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[Kerrigan holds a beautiful elven sword up to the mirror like she's a little worried it's suddenly going to turn into a snake and bite her.]

Hey, uh. Who around here knows how to fight with a sword? I need practice. Nobody uses these things where I'm from.

[The protoss are outliers and should not have been counted. Also their swords are basically lightsabers, and she kills 'em with head shots.]

Everybody should get into a training routine. Last thing you want is to be puking your guts up because you had to run a few kilometers.

[She can smell the nerd on some of y'all.]

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I may have some experience in that area, yes.

Hm. Probably I should tell everyone how to keep these things in good form. Bows, too.

[Ha. Ha.]

Unless you can fight with yourself, that's not quite what I'm looking for.

Wouldn't you know it, that's most of my experience fighting with swords. I can use others though, the skill's transferable even if there's more of an adjustment period.

You know knives, right? Just throwing and general use, or...?

I know knives.

[Full stop.]

Garv's constantly on me to stop getting so close.

[Knife blades are short, okay!]

What's the biggest one you're comfortable using?

A sword gets you longer reach, obviously, and is slower by nature. Your balance and footwork have to be a little different too. One handed sword? Two handed? Or is this an either-or bastard?

"Hand and a half?" The armorer said I should use it until I got myself sorted out.

[Maybe he sensed how grumpy you were about the whole thing and just wanted to get you out, Sarah.]

Ah. Children and their modern classification systems.

[need loads of elves have been around for longer than you.]

That's an either-or, if the pommel allows you can also put that in your off hand as a pivot but you're a big strong girl, you can manage one-handed. I might have given a veteran knife fighter more of a dirk, but I'm sure you can figure it out.

Must've given you a scabbard to put it in. Have you decided if you want it at your belt or on your back? Everyone likes the look of back but belt's more practical if you've got something of a reasonable length. Especially for someone new to the sword.

Whichever lets me draw faster. Swords are slow enough as it is.

Neither's faster but it's easier to get tangled up drawing from over your shoulder. Or to cut yourself or your gear either drawing or sheathing it. It's flashy.

[Need's not impressed by 'flashy']

If you go with belt make sure to get used to moving with even a sheathed sword. It's probably going to bang into things at first.

Is it easier to move with a back scabbard?

[She's a mobility fighter, she can't be banging into things!]

[Thoughtful noise]

Depends on the movement. Ultimately, with enough experience compensating for it and without a lot of squeezing into close quarters side is probably better. But you're not going to be able to draw it out of a back scabbard either, if it's that tight, and a sword's a bad choice when you're in a you-sized tunnel anyway. Short term it's easier to adjust to back but I'm not gonna say you'll never hit the tip of the scabbard on your legs.

[Huff.]

Maybe I should just learn archery.

[Need laughs.]

Try crossbow, that's the easiest to pick up.

You know, you could come to me. I can help you learn either the sword or the bow a lot faster than you might otherwise. That does include moving with them.

Crossbows are slow, I know that much.

[She has been paying a tiny bit of attention!]

Is your thing actual skill, or is it just sort of programmed routines? I don't want it if I'm not going to know the theory.

They are, and finicky, and I'm not confident about how to make or mend them. But the training is much faster. Point and shoot, basically.

I'm not going to say there's no routines involved. Knowing the patterns and being able to follow them without stopping to think about them is foundational, so I do insist on drilling. But yes, it's real skill. Let me and I'll show you memories of how I've taught this and seen it taught.

Any side effects? I don't want to suddenly develop multiple personalities or something.

[She can barely manage the one she's already got.]

Heh. You're a suspicious one. I like that about you.

The way I do it, it's hard to see a memory without feeling like you're part of it, experiencing it. It can seem like it takes a long time and they're not all pleasant. Most people aren't aware of the real world for the duration, and I barely am, but I can cut things short if something happens. For that matter you might be able to do it yourself.

Usually people come out disoriented, especially if it's wrapped up fast. Some uncertainty of who and where you are, phantom sensation. That passes, though, and faster if you apply yourself. Typically it's just a few seconds.

Does it have to be a sword?

[ He can use one, but he left Rivendell with as many weapons as the Elves would give him. So he has options - and if she wants a real workout, he’ll put up the best fight with his bo. ]

You don’t just need to know how to go up against another sword fighter.

That's fair.

I should keep in practice with knives, too.

If people are going to be doing weapons training, we should probably designate a room for it.

[Saturday is alight with interest. Her expertise!!!]

