4216/IMPossible Sword Skills

IMPossible Sword Skills
Date of Scene:	13 June 2016
Location:	Alfheim Online <ALO>
Synopsis:	Why must Original Skills be so hard?!
Cast of Characters:	675, Yuuki Konno

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Yuuki Konno has posed:
    It takes almost no time for Yuuki to reach Cirra. As an Imp, she can get teleport items to the twilight home city of the Imps. From there, a simple party request, and she can fly in to wherever Cirra's chosen to train. She's not as good at flying as she is at swordplay, but then that's a pretty high bar to set. She'd probably end up at least as fast as Kirito, and he'd be able to beat just about anyone other than a Sylph in a race.

    Unlike Kirito however, Yuuki's graceful in flight. She turns loops and flips simply because she can, for the sheer joy of movement. She turns a flip as she sets down, her wings vanishing the instant her toes touch the ground. And then she grins. "Hey Palmira." she greets cheerfully. She doesn't quite throw herself at Palmira, but she does come in to land awfully close. Like, close enough that in other circumstances, someone might fear it was an attack. She doesn't seem to notice that she might be violating personal space however. She just likes being close!

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    Palmira is standing in a clearing a bit off the beaten path, where she is swing her sword spear in practice - she isn't attempting the sword skill anymore, just trying to lossen up.

    As Yuuki lands suddenly, the spear/trident is swung up... and driven into the ground. She turns to look at the other Imp. "Yuuki." she smiles a little, but it's genuine. "Sneaking up on people like that could get you in trouble one day."

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    It'd be easy for someone with Yuuki's skills to dismiss such concerns. What does she need to worry about, possibly having to dodge a reflexive swing? But then, it never actually occurs to her that a friend might react badly to her presence even in surprise. "Really? Why?" she asks, bright and innocent.

    Not waiting for an answer, Yuuki continues. "Oh hey, you're using a polearm here? That'll be a bit easier. Making a sword skill's really hard because sooooo many people use them. The uniqueness qualifier means you need something really special that no one's ever tried." she explains. She hadn't really had difficulty with uniqueness, not when building her own skill... but that's because she had built it intending from the beginning to count eleven hits. No, her burden was being able to do it fast enough to register, and that was a challenge even for her.

     "It's easier to get uniqueness with a spear but... you know, I have no way of judging a skill and figuring if anyone's used something like it! It's not like the skills are public knowledge or anything!" she confesses, still grinning but looking a little sheepish.

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    Palmira raises an eyebrow at Yuuki's nonchalant response. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter as much in a video game." she looks down at her spear and nods. "I trained in Polearms and Scythes in school, but since I serve in the Judges I use a Law blade." she shrugs, not really expecting Yuuki to be versed in Galandian schooling.

    "So I ddecided to use the Assault Spear class in the game since it has a good blend of defense, damage and accuracy." Probably suffers a little in attack rate though.

    She looks at the spear in the ground ,then back at Yuuki. "I don't know if uniqueness is the problem. I've tried the advanced polearm manuvers I know, I've tried changing them up, adding to them..." she sighs, "But I don't know what the system wants. Yet Nero successfully recreated one of her powerfull attacks from outside the game."

    "I'm frustrated."

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    Yuuki shrugs. "Nero's kind of loud sometimes, but she has incredible skill. At least I assume so." she claims. That sort of obvious raging confidence, if it didn't have anything to back it up, would quickly get her in incredible trouble. "I don't know whether you could beat her in a fight or not, but that's not really what matters when it comes to sword skills." she says.

    Of course Yuuki knows nothing about Galandian schooling, but she's aware of the 'assault spear' weapon as classified in Alfheim Online. One of the Sleeping Knights uses the weapon class after all. Yuuki's more than merely familiar with what such a weapon can do.

    She eyes the blade critically, then nods, holding up a fist in a sort-of salute. "Well, if it's uniqueness then we don't have a hope of figuring it out." Yuuki admits with a complete lack of shame. "But there's other reasons it could be failing! Balance, aesthetics, and speed! If it's not any of those then it HAS to be uniqueness! Why don't you show me what you've got, and I'll see how it measures up?!"

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    "I came close laast time, but I was well prepared with consumable items." Palmira contemplates the last fight against Nero, she probably can't count on fire protection items next time.

    Yuuki's admitance that if uniqueness is the problem then it's hopeless makes the normally stoic Palmira hang her head with a sigh. It's so much easier outside of this game, where she just stays mobile and attacks openings as she sees them.

    "Alright." She turns and picks up her spear. She takes her starting stance, feet wide and one hand holding the spear near the tip and the other near the back. She moves forward, stabbing with the spear point to lead off.

    Palmira then changes her hold on the spear to te center, spinning it around as she continues to advance. Using the butt of the spear for a stun, and spins round, attacking again with a hard down ward slash followed up by stun-kick move.

    It's all very good, technically. But it's also rather mechanical.

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    "Hmmmmm." Yuuki muses. Her smile disappears, changing into a frown of focus. She can be lighthearted and whimsical much of the time, but when things get serious she shows a true warrior's intent. Watching the routine, the frown deepens. It's ... really rather basic. Mechanically it's fast, with no wasted motion and no offbalance steps. But it's not special.

