atreideslioness: (Fremen Princess)
Ghanima Atreides ([personal profile] atreideslioness) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2015-05-06 11:19 am
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Physical Education. Wednesday, Period Three

When students arrived in the Danger Shop, they'd find a good half of the floor covered in mats, and Lady Ghanima waiting for them; her usual gowns abandoned in favor of a light tunic and trousers, and bare feet. Off to the side was a table full of water bottles and fruit, in case anyone got light headed or had skipped breakfast today.

"Welcome to Physical Education," she announced, once everyone had gathered. "If you have not had one of my classes before, you may call me Lady Ghanima, Miss Ghanima, or Miss Atreides, whichever you are more comfortable with given your cultural preferences," Ghanima announced, smiling. "Lady Atreides is my grandmother, and I will not answer to it. For those of you whom I have had in class before, welcome back."

"I shall give you fair warning now: this is not a place for those with delicate sensibilities. You will hit the mat. You may go home bruised, bleeding, and sore. You may not feel good about yourself at the end of the day. You will, however, hopefully achieve some form of physical or mental catharsis through physical activity. If you're lucky, you'll also be less-likely to die when faced with a superior opponent."

Because Fandom.

"Which means the first thing you need to learn is this: everyone falls down. Everyone. Whether it's when you're first learning to walk, tripping over a rock, or falling out of a tree. People fall every day, and it's not the end of the world. Why, then, are we so afraid of hitting the earth? Is it fear of injury or fear of failure?" she asked, looking at each of them. "Falling down is not failing, simply because it is not possible to excel in throwing, or to defend against an attack successfully, without a thorough understanding of falling and how it works. So today, we'll start with a very basic item that is actually rarely taught. How to fall properly so that you need not fear injury."

Stepping up to the mats, Ghanima proceeded to demonstrate three ways of falling, starting out slow and then speeding each one up to real-time. "Pick one and start slowly," she said, dusting off her hands as she sat down on the edge of the mat. "Don't try to master all three at once. If you're already well-versed in these three techniques, pick a partner who is also skilled, and practice tossing each other."

"Miss Lightwood here is my teaching assistant, and you can feel free to direct any questions to her if I'm helping someone else. Go ahead and begin."
spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (Fallen)

Re: Activity: Fall Down!

[personal profile] spin_kick_snap 2015-05-07 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
"Consciously?" Kathy asked. "Nothing. This is just how my powers--oof!" She hadn't expected Hanna to tackle her and use her whole weight to bring her down. She felt her body tensing, planning to turn this into a handspring back onto her feet, and she made herself relax, hitting the mats the way Lady Ghanima had shown them.

Re: Activity: Fall Down!

[identity profile] hexentotchen.livejournal.com 2015-05-07 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
"That worked. And you did it right," Hanna observed, sitting back on her knees, and then offering Kathy a hand. "Your powers?" She was fairly certain Kathy have never mentioned those to her before.
spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (Bouncing)

Re: Activity: Fall Down!

[personal profile] spin_kick_snap 2015-05-07 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
Kathy generally felt weird about bringing them up randomly with people. It still felt too much like bragging. But since it was now topical, Kathy had no problems sharing. "Powers," she said, fighting the urge to downplay them as 'nothing much.' "Superspeed, super-agility, and the ability to, uhh, bounce."

Yeah, she needed to find a better way to word that.

"The super-agility means I can run full-speed when I'm wearing heels and not have to worry, but it also means that I have serious problems falling down. I just--don't. Not really. My body takes the momentum and turns it into something else, I guess."

Re: Activity: Fall Down!

[identity profile] hexentotchen.livejournal.com 2015-05-07 03:58 am (UTC)(link)
"Reflected velocity?" Hanna tilted her head, watching Kathy. "I suppose you don't need to learn to fall so much, then. Unless someone does what I just did, and hangs on. That is incredibly useful." She got to her feet easily, and looked thoughtful. "Do you already know how to fight?"
spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (Looking Into Your Soul)

Re: Activity: Fall Down!

[personal profile] spin_kick_snap 2015-05-07 05:58 am (UTC)(link)
"Sort of?" Kathy said. "I mostly adapt what I know about gymnastics and work from there. You don't have to be really good at fighting when you hit someone at 90 miles an hour." Wait, Hanna had grown up in Europe. Kathy wasn't sure if she'd been taught Imperial. "That's about 145 kilometers."

Re: Activity: Fall Down!

[identity profile] hexentotchen.livejournal.com 2015-05-07 06:01 am (UTC)(link)
"Ah," Hanna said, nodding, looking impressed. "I would expect not." She frowned and said, "What would you do if someone attacked you from behind? And, do you get hurt? I mean..." She fumbled a little, feeling awkward. "Do you still feel pain?"
spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (Skeptical)

Re: Activity: Fall Down!

[personal profile] spin_kick_snap 2015-05-07 06:07 am (UTC)(link)
"Pain? Oh yeah, absolutely," Kathy said, wincing. "And I still bruise and bleed and scar."

No rapid healing for this girl.

"It depends, I guess. On if I notice the attack before it hits, how big and strong my opponent is, all sorts of stuff. If I see it, I can dodge out of the way pretty easily. If not..." She shrugged. "If not, I've suddenly got a lot more problems. I'm fast, but once you've got me stopped, I'm just your average girl. It's why I tend to stay in motion a lot. Harder to hit, harder to catch. Plus, I can channel all that momentum into my attacks."

Funny how little of this was sounding hypothetical.

Re: Activity: Fall Down!

[identity profile] hexentotchen.livejournal.com 2015-05-07 06:20 am (UTC)(link)
Hanna accepted it as normal. Interesting, of course, as it always was to meet someone with a background in fighting. But she simply said, "I am faster, but nowhere near as fast as you. But I am stronger than usual."

As strong as, say, a full-grown Marine about 10 cm taller and 30 kilos heavier, for instance.

She frowned and said, "I think you should speak to Miss Ghanima about this. Since you fight often? I am guessing?"
spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (Frail)

Re: Activity: Fall Down!

[personal profile] spin_kick_snap 2015-05-07 10:15 am (UTC)(link)
"You think she'd want to know?" Kathy asked, then blushed a little. "Sorry. Obviously you do, or else you wouldn't have said so. I'm just not sure exactly what you think she'll do."

Re: Activity: Fall Down!

[identity profile] hexentotchen.livejournal.com 2015-05-07 08:38 pm (UTC)(link)
"I think she would have better suggestions than I, about how to handle your powers. Or if you even need to learn to fall," Hanna said, smiling back. "I'm only used to fighting humans. Although I would love to spar with you again."
spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (Shining Eyes Smile)

Re: Activity: Fall Down!

[personal profile] spin_kick_snap 2015-05-08 05:17 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm always up for a spar," Kathy said brightly. "But, uhh, don't be surprised if I spend a lot of time running away? I'm kinda more a 'hit when you're least expecting it' kind of fighter than a 'stand and slug' one."