She shrugged. "Blind Seer and I do not wish to die." That explained things rather nicely, she thought.

"If there were any choice, we still choose fighting," a beat, "unless maybe this get us in trouble. I know there is rules against killing humans who is not bandits."

Petra West

Petra nodded approvingly at the lecture. The purple lizard things were whacked, but no more whacked than the giant feathered snakes on the island, so she wasn't that bothered about them.

As soon as she understood what was required of them, she was rummaging through her giant purse for a travel can of hairspray. Yes, hairspray. Don't leave home without it! "Hairspray, hairspray, where are you, hairspray?" she muttered to herself.

Petra had hairspray and a club. She was ready. When one of the purple lizard bear things came at her, she quickly sprayed it in the eyes, then, while it was making loud 'my eyes, they sting' noises and staggering around blind, shoved the can of hairspray into her jacket pocket, missing the bandolier she'd had on the island, and used both hands on the club to bludgeon it over the head until it fell down unconscious.

Then she took the hairspray back out of her pocket to blow on it like a gunslinger.

"I think I'm pretty strong," Petra said. "Objectively, physically, yeah, there are people who are way stronger than me, but I do okay for myself."

She considered the second part of the question for another moment before continuing. "If I could avoid fighting without just being an outright coward and running away or leaving someone else to deal with it, like if I could talk to them or something, I would do that, but if I have to fight...I try to fight smart? Because otherwise I would pretty much already be dead."

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce

Loki Laufeyson

Loki ~~bitchfaced~~ frowned at the assigned task, perfectly willing to just watch how everyone else handled themselves should it come in handy.

But having to fight? Ugh.

Wesley tripped on his way to retrieve one of the swords.

But then promptly hoisted up the sword and beheaded several of the lizard beasts in a single swing, so. He was kind of a badass, despite the clumsiness.

Look, he'd had his fill of lizard monsters over the summer.

Edited 2012-01-09 14:07 (UTC)

Karla

After a moment's consideration, Loki finally selected a spear. One meant for great poking.

He eyed the 'battlefield' for a moment before picking his purple lizard-bear opponent. Then ran toward it, spear ready at his side. Once he was close enough, he stuck the poor, fake creature, using it's body to keep the spear in place as he pole vaulted over the rest.

Look, he simply was not suited to traditional battle.

"I... think of myself as moderately capable in a fight," Wesley said, dusting off his shirt. "Typically I prefer longer-range weapons, but I've certainly had enough fencing training to have a fair hand with a sword. If I had options -- and your assurance that these beasts did in fact have malevolent intentions -- I likely would've done the same."

Rogue demon hunter. WHUT.

Karla watched Petra with an interested expression for a moment.

"You know," she said idly as another purple creature lumbered towards them. "It's not exactly strength training, but I bet a little bit of fire would also help in this situation."

"Not fought." Thank you, Loki for that shocking statement. "I am more suited to the less physical aspects of battle. Diplomacy, perhaps."

Which was just a fancy word for lying to get what you wanted. So, he was a fan.

Loki was there, of course. And looking far too keen about his new position as a teaching assistant.

This could not end well for anyone involved, really.

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Basic Strategy, Monday, Period 4

SIGN IN [1/09]

GENERAL CLASS STUFF [1/09]

STRENGTH EXERCISE [1/09]

DISCUSSION [1/09]

TEACHER + TAs [1/09]

OOC [1/09]

Re: TEACHER + TAs [1/09]

Re: SIGN IN [1/09]

Re: GENERAL CLASS STUFF [1/09]

Re: STRENGTH EXERCISE [1/09]

Re: DISCUSSION [1/09]

Re: SIGN IN [1/09]

Re: GENERAL CLASS STUFF [1/09]

Re: STRENGTH EXERCISE [1/09]

Re: DISCUSSION [1/09]

Re: SIGN IN [1/09]

Re: SIGN IN [1/09]

Re: GENERAL CLASS STUFF [1/09]

Re: STRENGTH EXERCISE [1/09]

Re: SIGN IN [1/09]

Re: STRENGTH EXERCISE [1/09]

Re: DISCUSSION [1/09]

Re: STRENGTH EXERCISE [1/09]

Re: DISCUSSION [1/09]

Re: TEACHER + TAs [1/09]