Amaya Blackstone (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
special_rabbit) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2019-07-16 05:31 am
special_rabbit) wrote in fandomhigh2019-07-16 05:31 am
Entry tags:
Weapons 101; Tuesday, First Period [07/16].
"'Morning, class," Amaya greeted the students with a nod and a grin as they gathered in the danger shop, this time in a good, spacious clearing surrounded by thick, tall trees. If you listened closely, somewhere, faintly in the distance, it might even sound like you could hear someone singing. But Amaya certainly wouldn't be paying that any mind; her attention was all going to the table in front of her, and the wide variety of weapons spread out for display and discussion today. "Welcome back. I hope you're feeling limber and ready to work those arms, because today, we're talking about axes!"
"Which every woman," Rosa interjected with a very pointed look at all you ladies in the class, "should have." And then went back to being probably a little distracting during Amaya's lecture because she couldn't help herself from going over and inspecting all the axes and choosing a few favorites to lob into all those tree trunks while waiting for the fun part of the class to start.
"The axe," said Amaya, hoisting up a simple, almost crude looking one, "is one of mankind's oldest tools, and, unlike a lot of weapons, it's main function is as a tool. It just also happens to make a great weapon as well. And it's pretty simple, too, when you get right down to it, consisiting of a handle, called a haft, and a head, and back in those early days, it didn't even have the haft, it was just a piece of sharp stone. They're simple machines, fitting into the category of a wedge, due to the shape of the head and how it's used to wedge itself into a material. These days, the head of an axe is usually made of a strong metal, curved on the edges, but what back in their advent, they were roughly hewn pieces of stone, and they were used for a wide variety of tasks, not just chopping wood as they're associated with now. They were used for butching animals, for digging up food...it was generally an all-purpose sort of tool until people started refining the process and making tools like knives and hoes that were better suited for those individual tasks.
"There are, essentially, two different kinds of axes," both of which she hoisted up now to show, "non-shaft-hole axes and shaft-hole axes, and then there's plenty of variety within each of those categories, but we don't have all the time to get into that. So a non-shaft-hole axe is an axe where there's no hole in the head for the handle; they're typically made from flint, greenstone, or slate, while a shaft-hole axe does have a hole for the handle, as you can see here, it just goes right through the head by design, and these are your weapon-type axes by far, no worrying about...flying off the handle, as it were, with these ones!
"And actually making an axe head is great, there's actually probably as many different styles and shapes of axeheads as there are swords, and it requires a bit more in the way of actually shaping and upsetting the steel to get those interesting and essential curves and points. You want a good, solid strong axehead, but it's also got to be light; not much uses if it looks pretty but you can't even weild it well! The broad shape also allows for a smith to put in some intricate etching details if they want, as well, which is why axes are very popular as decorative or ceremonial pieces as well.
"With an axe, there are, essentially, eleven parts." And, lucky you, students, you were going to learn about each and every one of them, from bit to beard to butt, in loving details from a woman who clearly found the minute changes in them amazing. Even after she covered it all, it seemed as though she could probably go on into even more detail, somehow, but there was only so much time!
"Now, as I mentioned, a tool axe can still be used as a weapon axe. Technically speaking, anything can be used as a weapon, and tool axes already have a great base for that down. But axes specifically suited for combat, called battle axes began to develop into their own thing, and there's a wide variety of types. They tend to be a bit larger, intending to really pack a punch rather than being a fast and efficient sort of tool; however, their handles are longer for a better swing and the metal on the head tends to be thinner to help make them light enough to be used effectively. But don't go too long on the handle, because then we're getting to halberd territory, and that's a whole 'nother unit! Smaller axes, with similarly smaller handles, intended to be used as a projectile weapon also came into development, and we call those our throwing axes. I will say this about people who name weapons: they're very efficient, no room for second guesses as to what they're talking about! And, of course, a throwing axe doesn't necessarily have to be just for throwing; they'll make a good hatchet in a pinch, and I know the one Detective Diaz carries around with her pretty much everywhere is usually used that way. And, technically speaking, a battle axe can also be a throwing axe, but if you're about to do that....please let me know, because that's something I'd really like to see in action.
"Today, we'll be focusing on those two types: the battle axe and the throwing axe, and we're focusing on them as weapons, not tools, so we won't be chopping down any trees, these are just for show."
There was, however, a slight pause.
"I mean, unless you really want to. Actually, yeah. Sure. If anyone wants to chop down some fake trees today, come with me, we'll work on that, and those of you more interested in throwing 'em or hackin' with 'em can go with Detective Diaz. Why not? I won't even make you wear flannel."
