IC Inbox

[feathersfly]

"Hey, you've reached Hawks! Guess I'm busy right now. Drop me a message and I'll get back to you."

Comments

[bestswordmaster]

dimitri mentioned me did he?
good.
he told me about your unusual blades.
I want to see your fighting style in action.

[feathersfly]

well, i'm looking to train, so i've got no objection. i doubt i'm gonna put on a very good showing right away though, tbh. everything about how i used to fight needs to change, which is why i need the training. i don't have the capacity to fight here like i did back home, since this place took my wings from me.

so it might be kinda disappointing, initially.

[bestswordmaster]

that's the point of training.
to improve.
being disappointed would be counterproductive.
as a master swordsman myself I could aid you in adapting your original style if you like.

[feathersfly]

well, i meant if you're looking to get a sense of my style. it's not gonna look so hot when my circumstances are insisting i change every part of it, right? especially at first, when i'm figuring out how to adapt.

i wouldn't mind some outside opinions on how to do that, though. especially from someone who specializes in swords. i gather you and dimitri come from a pretty medieval world, right? i come from one a lot closer to the technology level of this place. not many people use swords anymore, so even my original style was self-taught. granted, it kinda had to be - even back when people used swords regularly, combining swords with wings wasn't common enough for there to be schools of thought on the subject. so i had to come up with my own techniques for how to play to my strengths.

now, though, i imagine knowing how to use swords without wings is gonna be a lot more valuable to me than it was back home.

[bestswordmaster]

people keep using that word to describe our world.
medieval.
I don't know what it means.
but yes swords are quite common there.
creating your own unique style is an impressive feat.
particularly when swordplay itself is rare.
but is it not possible to recreate at least some of your usual style by fighting astride a flying pokemon?

[feathersfly]

it's basically a word used to refer to a certain time period in history. castles, kings, peasants, knights, all that sort of thing. helps historians talk about specific points of the past better to have words for individual centuries between major technological evolutions - centuries with certain major societal elements in common with each other. i guess maybe it's a common word used by more modern societies for the time period you're from, i guess.

in theory, maybe i could fly and fight. in practice i don't think it'd work so well. i don't know how i'd be able to direct my pokémon with my hands full - i often used a dual blade style. also, honestly...how do i put this? in this place, if i'm looking to fight someone or something myself, it's because i want to keep my pokémon out of it. otherwise i'd just be battling with them like normal. i think adding all the variables and risk of having one of my team doing the flying for me would introduce more drawbacks than being able to fly while fighting would be worth.

[bestswordmaster]

you're suggesting that in the future our world may resemble yours?
huh.

you can direct your pokemon verbally.
one of my partners performs archery on flying mounts which obviously requires two hands.
he successfully directs his wyvern in battle while doing so
which is far less intelligent than a pokemon.
perhaps he would train with us as well and share his insight on the matter.
though preferring to fight in your team's stead is understandable.
and I suppose if you're used to flying under your own power it may actually hinder you to ride
as you would need to unlearn what you know.
adapting your style to ground based movement should prove quite the interesting challenge.
where are you?

[feathersfly]

that's true. but i have to split my focus between what i'm doing and what my pokémon is doing. plus then i have to factor for their reaction time, too. again, probably more hassle than it's worth. you say your partner can do it, but he's also using a weapon you can employ from a safe distance - i'm using melee weapons. it's not really comparable. not to mention he's probably done a lot of training in that style, whereas like you said, i'd have to unlearn a lot of old things before i could even start learning the new stuff. like i said, it's probably more complications than payoff.

i'm in mahogany town right now. once i got access to using fly for travel, i got pretty lazy with rushing through my gym challenge.

[bestswordmaster]

all excellent points.
not being fully in control of my own movements is part of why I don't fight on horseback.
I'm in kanto atm.
but I travel back and forth relatively frequently.
when next I'm in johto I'll seek you out.

[feathersfly]

i'll be looking forward to it. no point in having swords i don't have any expertise in using, so i'm looking to learn fast.