[TOY] Plaything

[skinstealer]

POLKA DOT: How many people actually take that chance to back out? Seriously?
 

You crack your neck sideways, even the horse looking aback as it actually makes an unexpected snap sound.

POLKA DOT: Let’s do this.
POLKA DOT: Show me how to do this. 
CINDI: Alright!
 

They’d be grinning if they could.

CINDI: First things first. Material matters!
 

They hold out their hoof, tapping at the fabric there.

CINDI: I’m all fabric and stuffing, and you’re all…rubber or something.
CINDI: Take note of your enemy’s weaknesses. Memorize materials.
CINDI: What’d you think the weakness of a plush is?
CINDI: And what’d you think the weakness of a rubber duck is?

[AceOfNothing]

Oh they're actually teaching us I thought we were about to just.. get beat up.

We still probably are but ah

[knux400]

For a stuffed animal? Probably the seams. Not so sure about a rubber duck, they're pretty uniform all around.

[Lilium Mortem]

for plush, it's ripping, tearing, and puncture wounds. rubber is probably piercing, and heat enough to deform the material, perhaps crushing as well.

with the whole metaphysical bullshit that goes on I don't know how straight up throwing hands would go. would my rubber fist hurt more than your cloth one? does my mass matter? I'm hollow, I think. what about you, would punching you be like punching a pillow?

[King-Clod]

Weakness of plush? Probably staining, tearing, and if gotten wet and left untreated for long enough, mold or mildew?

For rubber ducks? My paint can get scuffed up I know, and I suspect a piercing blow would do the most damage, especially if i tear from there. I can take quite a few blunt hits though, I've found. I just bounce back up.

[skinstealer]

You have to think for a moment, weighing the options for both. For some reason, this all feels pretty familiar…

POLKA DOT: For plush…ripping, tearing, staining…
POLKA DOT: Mold if you get wet and don’t get help for it.
POLKA DOT: Seams are the weakest point.
CINDI: Good. And what about you?
 

You know this immediately.

POLKA DOT: Piercing.
CINDI: You sound confident in that answer!
POLKA DOT: …I am.
CINDI: Strange, seeing as I don’t see any holes on you.
 

They step away from the wall, walking around you to look you over.

CINDI: You hiding any injuries under the outfit?
POLKA DOT: Nope.
CINDI: You injure another duck?
POLKA DOT: …nope.
CINDI: Less confidence there, duck.
CINDI: Well, here’s a quick side lesson.
CINDI: People say that injuries in the Toy Store or whatever the fuck don’t always sustain on your first time getting out. Depends on how “the narrative” feels.
CINDI: If you’re so confident about that answer, and you choose to believe in those silly stories…
 

They hunch over to look you more directly in the eye.

CINDI: Chances are you got gored, duck.
 

You really, really don’t want to think about that.

CINDI: But that’s just stories, right?
CINDI: More likely than not, you’ve just got a good imagination.
CINDI: So don’t worry about it too hard!
CINDI: Get that grim look off your face. 
 

They pull back with a toss of their head.

CINDI: You got weaknesses down enough for an intro lesson, at least. 
CINDI: What about strengths of either?

[Lilium Mortem]

blunt force trauma for a plush would basically be nonexistent. I'm built for water so any kind of mess that'd ruin cloth wouldn't do shit to me, I'm rigid enough to hit hard but rubber enough to bounce back from a blow.

[King-Clod]

Plush can carry a lot more weight to it, depending on what they're stuffed with, be it beans or stuffing. Hard hitting. It's also easier to replace stuffing than mechanical components, since you can just jam it in. Easier to stitch up after a fight.

For me? Besides water rolling off and my skin being tough... it think I'm pretty fast. Obviously not as fast as a wind-up toy or rc car would be, but, I think I can bounce around easy. Especially in water.

[skinstealer]

POLKA DOT: Well…hitting a plush bluntly wouldn’t do shit, right?
POLKA DOT: You’d just…absorb it.
POLKA DOT: And you carry a lot more weight than I do, which like…plush have beans or stuffing, right?
 

They don’t respond, wanting you to fill in your own blanks.

POLKA DOT: …well, that stuff hits harder, and it’s easier to replace and fix up after a fight.
CINDI: And you?
POLKA DOT: Water rolls off me, my skin’s tough…
POLKA DOT: And I think I’m fas-
 

Their hoof connects with the side of your head and you go flying, bouncing and tumbling a ways down the alley. You’re spluttering and struggling to get to your feet, watching as they step closer to you.

POLKA DOT: Wh-what the fuck!?
CINDI: Not fast enough, duck!
CINDI: Lesson two: narrative impact!
CINDI: Strengths and weaknesses only matter so far as physical injuries. Holes, punctures, tears.
CINDI: Notice how I didn’t just bounce off you? S’cause narrative thought it’d be better this way! 
CINDI: May not leave a lasting wound, but it’s gonna fucking hurt as long as the story deems it appropriate.
CINDI: If you back up your blows with enough intent and meaning, you can go far with it.
CINDI: Don’t worry too much…
CINDI: I hear the narrative favors the little guy.
 

You manage to stand up, the horse bending their knees and looking ready to strike.

CINDI: What are you waiting for?! Hit me back!

[knux400]

Take a swing! Let's see how they defend themselves.

[Lilium Mortem]

alright let's do this. channel your rage, push it into your fist, and let it fly. you've been through worse than this, even if you can't remember, you know it's true. Show her what you've got.

[King-Clod]

She wants us to punch her back, she's setting us up for failure. The narrative hasn't fully shown how outmatched we are yet. Going for a straight punch won't work. Either we try our best here, take a few hits, and we lose, potentially to get good at fighting later.
Or we go underhanded. Not anything like going for a seam, but.
Feint attacks, tripping her, or using our environment to our advantage. Something like that. Something neither she or the narrative would expect. It's worth a try, at the very least.
Do a fakeout punch, then punch her with the other hand.

