Adventuring!, Thursday, Period 3

[geniuswithasmartphone]

For the last class, like the first, the Danger Shop was set up to look like Ye Old-Timey Fantasy Tavern, because Hardison did love him some tropes, and 'getting an adventure hook in a tavern' was one of the oldest.

"I'm looking for some adventurers!" an old man announced a few minutes after class began. "A small band of the most brave and stalwart! Monsters have moved into the cave system nearby the village and are terrorizing our outlying farms! There's gold and treasure in it for anyone who can make our town safe again!"

Once the old man sat back down, Hardison stood up. "That's your final, class," he said. "You can work alone, though it might be easier to go in a group or somethin'. Head to the caves, defeat some monsters, an' enjoy the sweet reward of treasure." And a good grade, but whatever. "So figure out what class you wanna be from the ones we went over this session, decide who you're gonna team up with, if anyone, an' enjoy your taste of fantasy adventure!"

Comments

Re: Talk to Hardison

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"I'm guessin' so?" Hardison said. "Because I'm still not sure what it is that you ain't gettin'."

Re: Talk to Hardison

[tigerundercover]

"You know, long hair, goofy shirts, kilts. All that . . . non-traditional masculinity."

Re: Talk to Hardison

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"...So, we talkin' about guys in general, not Eliot now?" Hardison checked, since Eliot only checked one of those boxes. "I guess once Women's Lib really kicked off, it opened the way for men to have a little more freedom, too. Besides, what you think of as masculine is mostly based on Western standards--an' not even alla that. Kilts've been a thing in Scotland for centuries. The Romans called the Germanic tribes barbarians cause they wore pants. Lotsa warrior cultures thought of long hair as a sign of martial prowess, cause it meant you could fight well enough that your hair wasn't a hindrance."

He shrugged, holding his arm out against hers for contrast. "Hair is hair, yo. It's neutral. Over the years, folks decided men should have short hair on their heads an' hair everywhere else, but women should have long hair on their heads an' that was it. Probably the same folks that decided that you an' I ain't the same cause I got darker skin than you do. It's all pretty much bullshit."

Re: Talk to Hardison

[tigerundercover]

Raven nodded slowly. "Sorry," she said, rolling her eyes at herself. "I'm still catching up to a lot of things. Sometimes it feels like I'm never going to run out of 'stupid 50s girl says' moments."

RE: Re: Talk to Hardison

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"None of that," Hardison said seriously. "You had a question an', believe me, you ain't the only person who's askin' it. Most people don't even have the excuse of bein' raised in the 50s for it. You're at least questionin' the stuff you been raised to believe an' lookin' for answers when things don't fit. An' you ain't never made me feel like you think I'm less than you, even with the color of my skin an' who I'm sleepin' with. That says more about who you are than anythin' else, I think. Everythin' else is just a process."

Re: RE: Re: Talk to Hardison

[tigerundercover]

"I'm blue and I have crushes on girls," Raven said. "Anyway, I was going to ask you something. Can teachers sign into the Danger Shop when they don't have a class there?"

Re: Talk to Hardison

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"You know, I ain't sure," Hardison said, touching his chin in thought. "I can check with the administration though. Whatcha need?"

Re: Talk to Hardison

[tigerundercover]

"To fly." Raven smiled a little nervously. "I think I kinda -- did? Getting off the spaceship. But if I try in the real world and I'm wrong --"

RE: Re: Talk to Hardison

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Yeah, I could see where that could go hella wrong," Hardison said quickly. "I ain't about to let my best TA get spattered across the pavement. Man, I'd have to break another one it, catch her up to speed about cool stuff, alla that. Nah, lemme talk to the principal or whatever an' we'll get you hooked up, a'ight?"

Re: RE: Re: Talk to Hardison

[tigerundercover]

Raven grinned. "That'd be so swell. It's a little embarrassing to be able to turn into a falcon and not know if I've got it right enough to actually take off."

Re: Talk to Hardison

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Somewhere on campus, Kathy was holding up a book on anatomy and physiology and didn't really know why. BUT SHE COULD PROBABLY GUESS.

"That's somethin' else we could probably get the Danger Shop to do," Hardison suggested. "Get a buncha different birds so you could study 'em from all angles. Even look at 'em layer by layer so you can figure out how to shape stuff or whatever. But, like, I dunno about you, but I ain't never gotten close enough to a falcon to see exactly how it flies or nothin'."

Re: Talk to Hardison

[tigerundercover]

"I've never been that close to an elephant, either," Raven said. "But I do okay as one of those." She shrugged. "I don't really know how all this works. But watching birds move and getting to imitate them somewhere that I can't go splat would be great."

RE: Re: Talk to Hardison

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Hardison pulled out his phone and quickly typed out a message. "There," he said, hitting the send button with his thumb. "I just sent an email to the administration. Soon as they hit me back, I'll let you know."

Re: RE: Re: Talk to Hardison

[tigerundercover]

Raven smiled thankfully. "You're the best. Let me know if I can do anything in return?"

Re: Talk to Hardison

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"You can learn how to fly an' be even more awesome," Hardison said. "Like I said, I ain't about to have to go to the trouble of trainin' a whole new TA replacement."

Beat.

"Though if you think you can convince Eliot to wear a kilt sometime..."

Re: Talk to Hardison

[tigerundercover]

"I don't even know Eliot," Raven said. "But if you want me to look like him in a kilt and take pictures to use as blackmail, I could probably do that."

Re: Talk to Hardison

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Uhh...blackmail is definitely not what I had in mind."

Re: Talk to Hardison

[tigerundercover]

"Encouragement, then? 'Here, Eliot, look how hot you'd be. Give it a shot.'"

Re: Talk to Hardison

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Hardison chuckled. "I'm lovin' it. Excellent plan. More than worth me sendin' an email to administration."

Re: Talk to Hardison

[tigerundercover]

"Do you have a picture of him? I want to make sure I'm accurate. And what sort of kilt would you like?"

RE: Re: Talk to Hardison

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Hardison pulled up his phone and starting flipping through his pictures of Eliot, most of which were candids. Because Eliot didn't pose for pictures. And...whoooa, yeah, definitely not sharing those with a student. Or anyone. "Yo, how's this one?"

Re: Talk to Hardison

[tigerundercover]

"Ooo," Raven said, taking a good look. "You've got taste, definitely. Do you have any full body pictures? So I can get his build? Since you want the kilt and all."

RE: Re: Talk to Hardison

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Hardison coughed a little, glad he couldn't really blush. "I, uhh, might got somethin' like that." Yeah, he had to keep flipping through his pictures. Got to one, grinned, then coughed and kept flipping. "Uhhh, this one?"

Re: Talk to Hardison

[tigerundercover]

"Life goals," Raven muttered under her breath, then nodded, looked back up at Hardison, and shifted.

"How's this?"

She wasn't growly enough. And she was a couple inches too tall. But other than that, it was as spot on as usual.

RE: Re: Talk to Hardison

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"You're gonna have to drop to about 5'8," Hardison said with a small grin. "And sound a lot angrier. Kinda growl a little. And try to sound a bit Southern. And kinda grumpy about it."