Threat of violence - manip or aggro?

I generally don't have a problem deciding what moves in the fiction should go under aggro, seize or manip, but right exactly now I'm in a position in a game where we're a bit unsure.

This guy has threatened me and made me angry, and now I've got him by the throat, literally. I lean in close to him and growl into his face, "take that back now, or I will break you in half, right here, right now". Neither of us is waving weapons around, and my character is clearly bigger and stronger (huge body, hard+3, not to be fucked with-equivalent).

Would you play it as aggro or manip?

Are you committed to breaking him in half when he spits in your face? If you are, then it's going aggro. Otherwise, it's manipulating.

It sounds like going aggro from over here!

Tim's really faster than i :P

Yeah, and yes I am. On the other hand, it's a bit harder to make the 7-9 options of aggro work, no?

While it's much easier to imagine concrete assurance - eg breaking a finger, or squeezing his throat a bit.

I play it like this:

Decide in advance your action if the guy says "fuck you". Do you a) back down, or b) choke the asshole to death. A = manipulation, B = aggro.

For me, manipulation is the threat of force when you are *not* commited to follow through. Aggro is when you are.

In your case, using stuff like a broken finger as concrete assurance could work for manipulation, but it still means that the character is not committed to real meaningful violence at that point, and the MC counter-moves will reflect that if you miss.

Regards,

Shane

Yeah, and yes I am. On the other hand, it's a bit harder to make the 7-9 options of aggro work, no?

Wouldn't a "tell you what you want to hear" be the easiest choice there?  

On a 10+ (assuming they don't suck it up), they take it back and mean it, but on a 7-9, they take it back and don't mean it... and, hopefully, that leads to more fun times!  *laugh*

I like making subtle distinctions like that... which become significant in further play.

Wouldn't a "tell you what you want to hear" be the easiest choice there?  

On a 10+ (assuming they don't suck it up), they take it back and mean it, but on a 7-9, they take it back and don't mean it... and, hopefully, that leads to more fun times!  *laugh*

I like making subtle distinctions like that... which become significant in further play.

Haha, of course you're right! I didn't see the obvious. Thanks a lot! :)

When you go aggro on someone and hit with a 7-9, they have to choose something they can do, given the circumstances and the position you've put them in. If you can situationally eliminate options for them, you've gone aggro more effectively, even on the same roll.

The perfect go aggro, then, is the one where you've eliminated every 7-9 option except to cave or suck it up, so the 7-9 hit is the same as the 10+ hit. This is why it's good to have the guy against the wall, pinned, with your forearm across his throat and your gun in his mouth. Let's see him talk his way out of that.

Vincent, even more clarifying. Thanks!