week zero: mingle

[cyclists]

Week Zero
32 in Competition

On Monday morning, the sun rises on the sleepy village, and when the first ray of light touches the gates at each corner of the village, the previously tightly sealed doors open.

The barriers around the village fall, and leave it entirely open. Each cardinal direction will have a path exiting the village, taking the curious explorers who follow it on an adventure to new territories to be explored. They’ll find that each location that they arrive in appears to be associated with one of the elements. As the Signs had explained the day before, each of the participants in the game possesses an elemental assignment, whether they are aware of it or not.

When they approach the elemental areas, they’ll find themselves more in tune with their new powerset, as if the location invites them to take them out for a spin. The new areas appear to be perfect for training and learning how to use the new skills, or maybe if you’re curious you can discover which of those listed powers you’ve been granted.

Just try not to hurt yourself while you’re out there.

In addition, it seems now that more pieces of the core are being revealed, the river that runs through the village will begin to be dotted with small lanterns floating on the water. Some of them seem to be holding small notes. Try as you might to grab one, they’ll always just barely float out of reach.

Perhaps try sending one yourself and see what results you might get?

Occasionally in the village, you might hear the sound of drums and flutes - is that festival music? - though no matter how you search, you can’t find the source… yet.



Welcome to your tutorial week mingle log! Please see all the links within the log to check out the new updates. In addition, your status page has been updated. In case you missed it, please report all item theft to this top-level where all comments are screened. Private conversations are also open and should be reported under the Week 0 top-level.

A mini-event will also be posted on Wednesday, June 5th, so please keep an eye out for that!

main navigation.

locations ✧ powers ✧ profiles
private conversations ✧ audiences ✧ faq

Comments

[nonbelligerent]

[he nods, and then:]

I'm about to do something. Please don't worry—I won't actually harm you. I just want to see how you respond.

[that, uh, might sound alarming, but it serves as a warning for what he's going to do.

which is look as if he's about to punch miki, though his fist will stop before it actually reaches her.]

[stillstands]

[ She looks a little unsure, but determined. Bracing herself for whatever he's about to do.

But when he swings a fist towards her, her reaction is surprisingly quick, all things considered. She drops and ducks, like she's expecting the blow to land despite what Shess had just told her, and even moves herself away from him as if she's expecting persistence rather than just a single attack as a test. ]

Wha--

[nonbelligerent]

[all right, she dodged. he supposes he'll use that as a foundation—though considering her frame, there wasn't really any other option.

he smiles. no more attacks coming, miki, you're fine. but shess approves.]

You have good reflexes. I think you'll be a fast learner.

My apologies for frightening you.

[stillstands]

[ Oh. That's? That's good to know. ]

It's okay. It was more of a surprise?

[ She stays crouched down for a moment, and then stands up slowly, brushing off her skirt as she straightens up fully. ]

That's probably the more useful thing to learn. If I can't be caught, it'd be difficult to be stuck in a directly dangerous situation.

[nonbelligerent]

Yes. It would be difficult to teach you enough combat skill to assure your safety in an actual fight, as long as you lack experience. Better to run away, and to only have to use a weapon as a last resort.

[stillstands]

Right. I'm not trained in anything, after all.

[ she nods. ]

Run away and give myself the best chance of escaping. That's smarter than fighting someone who probably has more skill than me.

[nonbelligerent]

[yes please learn how to run away from the clown

he nods.]

Well, let's start with basic facts. If someone is about to attack you with their hands—something like a punch or a stab—where would they aim?

[stillstands]

[ she has mastered walking away from the clown very quickly, is that a good starting point? ]

Um...

[ She has no experience, not really. But, if she really thinks about it -- ]

They'd aim for something that would slow you down, or stop you from fighting back. So, the stomach or the face so you're winded or dazed?

[nonbelligerent]

[honestly, this is a very bizarre experience, as someone who learned primarily through experience and as a nonhuman, but at least he knows human biology?]

Yes. Assuming your enemy is capable of rational thought, they'll likely go for one of those. Especially since they also contain your most vital areas.

So if you're expecting an attack from the front, protect those areas. Hold your fists in front of your face and your elbows in front of your chest. Turn sideways with your dominant leg—just a bit—so that you aren't directly facing them.

[stillstands]

Oh, like--

[ She makes the motion he described -- fists in front of her face, and elbows in front her chest, twisting her body. ]

Like this?

But if you take enough damage to your arms then you'd be exposed again.

[nonbelligerent]

In the best case, you'll avoid the damage entirely. But if you can't, better your arms than your head. One, you can't survive without.

[as a human, at least.]

To dodge, pivot, taking a step back if you need to. [he does a bit of a demonstration.] For you, the important thing is to get used to minimizing your movements. That'll make it easier to transition to your next action, whether it be counterattacking or escape.

Ducking as you did earlier has its risks. What would you have done if another enemy had lunged at you while you were still crouching?

[stillstands]

But what if you can't risk getting hit at all? Out of interest. Wouldn't ducking or dodging be the only way to get out of that sort of situation?

[ Avoidance over absorbing a blow. ]

[nonbelligerent]

The purpose of pivoting away is to dodge the attack. I don't think you could handle too many blows, to be completely honest.

Consider this a basic starting point. I don't want you to necessarily focus on memorizing movements, but to get in the habit of constantly planning your next move even before you carry out your current one.

[stillstands]

That's... [ ffff. ] fair. I don't think I could win on physical strength alone.

So. Planning ahead and keeping out of reach of whatever wants to hurt me. [ She looks thoughtful, and nods. ] That's a solid plan for someone like me.

[nonbelligerent]

[he nods.]

Though there may be times where you're unable to get away and have to incapacitate the enemy. If you can't strike from a safe distance, then when the enemy goes in to attack, that will be when they are most vulnerable. If you use your weapon, that'll likely be when.

So when you avoid a strike, you must decide whether your next action will be to put some distance between you or if now is the time to counterattack.

[stillstands]

That's a lot to think about in a split second. But that's where fight or flight instinct usually kicks in, isn't it?

[nonbelligerent]

Yes. That, and practice and experience. The more you do it, the more instinctive it becomes. I can help you with that.

[stillstands]

It does.

[ ... ! ] I can imagine it does. They do say you can get used to a lot of things if you practice or experience it enough.

[nonbelligerent]

[he nods.]

Experience is the best teacher, though it would be ideal if you never had to put these skills to use.

[stillstands]

[ ... That'd be nice. Very nice. ]

Yes, it would be. I'll just have to do plenty of practice while I'm here, with training facilities if I want to improve.

[nonbelligerent]

Yes. While things are still uneventful, this is probably the best time to practice. We don't know how much room to breathe we'll have later on, after all.

[stillstands]

Right. We still don't know what's going to happen here. I hope I don't have to use this to escape anything.