Not to brag or anything, but I'm pretty good at analog weaponry. I'm already helping Cammie mornings - you can join in?

Anyone else is free t'join, too. I've trained in all the basic weapons and few of the exotics, but I'm best with sword and spear. Back home, teaching martial arts was my day job; I can handle anything from total beginners to masters who just need to keep sharp.

You know I know knives.

[Kerrigan knows knives terrifyingly well.]

Swords are just similar enough it's messing with me.

Too much reach? Well, you can get in close with a sword, you just don't need to. I've been helping Cammie with her conditioning and swordplay in the mornings, wanna join?

Guess how well going close works on Garv.

[HE'S TOO BIG, SATURDAY.]

So get faster. Or lemme teach you polearms.

I'm gonna need some help from people on...like...working out?

How do you do that when you're squishy? How do you figure out a routine?

I have super-strength back home, healing, invulnerability, my endurance is like naturally insane. I usually train but mostly in technique, powers training, and teamwork stuff.

I usually don't have to do a full exercise thing like normal people to actually maintain my body, I'm just naturally ripped and can pick up a school bus.

Edited 2022-03-29 10:50 (UTC)

Keeping up the technique training is a good idea. If you're doing a thing right, you're less likely to hurt yourself. Plus, you're still built like a tank, if you put your weight into a punch it's going to suck for anyone who isn't mildly invulnerable. It's like how you can walk across a lawn in sneakers without a problem, but you sink in if you wear stilettos: all that weight behind something with a small surface area punches right though.

Other than that: are you looking more for strength or more for endurance? You develop strength by lifting more weight fewer times, and you develop endurance by lifting less weight more times.

Strength and endurance. You can, like, rotate exercises so it's well rounded, right?

Oh, totally, but you need to give yourself time to recover, too. You develop your muscles by basically ripping them apart at a microscopic level, they get stronger as they repair themselves. If you don't give them time to repair themselves, you're just going to hurt yourself.

I can always stop by and get you up when I go running.

[Because, yes. Of course Dick runs. Have you SEEN that ass?]

Ugh, that's like a whole thing you have to do isn't it.

You can come get me, I'll probably be up anyway. I get up at like ass o'clock in the morning just out of habit nowadays.

If you're already in condition, you're just looking at maintenance. You can shadow me on a workout if you want. I'm still figuring out what to use as weights.

[Kerrigan works out like four hours a day minimum, have fun!]

Thanks, that'd be great. Just to like learn how to do this.

Bodyweight exercises, yoga, running. We can probably figure out something you can use for free weights.

Isn't yoga like supposed to be not very intense?

There’s more than one school of yoga. It’s about which poses you do and how you do them - there are ways to do a push-up that you’ve never even considered. It’s still body weight training, so there’s an upper limit to how much mass you could build with it.

I’m making you work out with me tomorrow. You’re gonna hold boat pose for two minutes before you say it’s not intense.

I can at least can already do some stupid pushups so I'll be partway there. I've been trying stuff out and even without super strength I can do all the way up to one-arm vertical ones.

[He's seen enough friends working out to know at least a few of the ways to exercise that he's never had to do.]

[He sets his mirror to float and does a hand stand, balances on one hand, and does a few push ups, then topples himself back over onto his feet.]

But I think I'm definitely less flexible. It's like whatever messed with me had to translate half-Kryptonian to fully human. Since I can't just have everything naturally great, I took some hits in endurance and flexibility.

[ It’s like watching the Princess Bride, when Fezzik says he doesn’t even exercise and throws a boulder over his shoulder.

Kon just does a one-handed handstand push-up like that’s not something Tim had to work for. ]

That’s pretty impressive for a guy who’s suddenly “normal”.

[ You sure you lose your TTK, Buddy? ]

If you want to work on flexibility and endurance, I can help you put together a training routine. Or Dick could, but he’ll make you do more squats.

What's wrong with squats?

They’re part of a balanced breakfast.

That's terrible, Tim. That's normally my job!

Has anyone discovered the rate at which this structure moves? I hope it's possible to run alongside.

[Alloran's disgruntled about being shut up in another complicated human building, even if this is nicer than the Rig.]

Vomit seems distressing. I'm glad I've never managed to set off that reflex in human morph.

[Andalites have a sort of equivalent but it's not... projectile.]

[ Tommy has a knife in one hand and the piratiest elven sabre in the other. ]

I've got these and I got a mace that I stole off one of those disco goths in Agrabah. I kinda want to know more than stab them with the stabby bit, so if anyone's willing to give me some tips.

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