Let's Train in 100 Times Gravity

[shineinside]

Who: Anyone who wants to come by! Tag in, thread with Yuka, thread with each other, whatever you want.
What: Combat training/practice.
When: Sunset, each night for a week minimum.
Where: East end of Islet 1.
Warnings: Possible blood if things get out of hand, implied 80s training montage songs

Yuka chose this location because the ground was level, there was enough space for people to move around, and nobody was really using it for anything else. No wild beasts, no fish people to disturb, no strange psychological effects... the ideal place for people to gather for an hour or two and get some good-natured fighting in. The snow on the ground wasn't ideal, she supposed, but that stuff was everywhere, so they'd just have to make do. It'd probably be snowing during the invasion, anyway.

Each evening, as the sun inched towards the horizon, Yuka set her other tasks aside to come out and wait. Jug of wassail sitting at the edge of the space, bundled in warm clothes and scarves, Yuka paced, wondering if this was really going to be worth the time. Are there people willing to spend that much time to train others when there's so much else that needs doing? Can someone even learn enough to make a difference in this little time? For that matter, are these shadow monsters something you can even fight with your fists? If nothing else, it would be good to do some physical activity in just to get her mind to stop going in circles.

For those who arrived early, there would be less to do, but even just talking through what different fighting skills people had would be useful for later on. Once more people arrived, those who use similar weapons could work together, and those with more combat experience could work with those with less. Or, people who know each other or are curious about each other's abilities could seek each other out for a sparring match.

So: Fight, teach, learn, take breaks, drink, chat. Bring your own wassail if you can - Yuka's can only stretch so far.

Comments

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet arrives reasonably promptly, but doesn't attempt to join a fight right away. Instead, she seems to be observing thoughtfully, considering the people around her as she learns more about their capabilities and decides who might be helpful to spar with.]

[To be honest, the idea of being around this many humans in FIGHTing moods makes her uncomfortable, monsters being so fragile. But she knows it's important to learn, too important for her to just avoid this kind of thing in the long run.]

[Approach her?]

[unpurify]

[Yeah why not. He'll say hello to the spider lady.]

Are you here to watch?

[Not that that's a bad thing. In some cases the Batter had to made due with watching his opponents while fighting them and it's proven fruitful in the long run.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[She nods politely to him, both in agreement and in confirming his question.]

For the moment, yes, I think so. I think it might be better to have someone who can heal waiting on the sidelines, just in case there are any accidents- and besides, it might be helpful later on for me to know more about what others can do, if I end up working with them.

[unpurify]

Fair.

[He could heal but the Batter was more combat-oriented and probably couldn't hold a candle to a dedicated healer.]

What are you capable of healing?

[prettypurpleparlor]

[She grimaces briefly.]

Less than I ought to be able to, unfortunately- something about this place makes green magic harder to use. Roughly, I seem to have the energy to completely heal either three smaller problems or a single very large one, then I need to rest for a time.

[unpurify]

You have a point. I am not capable of healing as well as I used to.

[The Batter was capable of reviving the dead back home, but here he could not. It seems something was setting a imposed limit on what they were capable of.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet sighs.]

Yes, a number of abilities seem to be more limited here- but those of us with healing seem to be restrained the most. It raises questions about the nature of this place, to me.

[unpurify]

[It's actually giving the Batter a lot of food for thought.]

It does. The Storyteller claims they are not the one who brought us here.

[So if they didn't do it, what did and how are they able to selectively pick abilities to limit and suppress?]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[She nods, picking up on his meaning.]

We can't be certain whether or not it was intentional... and if it was, then we have to ask ourselves what the purpose behind it was. Of all the things to limit, healing specifically is... worrisome.

[shineinside]

[As someone with a lot of experience with sitting uncomfortably at the edge of get-togethers, Yuka picks up on Muffet's mood pretty quickly, and heads on over.]

Hey, Muffet. Is everything all right?

[prettypurpleparlor]

Hello, dearie. Organizing this was a good idea, I think, thank you for going to the effort.

[Muffet smiles warmly at Yuka, seeing the girl's concern for her and appreciating it.]

And I'm all right, really- I'm just realizing that my usual method of fighting isn't terribly well-suited to sparring with people, as much as I don't want to risk getting too out of practice.