[skinstealer]

You shake yourself off and concentrate, pulling your wings back into fists as you take your own step forward. Play with the narrative, huh? They want you to hit them back, so…they’re expecting it. And you get the feeling the narrative won’t be satisfied until it shows how unmatched you really are…

Straight punch isn’t gonna cut it, and you’re gonna need to channel some serious rage behind this to make it count.

You think back to how you felt upon waking up on the ground, how it felt right before-

You feel the memory of something from what feels like long ago piercing you clean through, and you lunge, filled with red hot anger thinking about it. Thinking about them.

Cindi moves to dodge and you land your hit- using the other arm than the one you feinted with. The horse is knocked back a few steps, wheezing.

CINDI: Now that’s a hit!
CINDI: I’m gonna take a bit of credit, though.
POLKA DOT: W-what? You didn’t do shit!
POLKA DOT: I hit you!
CINDI: Yeah, but I lied.
 

You get that feeling that they’d be grinning again.

CINDI: Twice.
CINDI: The narrative does not favor the little guy.
CINDI: Don’t get that twisted.
CINDI: In this city, the stronger almost always wins. 
CINDI: Everybody in charge’s pulling us along on stupid little strings.
CINDI: I’m lucky enough to be big. Nobody fucks with me.
CINDI: If I started out with that, though, you wouldn’t have been able to hit me hard like that.
CINDI: You believed you were the stronger one. That you could do it.
CINDI: That backed you up.
CINDI: Doesn’t mean you have the excuse to act stupid and reckless, though. 
CINDI: Unless you have a real good reason, some real good motivation…
CINDI: Don’t assume you’re gonna win. 
CINDI: You’re better off finding weakpoints and being confident in your ability to take those down than swinging wildly with a shitload of bravado in your pocket.
CINDI: Second lie…
CINDI: Narrative can still cause injuries.
CINDI: Let’s say you’re up against something metal and you’ve got some piddly toy knife. No sharpness to the blade.
CINDI: You can probably cut into them like it were metal if you put enough energy behind it.
CINDI: Hell, judging by that hit, if you had gone for a proper seam rip with your hands, you could have torn me open.
CINDI: So whatever you used to make that count, hang onto that.

[Lilium Mortem]

Ha, I'd have a hard time getting rid of it. my anger is my anchor. What's next?

[King-Clod]

Nod along. This is all very useful.
In the interim here, look around the environment to see if there's anything we can use to our advantage, be it a weapon (though this is just a fistfight right now, just keep the weapon in mind) or the environment itself.
Also ask if there's any way to make ourself look more dangerous than we are, besides what we spawned in with? I suspect any dangerous looking thing we could wear would just make us look like a scared duck trying to play the part of someone who can take a hit.

[skinstealer]

You nod, surprised at how…useful this all is. 

POLKA DOT: I’d have harder time getting rid of it.
POLKA DOT: It’s pretty much my anchor at this point.
POLKA DOT: Is there any way to make myself look more dangerous than I actually am?
CINDI: With the way you look?
CINDI: Find somebody else to travel with.
CINDI: I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but it’s some of the best advice I can give.
CINDI: People can smell a newbie fresh on the streets, and frankly, you’re lucky you found a place that won’t prey on you on your first day.
CINDI: Could have gotten harvested or something. Rubber ain’t cheap.
 

You remember Marlowe’s talk about the underground surgery markets and shudder.

CINDI: So…best advice? Get a traveling partner who you can trust.
CINDI: If you’re just going out, go in one of the groups that goes to partnered businesses. Pawn shop, thrift store, library, the works.
CINDI: Laurie’s good at making connections where it counts.
CINDI: This way we got a whole network that’s safe for people to use, without worrying about people getting nabbed or maimed.
CINDI: If you want to leave the city someday…
CINDI: Get someone you feel comfortable watching your back first.
CINDI: And make sure you know they’re legit.
CINDI: I wouldn’t recommend leaving at all until you’ve been in the world at least a year. The wilds are no fucking joke.
CINDI: …but who knows, maybe you’re ballsy.
CINDI: Either way, don’t ask me to go anywhere with you. I don’t want to play babysitter for a grown ass adult.
CINDI: Got too much shit to do.
CINDI: Aside from that…just make sure you’re armed and don’t panic if stuff gets rowdy.
POLKA DOT: Got it…
POLKA DOT: What next?
CINDI: What next? Duck, I had to come up with that lesson on the fly. 
CINDI: Gimme a break.
CINDI: Next week, we’ll go over some more. Got it?
POLKA DOT: Fair enough…
 

They reach forward and whack you on the back, a far cry from Vine’s friendly pats. 

CINDI: You surprised me, duck.
CINDI: Next time won’t be so easy.
 

The horse walks past you and back inside the building, ducking under the doorway on their way. You follow suit, and to your surprise, Vine is waiting for you.

VINE: …you look fine. Good, even, if a bit dirty.
VINE: You should go get your stuff down to Laundry. 
VINE: Take a turn from the guest rooms and go down the stairs.
VINE: But…how’d it go?

[sarcovyn]

well...she almost knocked the bazinga out of me

[Iguanaiguana]

…Surprisingly well, they gave me some good advice.

[King-Clod]

It went good, I think! Gave me some good pointers. And a punch in the face, but I was able to get a punch back.
I suspect I'll need to pick up something a little more than my fists if I ever want to hit the town on my own, though.

[Lilium Mortem]

It felt good. Just just knowing I have a little more control, and being able to fight back, even if it was training, helped a lot.

Wonder if there's like a karate dojo or something nearby...