fandomhigh | Teamwork Training and Combat Skills; Thursday, Second Period [09/05].

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Teamwork Training and Combat Skills; Thursday, Second Period [09/05].

Class was, probably unsurprisingly, being held in the Danger Shop, where it was likely to be held every week, unless the students were informed otherwise. The setting, however, didn't seem that particularly thrilling or exciting: a good, open space for training, with plenty of mats on the floor, weapons on racks off to the side, and several cactuar-shaped training dummies, one of which one of your instructors was leaning on companionably.

(Prompto. It was definitely Prompto, who grinned at everyone and flicked a wave in the air, but it was Gladio who was going to be doing most of the talking).

"Hey, everyone," he said, starting with a firm nod and his arms folded in front of him as he looked over the familiar faces not unlike a general observing a lineup of new recruits, "and welcome to our Teamwork and Training class. Now, we all already know each other, some," he may have broken with a faint smirk and a nod toward one student in particular just then, but never mind, "more than others, but that's a good base to start with. Because knowing your teammates is easily the first step toward success in working with them, be it on the battlefield or anything else life might throw at you. As you all know by now, our background is in combat: the three of us trained together as Crownsguard back in the day, with the intent to be Kingsglaive, the elite force that protected the king of our nation. Some pretty gnarly shit happened, that whole society crumbled, but we continued fighting together when we could as Daemon Hunters for about ten years, until everything came to a head again, and we came together to fight gods and immortal assholes again to save the world as we knew it. You know." He smirked again. "No big deal.

"And now," he continued, "we wanna bring some of what we've learned through all our time together to you guys to help you out in your own battles. You know how it goes. And, today, while we all know each other, so proper introductions like we don't is just gonna be a pedantic waste of time," did he glance a little over toward Ignis just then? Maaaaybeeee, "it's still good to refresh ourselves on where we're coming from going in, so we're all on the same page moving forward. We're going to focus on a couple of things today: our strengths, our weaknesses, what we bring to the table, and what we need to work on. After we kind of get a base going, we're going to throw some scenarios at you guys to work through to figure out who in this team is better suited for what. Not everyone's going to get to be the hero of every story, sometimes you might have to carry a little more weight than the others, sometimes you get stuck in the sidelines for most of it, and that's okay, because being a part of an effective team is not only about knowing what the best course of action is, it's also being able to accept that sometimes? You ain't it.

"Just to sort of interject," Ignis said, "with an example: between the three of us, Gladio is, as one might assume, what one might consider a bit of a tank...when he fights, he fights heavy and hard. I tend to be the tactician; I like to analyze a situation before rushing into it, and once I do make a decision, I move in with swift precision. Prompto, meanwhile, in addition to having a proclivity toward technology, is also our ranged fighter. He works best from a distance, cutting through the fray with well-targeted shots. But not all situations call for rushing in, and sometimes, taking time to make a decision can cost you, and what happens when the shots go awry or the enemy moves in? We all have strengths and weaknesses that can be utilized in different ways for different situations, and that is what we intend to explore today.

"And if there's some time after all that," Gladio added, "I personally would like to spend some time with the practice dummy here to see those of you who are combat trained to see which weapons you like and what your style generally is."

"So with that," Prompto chimed in with a grin, "let's get started, yeah?"

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Doing something you're good at!

Nell Ingram

Jonathan Sims

Gray

Steve McGarrett

It's a good run-down of the class conceit and what qualifies these three dudes before you to be teaching you about it, so it's a great place to start and it probably doesn't hurt that Gladio's got that nice rumbly voice that ain't exactly hard on the ears, either.

"Before you can tell how to distribute your team in certain situations effectively," Gladio explained, "you gotta know what your team is capable of. So let's take some time before we get into it to get to know what those strengths and weaknesses are. What are you really good at? What are you really bad at? What do you want to work on more? Is there anything in particular you really love or absolutely hate doing? That can sometimes be important, too. So help your teammates help the team by letting us know what you're all about."

"Er...hello." Jon waved to everyone. "I'm not particularly good at fighting." Though his arms were less noodly than they had been! "I suppose...well, I'm an academic, and...and I have a tendency to just know things, so probably my strength would be in planning, but I...well, I tend...not to."