[shineinside]

Really? What's your usual method of fighting? I remember you used some kind of thread when we met, but it didn't really seem like a weapon.

[She didn't even know Muffet was a serious fighter.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

Admittedly, my usual method is to call law enforcement and let professionals handle it like a sensible monster, but on occasions when I need to fight I use magic. My purple magic- the thread you saw me use- is generally fairly useful for holding enemies in place while I hit them with a few attacks.

[She really isn't a serious fighter, but the nice thing about coming from a society where everyone is born with at least some magical ability is that even a normal civilian gets some training in how to use it properly.]

[shineinside]

Oh! It sounds kind of like my magic, actually - not that useful for fighting on its own, but really useful if you're with someone else.

[prettypurpleparlor]

It has proven to be quite helpful for that- though purple magic is simply what I'm best with, I can use magic to attack directly if I need to. It's an ability all monsters have, we send out these waves of magic we call bullet patterns...

[Ah, the fun of living in a bullet hell RPG.]

[shineinside]

[Sounds complicated, especially to someone who doesn't play video games. She isn't quite sure what to imagine.]

It would be nice to have some attack magic... when it comes to fighting on my own, all I have is my fists. And even then, only for about an hour a day with any real attack power...

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet nods in rueful understanding.]

And the last thing we need is for you to run out of power in the middle of battle and get hurt- especially since fighting at close quarters like that puts you right in the path of danger. Perhaps you could ask the Storyteller for a weapon? A bow or a gun of some sort, possibly, so that you wouldn't have to limit yourself to close range.

[bloodyashes]

[Hey Muffet! Here's Asch in a familiar borrowed coat, using one gloved hand to push his hair back from his forehead. Under all the layers, he's actually managed to work up a sweat.

And he's noticed how uncomfortable-looking she is, so once he's satisfied with the state of his hair, he comes over, loosening his collar a little to cool off as he goes.]

Not much of a fighter, I take it?

[prettypurpleparlor]

[She greets him with a smile, amused as she recognizes the coat.]

Ideally, no- unfortunately, this place rarely seems to provide us with ideal situations. As long as my magic's still useful, I don't have the luxury of staying out of things just because I'm a civilian.

[bloodyashes]

[Look, someone doesn't feel the cold anyway and someone else feels no shame about his lack of cold tolerance. It's good thick wool and leather and he doesn't even take it off to piss right now.

He hums agreement.]

Is magic all you have?

[He's well enough aware of how risky that can be to rely on at this point.]

Hey, do you want to have Muffet end up giving him the shawl she made in this thread?

[prettypurpleparlor]

Largely by necessity, yes- given how vulnerable monsters are to negative emotions, getting close enough for hand to hand with someone angry enough to fight you is much more of a risk than I'd want to take.

[It's still not terribly comfortable to admit to a weakness, but she's already trusted Asch enough to explain this before, it would be foolish to hold back now.]

sure we can do that

[bloodyashes]

[He considers that, nods, and frowns.]

Unfortunately you might not get much choice. Anything with a brain knows casters are vulnerable.

[Hello, yes, he's military from a world that actively deploys magic users as a part of the standard combat force. He's used to meat shielding for them.]

You should learn to throw a halfway decent punch, at least.

[prettypurpleparlor]

There's a regrettably vast difference between an untrained human's kind of vulnerability and a monster's vulnerability- but you're not wrong.

[It's frustrating, to deal with the fact that your entire species is just fundamentally more fragile than the people you share the world with, but it's something she's had to get used to.]

I know a fair amount about how to run, or dodge, or take a fall- it's just all geared towards getting back out of grabbing range so I can actually fight properly.

[bloodyashes]

I wasn't even talking about civilians, actually.

[He doesn't seem judgemental, at least, just nodding in response. That makes sense, and it's a better starting place than a lot of people he ran into in the very basic phases of training.]

Could I borrow one of your hands for a moment?

[prettypurpleparlor]

[It probably also helps that she was a dancer when she was younger- none of it was geared towards fighting, but she's had at least some amount of training in how to control her body and understand what she can do with it.]

If I get it back afterwards, certainly.

[She holds one of her hands out to Asch, looking curious.]