fandomhigh | Pointy End AWAY From You, Wednesday

Class met in the Danger Shop today, largely on Obi-Wan's insistence: he had no interest in seeing anyone hurt using weapons that might be unfamiliar to them.

Laid out on a table at the front of the shop were several smaller bladed weapons, knives primarily.

"Today, we'll begin with a fairly simple weapon," he said. "Many of you might have held a knife at least once in your life."

"And not just for cutting up nerf in a fancy restaurant," Anakin added. "Knives are versatile and easy to conceal. They can be used as a mid-range and a close range weapon, or as a boredom alleviation tool, if you get good at flipping it."

ANAKIN.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Do not start flipping knives," he said. "This man is also an expert in the realm of accidentally causing himself harm." COUGH. "Knives give you an edge in an encounter with a bare-handed fighter, but they are not toys. They are lethal weapons, and they can both harm and kill. Keep this in mind, both if you use one, or if you find yourself facing an opponent wielding one. Do not, for instance, attempt to grapple with a thusly-armed opponent, because you will be killed."

Anakin gave Obi-Wan a sour look because SOME OF THOSE harms had been on purpose from Obi-Wan. Jerk. (The fact that Anakin had been evil at the time was completely beside the point.) He then settled into a ready position. "We'll walk you through disarming a knife-wielding opponent, and how to win if you're both armed. If you're armed and they aren't...well, we don't really want to know why you're starting a fight."

"Before Anakin shows you the actual disarming technique," Obi-Wan said, picking up a knife and sliding into a ready position himself, "I should note that the absolute best way to avoid getting struck with a knife is simply to run away. There are very few situations in which running is not an option. That being said..."

He struck out at Anakin.

Anakin reached out, right hand at Obi-Wan's windpipe, almost faster than thought.

Obi-Wan's knife-hand kept going, but he was clearly slightly off-balance now.

Anakin moved to smack Obi-Wan in the forearm hard enough to make him drop the knife.

And the knife dropped.

"Don't think this is easy," Obi-Wan said, pulling his arm away. "It may look it, because we are used to it. But pulling off this maneuver is complicated, and reliant on some measure of luck. Again, run away, if you at all can."

Anakin nodded. "And be careful. I know what I'm doing, which is why Obi-Wan doesn't have a broken forearm or a slashed neck, but do this at half or quarter speed until you figure out the rhythm, okay?" He clapped his hands and a half-dozen knife-wielding holograms (that looked remarkably like Obi-Wan with a terrible mullet) appeared before the students. "We'll be walking around to correct your technique if you need it."

"And after that, we'll progress onward to actual knife-fighting techniques," Obi-Wan said lightly. "But we felt teaching you how to get out of a knife-fight was rather more important."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"There are people back home who would literally rather die than drink out of the same water fountain as a black person," Raven said. "Talking to them doesn't seem like it'd be all that super-effective."

"And those are people that you'll never, ever reach," Kathy said, shrugging. "Some people are hopeless. So you ignore them and reach out for other people. The young folks. The people on the fence. The ones who want equality but don't have the words to ask for it or know exactly what it is that they're asking for."

"Yeah, but they're the ones in charge," Raven said. "Bunches of white men who spread rumors that everyone who isn't white is literally diseased. Which doesn't even make sense! If it's dangerous to eat on the same end of the restaurant, then why hire them to work in your kitchen?"

Yeah, Raven had lots of thoughts about her era's racism. The sorts of thoughts most people she knew in her era just kind of glossed over and blithely ignored if she tried to bring them up.

"Most politicians believe whatever is politically profitable," Kathy said, because there was no such thing as being too cynical when it came to politics. "If it starts to affect their odds of getting re-elected or their campaign funds start dipping low, they'll change their tunes."

She pursed her lips. "Sure, some are rabid bigots, but what are you going to do?"

Kill them and take their place?

Exactly.

"I don't know. Something."

"There's no quick way to effect social change," Kathy said, sadly. "It takes patience and time and people being willing to stand up for what's right. Sometimes they have to use violent measures, like the protests going on about police murdering unarmed black people, but that's just...momentum, kinda. It brings awareness and makes other people start clamoring for justice, too."

"This is depressing," Raven said. "We should do something fun. Brighten ourselves up."

"I'd like that!" Kathy agreed. "So, what do you like doing?"

Kathy's interests were running around, crimefighting, Tumblr, and various geeky pursuits. She tended to go along with what other people liked to do so no one was stuck doing stuff that she enjoyed that no one else would.

"Window shopping," Raven said. "Or going to the movies. Or -- well, I've had a lot of fun doing sparring stuff in class and with Hanna, but we're kind of already doing that."

"There's the newest superhero movie out," Kathy said, beaming. "I love the Revengers. Actually, have you seen any of those movies yet? We could do a night in the common room to catch you up!"

"I have, actually," Raven said. "But I wouldn't mind a review before seeing the new one."

"What're you doing Friday?" Kathy asked. "Pretty much...all day Friday, I guess?"

"Nothing," Raven said. "I have a five day weekend, this session."

Kathy whistled. "And I was impressed by my three day," she said. "Revengers movie marathon?"

And Raven only took one class a day.

"I'll bring the popcorn."

Kathy just didn't understand how you could do these things, Raven!

"I'll bring the soda." And, y'know, the movies. Obtained totally legally, of course. Superheroes didn't torrent! "Meet up after lunch and we'll go till...whenever we're done, I guess!"

She was bouncing a little again. It happened when she got excited.

Raven grinned. "It's a date." Then blinked. "Um. Not a date-date. But -- you know what I mean."

Kathy pouted at Raven. "I see how it is," she teased. "Just rub it in. Fine."

Raven blinked. "Rub what in?"

"That it's not a date-date," Kathy said.

"But you don't --" Raven said, suddenly flustered. "Do you want it to be?"

Kathy instantly felt guilty for teasing. "No, no, I'm just messing around," she assured Raven. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry."

Besides, she didn't want to get in the way of the epic relationship that would be Raven and Jalian when they finally figured themselves out.

"I don't what?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "What were going to say? Can I ask?"

Raven shrugged, embarrassed. "You don't really seem like you're into girls," she said. "Not, you know, for dating."

"Oh," Kathy said, blushing a bit, too. "Sorry, no, I'm generally not?" Though pollen week was usually an exception, especially since the girls on the island were super hot. Much like the guys. Basically, this entire island was full of people who were unfairly attractive. "But I'm not the kind of person who freaks out at the idea of it, either. If it helps any, I would have said the same thing to, like, Anders if he'd assured me it wasn't a date-date."

"No! I didn't think you would be." Raven kind of assumed everyone in the future was totally fine with homosexuality, actually, but her perspective was pretty limited. "I just -- well, I totally wouldn't mind dating you, if you were into it. So you caught me by surprise."

Re: Practice Disarmament

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