In his defense, he was often pushed! Fear entities didn't care about your plans.

"I suppose I would be good as, um...as a distraction, or something. I'm very..." kidnappable? hard to kill? "...resilient."

"I'm Gray," Gray said, "and I'm really good at stealth. I'm sneaky and I'm quick. And I'm smart! I'm good at figuring things out. But I'm not very strong by the standards of my race. Uh. I'm still a lot stronger than a human. And I'm not good at...staying awake. I have a...you could call it a condition? I just fall asleep. I can't help it. So there's a lot of things it's not really safe for me to do, at least not alone."

"I'm Nell and I'm pretty good at hand to hand, but not so good with weapons - except a gun - but I'm working on that. I'm pretty good at thinkin' outside the box too." She paused. "And I'm awful stubborn and persistent."

Gladio was going to just sort of snort a little in amusement at that and shake his head. Good thing she mentioned that about the weapons, or else he was going to give her crap for listing only strengths there.

Nell, being Nell, thought it would be taken as given that anything not mentioned would obviously be a weakness.

"Okay, now," said Prompto, clearly eager to be jumping into the part of the class that he was going to sort of preside over, "we're going to give you guys some scenarios....some of them combat-related, but most of them not, to really help you think outside the box!...and you guys've gotta figure out who's doing what in each case. Pretty simple, right? But the real key is that this is all strategic, so no hard feelings, right? Trust me, I know how it can be when you're the weakest link in something...these guys," he hitched his thumbs helpfully toward Ignis and Gladio, "have pretty much been working on this combat stuff since they were pretty much kids, and I didn't jump in until much later, so they're miles ahead of me in fighting stuff. So if it's fighting heavy, believe me, I don't mind being told to let them handle the brunt of it. But I'm really good at watching their backs and can keep an eye out for things that they might not catch because they're too busy slicing and dicing, you know? Everyone's got a place, like a machine. One part doesn't work as well if the other parts aren't in place. So let's see how we can put these teamwork machines together!"

"We're going to start," Prompto said, "with the most direct for the class: a Bust-a-Base!"

Cue a snort from Gladio and a faintly disgruntled groan from Ignis, which Prompto was going to ignore.

"What is a Bust-a-Base, you may ask?" he continued. "Well, a Bust-a-Base is when you bust into a base! Pretty straight forward, right? So! You've got an enemy base in your sights and you wanna bust into it, to either steal information, or dangerous weapons out of their hands, maybe it's a hostage situation, if you guys wanna narrow in on a reason, go for it! But the point is, based on what you know, how are you assigning the roles needed to successfully bust into this base? It's a light generalization, so all the details don't really matter for the sake of this exercise, but if you want some, I can give you some, but, in general, what's your Bust-a-Base plan?"

"I'll be of most use as a lookout," Jon offered. "I don't...I can probably see everything that's going on in there and outside," he said, a bit awkward to get into his abilities.

"Okay, so I'm your infiltrator," Gray said. He didn't want to sound braggy so he didn't say, 'I could do this in my sleep,' but literally, he could do this in his sleep. "I just need a good distraction to get me in."

"For your next scenario," Ignis offered, once that was starting to settle down, "we're going to be focusing on gathering information. You've just arrived in a new city, and you want to get a good idea of the lay of the land, in both literal geographical terms as well as culturally. Of course, keeping in with our lean toward combat situations, this is potentially hostile territory, so you must proceed with a certain amount of caution and decorum. How would you go about finding more information about the area, the people, the goings-on? Who would be in charge of what, and how would you suggest they go about it?"

Jon shifted even more awkwardly. "I could probably just know it all. But, um. Well, someone would want to verify it, because you never know what might be missing, or...or not focused on that's important."

"I could commune with the land," Nell said. "I forgot to mention that before in my strengths."

"Now let's say," Gladio jumped in with a grin, because now that the two big ones were out of the way, they could have a little more fun with it, "the team's gotta put together a dinner party. And a real important one, too, with some important foreign dignitary, or your boss, or just some person you really like and are trying to impress. And your team's gonna help you out. So.....who's doing what to make sure this dinner party of yours goes well?"