    "I don't really know the spear." Yuuki admits finally when Palmira finishes. She takes a moment to consider, to assess. This is the time to be a friend though, not the time to be nice. "But I think it's likely too close to what someone else might've come up with?" she adds, shrugging helplessly. "I mean, you're quick. Maybe as quick as Talken. And it's obvious you're not flailing around. Those are really precise hits that'd work well in a real fight."

    Yuuki, even when trying to be serious and critical, still isn't mean about it. She's actually pretty nice even when criticizing. "But ... I think you'll need to add some things. Not make it longer or anything, just less... um, I really don't know what word to use here..." she says helplessly. "Oh, and that last hit? It's GOT to be with the spear. The last hit's what delivers most of the elemental damage." she points out.

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    Coming out of the attacks combo Palmira turns to look at Yuuki. She's rather good at taking criticsm of this kind. She goes over the manuvers in her head and considers the input. She nods about the last hit. "I understand...Do you suppose it's not..."

    Palmira tries to think of a word "...Flashy enough?"

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    "Hmmmmmm." Yuuki considers thoughtfully. "I guess that works. I mean, you don't HAVE to be flashy. Mother's Rosario is just, you know, a lot of thrusting attacks chained together." she says. "None of the moves in it are the least bit flashy. Together though, they build a pattern. So... I guess flashy might be part of it?" she says. She seems obviously frustrated, not being able to express herself to her satisfaction.

    "Maybe I should get Talken to come here." Yuuki finally suggests. "He knows the assault spear AND he's really into game mechanics." she says, suddenly grinning. In fact Talken's a total nerd, down to the nerdy hairstyle and glasses. "Next time he's online, I'll MAKE him come help you!" she adds, some of her usual playfulness and joy coming forth at the thought. There might even need to be some arm-twisting involved, given how Talken usually reacts to girls. Especially pretty girls.

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    Palmira hms, "Perhaps flashy, isn't the right word but maybe... daring?" So Yuuki's sword skill is rather simple then. At the mention of Talken she looks up. She shakes her head a little, "Please don't put someone else out on my account."

    "This is very different then from the fighting I'm used to. Theres no creation of sword skills to some unknown overseer. Most of the time when I fight, I'm making up what I do as I go by combining basic and advanced techniques."

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    Straightforward, at least. Mother's Rosario isn't exactly simple. Yuuki shrugs. "I don't think he'd mind. He's kind of shy, but he likes helping people." she claims. That first part is a bit of an understatement, but not the second. Maybe Yuuki'll just not tell him that this is for a girl.

    "There's nothing wrong with making up your moves as you go." Yuuki notes, starting to bounce her heels off the ground, balancing on toes. "That's what fighting IS really. If you use the same stuff all the time, you get predictable and you get beat!" she grins. "Obviously I don't need to tell you that, because you do this sort of thing for real. Fighting for real is going to get you a lot farther here than knowing any number of sword skills. And creating one is..." she pauses, stops her bouncing and tilts her head, considering. "Actually, why DO you want to create an original skill?" she asks abruptly.

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    Ah, the all important question.

    "Nero refuses to be quiet about it until I do." Ah, annoyance.

    "But..." Palmira looks down at her gloves and pulls them on tighter. "I've never had a challange I couldn't over come by studying it and understanding it. Yet that isn't possible here. I suppose I feel like if I can't accomplish this task, I'll be admiting there was a hurdle I couldn't understand."

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    "Aaaaaaaah~!" Yuuki muses, her eyes suddenly sparkling with suppressed laughter. "That explains it!"

    Yuuki can understand both reasons, actually. Both the challenge of a rival, and wanting to learn and overcome a more personal challenge. She doesn't disapprove, not at all. "Well, you can tell Nero to shut up if you like. Making an original skill doesn't mean you're better than someone who can't. You could show her up by learning her skill and beating it when she uses it!" she grins.

    "Actually... you know, the first time I fought Asuna? She almost did that. My best move. The combo everyone thought was unbeatable. She'd never seen it before and she managed to stab me in the middle of it! She almost broke my combo, and if she had she'd have beat me! Seriously, it was amazing!" Yuuki gushes, sounding suspiciously like a young teenager having a crush on someone. For some unknown reason. Ahem.

    "Er..." she pauses, seeming to get some control over herself almost reluctantly. "Oh, so you can do that, OR you can put your heart into learning an original skill and show her up THAT way! But you'll never do it with your head. Original Sword Skills come from your HEART!"

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    Palmira's eyebrow raises in a comical camera shot as she listen to Yuuki gush about Asuna. She knows that bubbling and gushing, she's seen girls at Alexander Academy do it while talking about here and some of the other top female students.

    "Ah-ha." She smiles a little ruefully. "Well now you've set thhe bar." she grins a little.

    "I'll just have to beat Nero in both manners."

Yuuki Konno has posed:
    At that, Yuuki BEAMS. "That's the spirit!" she cries out, throwing her arms around Palmira in a celebratory hug. Or at least trying to do so. She moves FAST though, just one moment slightly apart and critiquing and gushing, the next moment she's right there, arms wide. "With that attitude you'll get this for sure!"

Cirra Constantine (675) has posed:
    Pamira maybe ready for a lot of things, but suddenly being hugged isn't one of them!
r    The smaller Imp girl jumps tossing her arms around Palmira, and slightly stunned by it, the taller girl sways back until she processes it enough to turn around, wrapping her arms around Yuuki as she swings.

    "Ha! Your laughter is infections, did you know that?"