Hit Me Baby One More Time (semi-open)

[universal_charm]

WHO: Jim Kirk + Samouel Gareth, Christine, Ohgren, Cosima, Korrin, Kain, Inessa, anyone else who wanted to help with the experiments
WHAT: It's time for Jim to run his experiments and beat some leathers.
WHEN: Throughout Justinian, after this post
WHERE: Kirkwall
NOTES: Nothing worth noting unless you protest the beating upon of leathers

Thankfully he was bequeathed quite a bit of leather to run these experiments, because there was a lot he wanted to test. He didn't want to run each subsequent test on a previously used leather either - that would skew results, and he needed these as precise and clean and controlled as possible. Not the lab settings he would hope for, but make due with what you got.

Now all he needed were his assistants.

Comments

OHGREN

[universal_charm]

CHRISTINE

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SAMOUEL

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KAIN

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INESSA

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KORRIN

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COSSIMA

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[circleprodigy]

Inessa arrives on time, as promised. The elven mage has her staff in one hand, the other resting on Garahel. Garahel himself perks up when spotting Jim and barks, wagging his tail. He can help, too, right?

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin's heavy tread is probably heard before she arrives, the Vashoth not exactly built for stealth or subtlety. Upon spotting Kirk, she promptly waves and heads over.

"Ready to get started? Though you might want to stand back, scorched leather won't smell all that great."

[aceso]

Christine is rolling her shoulders and twisting at the waist to limber up before they get started. The last thing she needs is to pull a muscle while just testing something.

"Which type of spell would you like me to use to charge my blade?" she asks, taking a look at the leather set up and ready to go. "I take it something that the other mages have not yet used?"

[el_tybs]

It didn't take him long to find Jim, giving him a quick peck on the cheek as he walked up before grabbing some of the leathers to help relocate them to where they were testing.

"So what am I doing for you today? Beating leathers? Using leather to beat something-?"

[universal_charm]

"I... honestly didn't know you could charge them differently," he said, looking up from the small board he had where papers were attached for him to scribble his notes. "What's your range in terms of how you can charge the blade?"

[universal_charm]

Those little shows of affection out in public where a nice surprise, ever since the confession. He found it easier every day to return them back, these quick little pecks and soft touches.

"Beating leathers, at least to start," he winked at him before motioning to where he had several stands, bits of leather strapped to each one. "I need to test how well each of these holds up to certain stressors."

[universal_charm]

Kirk looks up at the bark, having been making final notes on bits of paper. The area had several stands with leather strapped to them, placed far enough apart from each other that whatever magic Inessa through would hopefully not hit the next one in line.

"Thanks for coming," he greeted, bending down to give Garahel a head pat. "You too, boy."

[universal_charm]

"Trust me, I've smelled worse in my life," Kirk snorted before giving her a brief hug in greeting. "So, today, I need you to hit each of the leathers on the stands with the same potency spell. Essentially we're testing to see how much each one holds up, so I'll be doing an inspection after they get hit. That should give you a bit of time to rest between rounds."

[in_death_sacrifice]

For once, Kain’s idea isn’t such a bad one. He needs to start out easy to get himself back in shape from the injuries he’d had, and what better way than taking a few swings at a stationary target? It also means helping the Inquisition in some way, too.

He arrives with his large two-handed sword, taking a few practice swings before heading over to approach Kirk.

“I’m ready for this anytime you are. Is this the leather here, then?”

[circleprodigy]

Inessa smiles as Garahel rumbles happily. "You're quite welcome. If you need to test leather against the efforts of a mabari, I suppose he can assist. As for myself, I'm ready to begin at your leisure."

[gatheringstorm]

Aw, Kirk. Korrin will be nice and not make him struggle for air, at least this time. "Hm...I could cast Chain Lightning if you want? That'll him them all, one after another, with the same potency. Or summoning a lightning bolt, but Chain Lightning is flashier."

[aceso]

"Oh, well what I mean is, I must use a spell on the enemy first, to charge my blade, meaning I need to use a spell on the leather, and I know you have other mages throwing spells at these pieces. The most commonly used to charge are elemental spells: cold, fire, lightning. Could I use one of those?" She stands at the ready, her glowing blue staff in one hand and the hilt of a blade that isn't there in the other.

[el_tybs]

The fact that he could surprise James with such little shows of affection was half the reason he did them, the rest of it being that he could, not shy in showing at least that much. It amused him somewhat, at how Jim could have no shame in things that he said often in public, but when it came to showing it he was more reserved.

Placing the extra leather down, Sam looked to where the rest were already strapped up and waiting. "Want to start off with magic, or regular attacks?"

[universal_charm]

"Chain lighting would be best, I think. I'd rather them all be hit as individuals than by a single bolt," he decided, tapping the tip of his quill against the small table he had managed to set up to host his recording utensils. "As the leather's fail to stand strikes, I'll remove them, so you'll have less targets as this goes along."

He gave her an excited smile. "Let me know when you're ready."

[universal_charm]

"It might be a worthy thing to test. I'm sure someone would love to have some mabari proof armor," he chuckled, giving the dog a last scratch before giving his full attention to Inessa.

"Right, so, it's pretty basic. I just need you to hit the leathers with spells of the same power," he explained. "We'll need to do it repeatedly, and as each piece gives out I'll remove it and the targets go down. At the end, the one that's the held on the longest we'll take a fresh piece of and freeze for a study of what it does over time. Sound good?"

[universal_charm]

Kirk nodded. Behind him were a series of leathers strapped to wooden blocks, ready to take the blows.

"It's a pretty simple set up. You'll swing at each one. I'll mark how deep your sword cuts on the first strike, and then from there we'll see how many it takes before the leather fully gives. Try and keep the blows as close in strength as you can, and if you need a break just let me know, okay? I have water and some snacks here if you need them."

He pointed to a basket on the little table he had set up to keep his recording utensils on.

[gatheringstorm]

"I'm ready now. Stay where you are." Korrin doesn't waste any time, striding ahead until she's well within range of her targets. Then she unleashes a blast of lightning, slamming into the first piece of leather before arcing to the others in rapid succession.

[circleprodigy]

Garahel huffs in agreement before plopping down nearby to watch. Inessa nods and sets her staff aside, as its not ice-element based and therefore not relevant to this particular test.

"It does. I can cast Winter's Grasp, a simple enough spell and one that doesn't need a wide range. It will only freeze one target at a time, though the rest will be chilled. I could cast Blizzard to affect them all equally at once, but we'll need to give more room for that.