Open Post: La savate et le chausson

[futaille]

Much to his satisfaction, Grantaire has been able to keep up with many of his hobbies unabated during his time at the mansion. Not all of them, though, mostly because they were ones he'd go to specific spots for, and with those spots not being here in addition to an abundance of his other hobbies, they more or less fell by the wayside.

However, a recent chat with Dionysus has reminded him that he has very much neglected his 'hitting things' level. Although he didn't find a crash test dummy, the thought being on his mind ended up in him stumbling upon a small gym tucked away, complete with some equipment including a standing punching bag.

So he's discarded his waistcoat and cravat over a bench and is practicing his savate¹.

¹French kickboxing! During R's time it was basically for streetfighting, and just beginning to get formalized, but there are some cool vintage videos on youtube (Here and here) to give the... vibe.

Comments

[vineleaves]

"Alas, my greatest downfall."

[futaille]

"I assure you that you still overtake ice cream on most essential measures."

[vineleaves]

"Which ones would those be?"

[futaille]

"There is quite an extensive list, of course. How much of it would you like?"

[vineleaves]

"Oh, you know, until you get bored of listing things out, I suppose."

[futaille]

"Well, to start off with, you are a much better conversationalist than ice cream is."

[vineleaves]

"I do trust that you, at least, would be able to hold a decent conversation with an ice cream if it came down to it and you had to."

[futaille]

"Oh, I certainly could on my end. The ice cream, though, would have a most difficult time changing it from a monologue to a conversation, unless I were to pretend to be the ice cream in conversation, in which case the conversational skill would not be the ice cream's but my own again, so it certainly would not be able to take the credit."

[vineleaves]

He laughs, but quickly trains his face back serious, pretending to think this over very deeply. "Suppose -- and, it must be said, I defer to your expertise in this field, but -- perhaps the ice cream is simply talking very quietly."

[futaille]

"Perhaps so, but even if that is the case, if you speak so softly that you're unable to be heard by the one you're attempting to speak to, that also doesn't award high marks for your conversational skills."

[vineleaves]

"You raise a very good point. As can only be expected from the true expert here. Perhaps we could teach the ice cream how to project more, as to be heard? I would hate to speak over it, even if it's very quiet."

[futaille]

"Which speaks well for your own conversational skills. I, on the other hand, am well versed in speaking over people trying to talk, which is a point against me in this area."

[vineleaves]

"I do think, of course, that all of the other points add up and you remain the expert. The poor ice cream, however, is undoubtedly in third place."

[futaille]

"I do wonder if some flavors of ice cream are better conversationalists than others now."

[vineleaves]

“Which do you think would be the best?”

[futaille]

"I don't think I've had enough ice cream to fairly make that judgment, unfortunately."

[vineleaves]

“We can add ice cream taste tests to our list of planned activities,” he says with a laugh. “Ice cream’s a lot more accessible in the future when people have, y’know, electric freezers.”

[futaille]

"Changes it from an occasional indulgence, I imagine, yes."

[vineleaves]

“There’s so many different kinds, Étienne,” he says as if this is the most serious topic of discussion ever. “We need to sort out your ice cream education.”

[futaille]

"Well, I certainly look forward to your instruction, at least."