Sparkle (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
myownface) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2012-11-15 07:33 am
myownface) wrote in fandomhigh2012-11-15 07:33 am
Entry tags:
Wild Roving, Thursday
"Okay, last week we talked about not getting caught breaking stupid laws," Electroclash started. Or maybe she should have been called Sarah this week, seeing as she was out of uniform and in civilian clothes. (There was a point to that, by the way.) "But that's far from being the only way you can get into trouble by not knowing how to act in a specific location. It's just a pretty obvious one." Or maybe it wasn't, if you weren't her. But whatever. "This time, we're looking at kind of the same thing but from a different perspective. This time, you're not the twits breaking the law. Other people are."
Which was also a scenario Electroclash was more than familiar with, as it happened. As a hero, it was hard not to be. "Pickpockets and other shady folks. Con artists, just looking to hustle you out of what's left of your cash just because you were a stupid fucking git and wandered into the wrong part of town, looking ripe for a mugging, with no cape around to save your foolish arse out of trouble." This was... about how she looked at the people she saved in her old dayjob, yes. "So, what can you do, I hear you ask," she continued. "The first thing is not looking like a fucking tourist. Don't go around with your guidebook and map out. Blend in. Try to look like you're not the easiest catch in the world for a crafty crook. But of course, that alone won't stop you from getting mugged or at least having your pockets picked."
Was it wrong of her to just boldly assume Sparkle was going to have a thing or two of note to say about that?
Pfft. Wrong? No. Sparkle was just nodding while she spoke, before stepping up to give his two cents on the matter.
"Go a step beyond just looking like you won't be an easy target," Sparkle added. "Be like proactive, here. Don't travel alone in a place you don't know, for a start, and if you do then at least try to stay on well-lit streets and avoid travelling at night. Muggings happen in dark alleyways in the movies for a reason, and that reason is-- You know what, never mind. If you're wandering into an alley with like a dead-end to it that's full of nothing but rats and garbage, you probably wanted to be mugged or something. That shit puts me on edge, guys. Me."
And it was possible that Sparkle had spent more time than he'd care to admit, hunkered down in places just like those. So.
"Then there's the classic, 'don't carry anything worth stealing.' I mean, joke's on the pickpocket if he goes through all that trouble just to get a handful of tampons or some used Kleenex or something. Don't carry bags with you that look easy to snatch, I mean purses, sure, but briefcases can be an easy grab, too, and there's not much stopping someone walking close enough behind you in a crowd from just opening your backpack and rummaging. They act natural while they're doing it, people have this funny way of deciding that he's a buddy of yours and ignoring it. So, thanks, people." This, from the kid who thought it was a good time, breaking into homes and stealing their toothpicks and Happy Meal toys. "And if that doesn't work, and someone really is still going to try jumping you, don't expect much in the way of rescue if you scream for help in some place that doesn't have capes like the teacher here. Help means trouble, people don't like trouble. They also don't want, you know, their apartment buildings or whatever to burn down, so they will at least look if you scream fire."
He gave his hands a clap and offered the other students a grin.
"Your turn, guys. Come up with suggestions for keeping yourself out of the kind of trouble that might end up with you at the wrong end of a shiv, and then share. This, I want to hear."
[Open!]
Which was also a scenario Electroclash was more than familiar with, as it happened. As a hero, it was hard not to be. "Pickpockets and other shady folks. Con artists, just looking to hustle you out of what's left of your cash just because you were a stupid fucking git and wandered into the wrong part of town, looking ripe for a mugging, with no cape around to save your foolish arse out of trouble." This was... about how she looked at the people she saved in her old dayjob, yes. "So, what can you do, I hear you ask," she continued. "The first thing is not looking like a fucking tourist. Don't go around with your guidebook and map out. Blend in. Try to look like you're not the easiest catch in the world for a crafty crook. But of course, that alone won't stop you from getting mugged or at least having your pockets picked."
Was it wrong of her to just boldly assume Sparkle was going to have a thing or two of note to say about that?
Pfft. Wrong? No. Sparkle was just nodding while she spoke, before stepping up to give his two cents on the matter.
"Go a step beyond just looking like you won't be an easy target," Sparkle added. "Be like proactive, here. Don't travel alone in a place you don't know, for a start, and if you do then at least try to stay on well-lit streets and avoid travelling at night. Muggings happen in dark alleyways in the movies for a reason, and that reason is-- You know what, never mind. If you're wandering into an alley with like a dead-end to it that's full of nothing but rats and garbage, you probably wanted to be mugged or something. That shit puts me on edge, guys. Me."
And it was possible that Sparkle had spent more time than he'd care to admit, hunkered down in places just like those. So.
"Then there's the classic, 'don't carry anything worth stealing.' I mean, joke's on the pickpocket if he goes through all that trouble just to get a handful of tampons or some used Kleenex or something. Don't carry bags with you that look easy to snatch, I mean purses, sure, but briefcases can be an easy grab, too, and there's not much stopping someone walking close enough behind you in a crowd from just opening your backpack and rummaging. They act natural while they're doing it, people have this funny way of deciding that he's a buddy of yours and ignoring it. So, thanks, people." This, from the kid who thought it was a good time, breaking into homes and stealing their toothpicks and Happy Meal toys. "And if that doesn't work, and someone really is still going to try jumping you, don't expect much in the way of rescue if you scream for help in some place that doesn't have capes like the teacher here. Help means trouble, people don't like trouble. They also don't want, you know, their apartment buildings or whatever to burn down, so they will at least look if you scream fire."
He gave his hands a clap and offered the other students a grin.
"Your turn, guys. Come up with suggestions for keeping yourself out of the kind of trouble that might end up with you at the wrong end of a shiv, and then share. This, I want to hear."
[Open!]