Jon grimaced. "I'm staying at home," he said, semi-seriously. Look, fighting might not be his forte, but being social and diplomatic was absolutely his nemesis.

"Oh, great," said Gladio, with a big grin at Jon, because, nuh-uh. No way you're getting out of this one that easily, Sims. "Sounds like Jon's hosting, then! What else've we got?"

"Wha- no!" Jon looked at him, wide-eyed. "I'm not...I'm a terrible host! I can just...um..." He floundered before coming up with an idea. "In shows where there's someone talking into people's earbuds or something, letting them know information, I can do that!"

"And last but certainly not least," Prompto offered excitedly, "the road trip."

From three guys with their world's most disastrous road trip under their belts, but that just meant they had made mistakes that they'd learned from! Also, you know, they did fine on the road trip, it was just, you know, all the war and gods and immortal assholes that messed it all up!

"You're taking a big cross-country roadtrip, and you guys have to figure out whose doing what, everything from securing a good vehicle to fit everyone to who's driving and who's picking the music! Routes, snacks, etc, etc, etc....how do you make this as smooth a roadtrip as you possibly can?"

"Er...I should like to know which side of the vehicle the steering wheel is on," Jon said. He'd have to know that before deciding if he even could drive it.

"Uhhh," offered Prompto, helpfully at first, as Ignis sort of shook his head for a moment. His hands lifted in front of him, making little shapes with his thumbs and forefingers. "The left!" he then declared triumphantly. "Left side! Oh, right! I mean, still left, I just remembered, cars in other countries have it on the right side sometimes too, right? Er, I mean, yeah? But this one's a trip across this country, so it's definitely on the left side."

He paused, uncertainly, then shook his head.

"Definitely left," he said, though not entirely confidently, and Gladio just gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Right." Jon nodded, then grinned a little at that. "Then I'm not driving. I could probably take care of music."

And there is, conveniently, a little bit of extra time after class, so if anyone wants to take some time to show off to Gladio what their current combat level is, he'd really appreciate the chance to get a refresher and see where everyone is in that regard.

Who will absolutely all be available should anyone want to speak to any of them more directly or just even to say hi!

Ignis was mostly just focusing on listening to the class as a whole, but of course he won't mind narrowing his attention in should anyone wish for his undivided attention.

And the real trick was knowing how to get Prompto to stop talking once he really got started, although, usually, he gets in his own way enough that he'll eventually awkwardly drift off.

While Gladio's already pretty sure at least one student was likely to usurp most of his attention after class, and you know what? Everyone else could just deal with it, too.

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Teamwork Training and Combat Skills; Thursday, Second Period [09/05].

Sign In - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Sign In - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Sign In - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Sign In - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Sign In - TT&CS, 09/05.

Listen to the Lecture - TT&CS, 09/05.

Class Discussion: Strengths and Weakness - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Class Discussion: Strengths and Weakness - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Class Discussion: Strengths and Weakness - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Class Discussion: Strengths and Weakness - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Class Discussion: Strengths and Weakness - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Class Discussion: Strengths and Weakness - TT&CS, 09/05.

Class Discussion: Scenarios - TT&CS, 09/05.

Scenario One: Bust-a-Base! - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Scenario One: Bust-a-Base! - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Scenario One: Bust-a-Base! - TT&CS, 09/05.

Scenario Two: Intelligence Gathering - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Scenario Two: Intelligence Gathering - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Scenario Two: Intelligence Gathering - TT&CS, 09/05.

Scenario Three: Dinner Party - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Scenario Three: Dinner Party - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Scenario Three: Dinner Party - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Scenario Three: Dinner Party - TT&CS, 09/05.

Scenario Four: Road Trip! - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Scenario Four: Road Trip! - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Scenario Four: Road Trip! - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Scenario Four: Road Trip! - TT&CS, 09/05.

Class Activity: Weapons and Combat Overview - TT&CS, 09/05.

Talk to the Teachers - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Talk to the Teachers - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Talk to the Teachers - TT&CS, 09/05.

Re: Talk to the Teachers - TT&CS, 09/05.

OOC - TT&CS, 09/05.