The Shadows Devour You.
Apparently if you grab onto the fin you can make them not attack you. Still means you have to let go.
I'd say if you attack anywhere besides the mouth you'd stand a decent chance. Aim for the belly, I'd say. Thats the softest region of most fish-like sea creatures... and is generally a valid target for most other creatures too. Mother Nature sucks at armouring the stomach.
The term "Great Man" is disturbingly interchangeable with "mass murderer" in history books.
If I remember correctly, the gills.
I've always heard you punch 'em in the nose, but I don't know how effective that really is. ![[lol]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lol2v12_4863.png "[lol]"){kind=small}
Pro-Freedom Fanatic
Stab the gills.
You exist because we allow it and you will end because we demand it.
The Shadows Devour You.
That was my first thought too, but I thought it might be better armoured.
Confirmed. Eyes and snout also work wonders.
Citizen
You should know this if you've played video games:
THE EYES! GO FOR THE EYES!
What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.
In Riastrad
Hm... Currently fifty/fifty on gills or stomach.
Lawyer: The eyes are done. One of them was already gone, and we took out the other one.
My name is Cu Chulainn. Beside the raging sea I am left to moan. Sorrow I am, for I brought down my only son.
The Shadows Devour You.
As for defence, ironically you want to back yourself into a corner so the shark can only come at you from one angle. It has the mobility advantage, see? So you want a choke-point. Secondly, stay vertical, not horizontal, in the water. Unless the shark is coming from directly under you, it makes it harder to bite. Basically you want to be perpendicular to the shark.
EDIT: Remember, a shark is gonna be a lot faster in the water than a human, so getting into position to attack the belly is going to be murder.
edited 29th Jun '11 1:59:47 PM by GameChainsaw
The term "Great Man" is disturbingly interchangeable with "mass murderer" in history books.
I would attack it on land, behind a .50 cal.
In Riastrad
The most advanced tech we have right now is a bow and arrow. So... not exactly optimised here.
As far as angling for the strike, that isn't an issue. The thing is distracted.
My name is Cu Chulainn. Beside the raging sea I am left to moan. Sorrow I am, for I brought down my only son.
Pronounced YAK-you-luss
Yeah, I think that a shark's nose is highly sensitive. Won't be a lethal or crippling wound like the eyes or gills, but it'll hurt like hell and probably stun the beastie.
What's precedent ever done for us?
Swords are for wimps
Well if you tickle or stroke its nose, it'll probably stop moving and enter a blissful coma. Of course, it will have stopped moving, and probably asphyxiate
it's because of all the receptors on the nose. patting or stroking it there produces an insta-orgasm-like sensation for them, and they gotta do anything for more. even if it risks death
Oh, yeah. watch for teeth
edited 29th Jun '11 3:18:25 PM by pathfinder
The terrible downside to multiple identities: multiple tax returns
Pronounced YAK-you-luss
Gotta admit, 'I tickle the shark's nose until it orgasms to death' would certainly be a memorable conclusion to a roleplayed fight scene...
edited 29th Jun '11 4:47:29 PM by Iaculus
What's precedent ever done for us?
Pro-Freedom Fanatic
Stabbing something on the nose and leaving it there would pretty much cause the shark to live the remainder of its life in crippling, agonizing, torturous pain.
Turning an enemy's life into a permanent World Of Hurt is pretty much a Fate Worse than Death.
edited 29th Jun '11 4:43:57 PM by SavageHeathen
You exist because we allow it and you will end because we demand it.
Only One Avatar
This is what the Discovery Channel said.
Anime geemu wo shinasai!
This foreboding is fa...
Yup, pretty sure they tested that on Mythbusters. It more or less seemed to work.
With the obvious disclaimer that it's better not to be in the situation in the first place.
edited 29th Jun '11 6:36:23 PM by deathjavu
Look, you can't make me speak in a logical, coherent, intelligent bananna.
Dead? You thought wrong
I was reading a really good non fiction by the guy who wrote Jaws and he said he was watching a dissection of a large female great white. When the knife hit the shark it bounced right off. The skin was way too hard. I heard punching it in the nose is good, though.
Seeing all these piss ant tropers trying to talk tough makes me laugh. If Matrix were here, he'd laugh too.
Gotta trope, dood!
Since the eyes are taken care of, the gills are probably your best bet if you can avoid the teeth. Sharkskin's pretty tough (and sandpaper-y) on the shark's back and sides, but if you manage to stab through its belly their livers take up a good deal of the space in their insides. Alternatively, since the eyes are gone, stab into the empty sockets and try and pierce the brain.
Also, if I recall correctly, that whole "has to keep moving" thing is only true for a handful of shark species.
They lost me. Forgot me. Made you from parts of me. If you're the One, my father's son, what am I supposed to be?
Ram it in the gills with a dolphin. If you don't have a dolphin seduce one ASAP.
Yes, I know this is ridiculous. Still, I'm curious.
I'm participating in a roleplay on This Very Wiki's forums. The heroes are faced with a giant (about the size of a Megalodon) sentient shark. If one had a combat knife about eight inches long, where would be the optimal place to insert said knife to cause the most damage to said shark?
My name is Cu Chulainn. Beside the raging sea I am left to moan. Sorrow I am, for I brought down my only son.