[Dogs] Taking the Blow and Seeing in Talking Conflicts
Simon C:
I get how this works in the rules, but what does it look like in the fiction? I kind of get how it could go, but I want to see some examples.
Brand_Robins:
Raise: "You, Brother Colin, are a yellow coward, hiding behind your coat and your gun." Brand's lips curl back from his yellow, ragged teeth as he spits the words like venom. Everyone in the room watches, nervous, shifting from foot to foot.
See: "No, Brother Brand," Colin's voice is calm, even, "I am a watchdog of the Lord, and even though you are angry now, the truth is I am doing this for love, not fear or hate." The room calms, heads nod and everyone looks at Brand with pity and worry in their eyes.
vs
Take: "No.. you're the coward, you rat fucked son of a bitch!" Colin's voice is hoarse, his hands trembling. "I'm a Dog, damnit, and you better listen!" Everyone in the room looks downright nervous now, watching Colin like they're worried he might do something stupid.
Or:
Raise: "Brother Colin, you remember what it says in the Book of Life: 'Suffer the sins of the children, for the fault is not to the young no more than to the sheep. Look ye to the shepherd.' How can you want to punish this girl, when clearly her mother is at fault for her sins?"
See: "Brother Brand, you know that Zedikiah 14:12 is not about the duties of Dogs, but is advice to the Steward of a branch, and is about looking to his own conscience. I want to punish this girl so that she will not make this mistake again. The mother... the mother is another issue."
vs
Take: "Damnit, stop spewing scriptures at me! I know what the book says, but we've got to go off book on this one!"
Noclue:
Simon, have you ever been in an argument and you know you're completely in the right, and then the other person says something that knocks you right on you ass and makes you question the meaning of life and your place in the universe for just a moment, and then you blink and you're sure you're completely right again?
It looks like that.
Simon C:
Ok, cool.
That's what I thought. I guess what I'm asking is if taking the blow compells you to accept something has changed in the fiction, the way it can in physical conflicts. Like if I say "I toss your Daddy's book of life into the stream" and you take the blow, the book is getting wet. If I say "Go cook me some eggs" and you take the blow, are you headed to the kitchen?
Noclue:
The book example is an interesting one. If I narrate throwing your book into the water, the book is in the water unless you narrate stopping me. If you're taking the blow, I would assume the blow came from the dunking that the book received. In that case, yes, the book's in the water. If the blow is something else, like say the stakes were that you show you care about your father, you can totally go ahead and save the book while taking the blow. But, in most cases the book is going to get wet.
The "Go cook me some eggs" doesn't compel you to start cooking, but you're going to have to take some kind of blow from the words. To determine what, we need context. Perhaps you're a young woman who was brought up in a chauvanistic parents, struggling to prove that you're as good as the other Dogs. If the stakes are about humiliating your PC, taking the blow might mean you start towards the kitchen instinctively and then turn around feeling shamed. Perhaps the stakes are that you're trying to control your temper. Taking the blow then, might be about raising your voice in response to this insult.
I guess I'm saying that taking the blow is all about the context of the argument.
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