Introduction to Personal Weaponry [Monday, second period]

[furious-maximus.livejournal.com]

The Danger Shop, perhaps disappointingly, looked like a classroom today. Though the big pile of random-looking crap on the floor was new. Chair legs, a couple of complete stools, hockey sticks, two-by-fours, baseball bats, some lead pipes, and a number of things most people actually considered weapons, all of it moddable.

"Today we're talking about sticks. And, well, all the things that work pretty much the same way." Max grabbed a six-foot staff from the pile seemingly at random.

"A stick does a couple of things for you. It gives you extra weight, it gives you extra reach, and it gives you something that you can hit harder with without breaking bits of yourself in the process." Max swung the stick in a wide arc to demonstrate.

"All of this translates into hitting harder and breaking things better. You can also take a hit on a stick that you'd never be able to take on, say, your arm." This time Max swung the stick into his desk. Sure it wasn't real, but the sound as the top of the desk cracked and the stick snapped in two was plenty impressive.

"Last week I showed you how a roll of coins can become a weapon, enhancing whatever fighting abilities you already have. Sticks are similar because most things can be used to add weight and reach to what you already have." He gestured at the pile.

"You'll have to adjust slightly to each item to get a feel for how you can use it to your advantage, and that's what you'll be doing today. Everyone pick something from the pile, then pair off and figure things out. You can just discuss technique or strategy, or you can take a few swings."

His eyes narrowed. "I'll be watching, so everyone be careful. There may be safeguards in place here, but that's no excuse to get sloppy about things. So don't even think about goofing around."

Comments

Pick a weapon, pair off

[furious-maximus.livejournal.com]

Max is watching, though, so be careful with your sticks.

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[puppy_fair]

Zack grabbed a hockey stick and gave it a crooked little grin. It didn't have the same heft as most weapons that he was used to, but it totally had the reach, and that was half the battle, right?

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

Alex preferred to fight with fists but he figured he could make due with the walking cane he'd picked up. It looked pretty hearty and strong.

"We look like we're gonna play a weird ass game," Alex said, giving the cane a twirl. "Wanna pair up?"

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[puppy_fair]

"Hey, sure!" As if Zack would ever say no to a question like that! "I guess you probably could make a game out of this sort of thing, huh?"

He gave the hockey stick a twirl, too, and flashed Alex a grin. "I mean, not like hitting things with sticks is a game or anything, right?"

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"First one to give the other a concussion wins?" Alex joked and then shook his head. "Nah, kidding. I'd rather avoid that. Been knocked around enough lately."

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[puppy_fair]

"I'd feel kind of weird taking swings at somebody here in the classroom anyhow," Zack admitted, resting his stick on his shoulder. "And anyhow, this is way lighter than any weapon I'm used to. It would probably be hard for me to check myself against somebody else."

... Someday, he'd learn the fine art of picking and choosing words that didn't make it sound like he was bragging when he was stating plain and simple truth. Today was apparently not that day.

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

Alex snickered and thumped the cane against the ground a few times, testing to see how much weight it could take.

"I've got a pretty hard head anyway," he said, shrugging, "so even if we were knocking each other around, I wouldn't go down easily. High pain tolerance."

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[puppy_fair]

And Zack, being Zack, was going to take Alex at his word with a grin and a nod.

"Do you get into fights with stuff like this very often, then?"

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"Nah," he said and gave the stick a few swings. "I usually go with fists. Or beer bottles. I'm not real disciplined. I just brawl. Improvise and stuff."

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

Bruce picked up one of the complete stools and took a few practice swings with it to figure out its weight.

He figured he was probably going to be busting up bars in the future, so he might as well get used to stools now.

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Wesley picked up a stick. Oh, this was going to take some getting used to, considering how clumsy he tended to be. Seeing Bruce practicing, he took a practice swing of his own, and ended up whacking himself in the face.

Nice, Wes.

"Would you like to be a pair?" he offered, clutching his throbbing nose.

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"As long as you're okay, sure," Bruce said. "Try not to swing at your own face."

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"Fair point," he said, then added in a mumble, "It wasn't intentional."

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"Have you trained with anything like this before?" Bruce asked.

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"No, actually," he admitted. Most of his expertise was in fencing, which he had been practicing since he was a kid. But staffs, not so much. The Watchers' Council would not have thought them useful, thinking them less than flashy. "Have you?"

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"Not with a stool, specifically," Bruce said. "But it's really just a club with multiple handles, so it's close enough to what I have used."

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"Fair enough," said Wes.

"So - shall we practice, then?"

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[dontvotemeout]

Jason took a baseball bat from the pile and gave it a few test swings. The extra reach was a nice perk, but being able to hit someone harder than with his bare hands was the best part. He wouldn't hit anyone from class that hard though.

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[glacial_queen]

Rather than picking up an entire stool, Karla removed one of the tall legs and tried a couple of stances with it. Not entirely familiar, but it came close enough to an Eyrien stick to make her feel comfortable.

Spotting Jason swinging his bat, she wandered over and asked, "Want to spar?"

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[dontvotemeout]

"Uh, sure," Jason said after a moment. There were lots of female criminals in Gotham, so he'd have to get used to fighting girls, especially the distractingly cute ones. "Have you ever used something like that before?" he asked, pointing to the stool leg.

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[glacial_queen]

"A little bit," Karla admitted. "Back home, my best friend's brother is teaching us how to use something similar. I'm not home enough to be really good at it yet. But this way, I can answer 'yes' if he asks if I've practiced while at school and be completely truthfu."

She nodded at his bat. "How about you?"

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[dontvotemeout]

"It's been a while since I've had to use anything like this to defend myself," Jason admitted. "But I've got to practice too, to make the people at home happy."

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[glacial_queen]

"We can be stick-buddies," Karla said with a grin. She slid into the first stance, bringing the sticks up in a defensive position in front of her. "Send each other's teacher back home notes attesting that we've seen each other working out with them."

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[dontvotemeout]

"My guardian would love that. He's trying to get me to be more social too," Jason said. Taking a more offensive stance, he swung the bat towards her arm, not very hard.

Re: Pick a weapon, pair off

[bamf-tastic.livejournal.com]

Max's weapon reminded Kurt too much of a certain Cajun friend of Magneto's. He grabbed a baseball bat because he at least knew how to swing one, and looked around for a partner.