week two | dates

[showhost]

You worked up your courage and asked someone out on a date! Good job!





Now you have to hope the producers are kind re: where they send you.

Comments

[willandaway]

[PROFICIENCY ISN'T ONE OF HIS ROYAL VIRTUES :/]

[Will has used knives to both cook and kill monsters before, so surely he too knows how to wield a short blade. he holds up both of his utensils, one in each hand, the metal glimmering almost dangerously in the kitchen lighting]

Ready when you are.

[Will no]

[hgeegh]

[Will yes.

The class starts off tame. Verbal instructions are given; their shared work station is wiped down; then it's finally time to handle the utensils and learn. Sanji picks his share of the tools up and gives them a controlled throw, spinning them in the air one at a time. He nods to himself with a satisfied hum once they're back in his grip.]

Feels good.

[How's Will doing?]

[willandaway]

[WAO. . . Will is, at least, cautious enough to watch both the instructor and Sanji go before it's his turn. and when Sanji catches his knives with absolute flawless execution, he places both of his down so he can clap. so good!]

You're very impressive, Sanji.

[HE DEFINITELY WON'T BE ABLE TO KEEP UP. . . but he does pick up one of his knives again, giving it a somewhat bewildered look before he]

[throws it]

[so high in the air it gets stuck to the ceiling]

[. . .]

[hgeegh]

[Sanji cranes his neck to gape up at the knife in the ceiling, then down at Will. The instructor excuses themself to grab a ladder.

Did that just happen?]

You . . . Do you even know your own strength?

[willandaway]

[STARING. . . AT HIS HANDS. . .]

I. . .

Meant to. Do that.

[no he didn't]

[hgeegh]

[Will . . . ]

Unless you can defy gravity like Kat, I don't see how that'll help you with cooking.

[willandaway]

[. . . yeah, no, he cannot maintain that face-saving lie]

[(it was not a face-saving lie)]

I'm used to wielding blades way heavier than that. For a moment, I forgot myself.

[hgeegh]

[He really doesn't know his strength . . . Will packs quite the punch for his size.]

What, are you a swordsman?

[willandaway]

[gestures to the sword he is still wearing at his side]

I can use many weapons, but a sword is what I prefer.

[hgeegh]

[The kitchen staff was truly kind to let them bring a weapon inside.]

What do you need to use so many for?

[willandaway]

Some enemies are weak to certain weapon types.

[and certain Archetypes specialize in the usage of certain weapons, but without explaining how Archetypes work. . . he isn't sure that answer will make sense. so he opts for the simpler one!]

It opens up different battle strategies, too.

[hgeegh]

Huh . . . Well, can't argue with that.

[The instructor returns with a ladder. They're getting that knife down or so help them.]

But this isn't a battlefield. There's no weak point to exploit here, so try to take it easy.

[willandaway]

[they're gonna find that it's super embedded in there. . .]

. . . right.

[deep breath in, slow breath out]

Cooking is not a fight.

[hgeegh]

[Overhead, the instructor grabs the knife by the handle. The knife doesn't budge. They use both hands and start pulling.]

Did you fight a lot in your travels?

[willandaway]

[classes cannot continue until the knife is retrieved. . . Will has the decency to look a bit embarrassed by this turn of events, but at least he and Sanji can have a nice conversation]

I have to. Monster attacks are becoming quite common outside of the cities and villages. If I couldn't fight. . . I wouldn't be here right now.

[hgeegh]

[The instructor continues to grunt and yank to no avail.

That makes sense, though. For an adventurer, it's critical to be able to fight or be escorted by someone who can.]

Monsters, eh? What are they like?

[willandaway]

[. . . should Will help. . .]

[. . .]

[IT'S FINE]

[while he waits, he'll just pick up his other knife, balancing it idly from one hand to the next, more like a weapon than a cooking utensil]

It depends on the monster. Some of them are giant bugs, but we also have wild dogs, sandworms, vicious birds, undead soldiers, goborns, ogres, slimes--

[Sanji gets the feeling he could keep going]

[hgeegh]

[The instructor kicks off the ladder, plants their feet on the ceiling, and struggles anew to dislodge the knife.

As for Sanji, he's too busy cringing at the mention of bugs to pay the third person in the room any mind. The rest of the monsters are fine, though the list swells to such an absurd length that he eventually sets his knife down and waves a hand.]

All right, I get it. Your world's teeming with all sorts of monsters. And you fought them by yourself?

[willandaway]

[DAMN THIS INSTRUCTOR HAS SOME ATHLETICISM IN HIM. . . Will admires his tenacity from down below]

Of course not. That'd be foolish. I have friends who fight alongside me.

[he'd be dead without them, and he knows it!]

Their strength is my strength. Especially. . . when we find ourselves face-to-face with a human.

[FINALLY I CAN BRING IT UP]

[hgeegh]

[Bless.]

A human?

[Meanwhile, the instructor wrestles with the stuck blade.]

[willandaway]

[. . . abruptly, he is reminded of the weird conversation he had with Minami about humans. . .]

They're. . . monsters.

[he continues, very tentative, unsure how Sanji will react]

Creatures that ravage the land with their strength. They destroy villages and murder indiscriminately wherever they go. Most armies don't stand a chance against them.

[. . .]

I've watched as one killed an entire squadron of soldiers in one evening.

[hgeegh]

[He makes a face. Objectively, all of this sounds terrible, and he'll probably acknowledge that, but there's something he has to clarify first.]

Hey. What do I look like to you?

[willandaway]

[?]

What do you look like? You mean. . . your tribe?

[that's the only way he can interpret that question]

You're elda. . . just like me, and most everyone else here. Aren't you?

[hgeegh]

I have no idea what an elda is. [Other than that it's Will, apparently.] I'm human.

[At that moment, the instructor gives a loud hnnng! as they tug at the still stuck blade.]

[willandaway]

[h]

But you don't--

[?!??!!?!?!?]

You don't look human at all--!