With that, Amaya concluded herramble lecture and turned a faint grin to the students. "Are there any questions? If not, I'll turn it on over to Detective Diaz."
[[ ocdon the way! is up! Axe away! ]]
"Which every woman," Rosa interjected with a very pointed look at all you ladies in the class, "should have." And then went back to being probably a little distracting during Amaya's lecture because she couldn't help herself from going over and inspecting all the axes and choosing a few favorites to lob into all those tree trunks while waiting for the fun part of the class to start.
"The axe," said Amaya, hoisting up a simple, almost crude looking one, "is one of mankind's oldest tools, and, unlike a lot of weapons, it's main function is as a tool. It just also happens to make a great weapon as well. And it's pretty simple, too, when you get right down to it, consisiting of a handle, called a haft, and a head, and back in those early days, it didn't even have the haft, it was just a piece of sharp stone. They're simple machines, fitting into the category of a wedge, due to the shape of the head and how it's used to wedge itself into a material. These days, the head of an axe is usually made of a strong metal, curved on the edges, but what back in their advent, they were roughly hewn pieces of stone, and they were used for a wide variety of tasks, not just chopping wood as they're associated with now. They were used for butching animals, for digging up food...it was generally an all-purpose sort of tool until people started refining the process and making tools like knives and hoes that were better suited for those individual tasks.
"There are, essentially, two different kinds of axes," both of which she hoisted up now to show, "non-shaft-hole axes and shaft-hole axes, and then there's plenty of variety within each of those categories, but we don't have all the time to get into that. So a non-shaft-hole axe is an axe where there's no hole in the head for the handle; they're typically made from flint, greenstone, or slate, while a shaft-hole axe does have a hole for the handle, as you can see here, it just goes right through the head by design, and these are your weapon-type axes by far, no worrying about...flying off the handle, as it were, with these ones!
"And actually making an axe head is great, there's actually probably as many different styles and shapes of axeheads as there are swords, and it requires a bit more in the way of actually shaping and upsetting the steel to get those interesting and essential curves and points. You want a good, solid strong axehead, but it's also got to be light; not much uses if it looks pretty but you can't even weild it well! The broad shape also allows for a smith to put in some intricate etching details if they want, as well, which is why axes are very popular as decorative or ceremonial pieces as well.
"With an axe, there are, essentially, eleven parts." And, lucky you, students, you were going to learn about each and every one of them, from bit to beard to butt, in loving details from a woman who clearly found the minute changes in them amazing. Even after she covered it all, it seemed as though she could probably go on into even more detail, somehow, but there was only so much time!
"Now, as I mentioned, a tool axe can still be used as a weapon axe. Technically speaking, anything can be used as a weapon, and tool axes already have a great base for that down. But axes specifically suited for combat, called battle axes began to develop into their own thing, and there's a wide variety of types. They tend to be a bit larger, intending to really pack a punch rather than being a fast and efficient sort of tool; however, their handles are longer for a better swing and the metal on the head tends to be thinner to help make them light enough to be used effectively. But don't go too long on the handle, because then we're getting to halberd territory, and that's a whole 'nother unit! Smaller axes, with similarly smaller handles, intended to be used as a projectile weapon also came into development, and we call those our throwing axes. I will say this about people who name weapons: they're very efficient, no room for second guesses as to what they're talking about! And, of course, a throwing axe doesn't necessarily have to be just for throwing; they'll make a good hatchet in a pinch, and I know the one Detective Diaz carries around with her pretty much everywhere is usually used that way. And, technically speaking, a battle axe can also be a throwing axe, but if you're about to do that....please let me know, because that's something I'd really like to see in action.
"Today, we'll be focusing on those two types: the battle axe and the throwing axe, and we're focusing on them as weapons, not tools, so we won't be chopping down any trees, these are just for show."
There was, however, a slight pause.
"I mean, unless you really want to. Actually, yeah. Sure. If anyone wants to chop down some fake trees today, come with me, we'll work on that, and those of you more interested in throwing 'em or hackin' with 'em can go with Detective Diaz. Why not? I won't even make you wear flannel."
With that, Amaya concluded her
[[ ocd
Sign In - Weapons, 07/16.
Listen to the Lecture - Weapons, 07/16.
Listen up, take notes, pass notes, try not to giggle too much over your teacher being so excited to talk about butts and knobs. Axe questions
until that pun gets oldif you got 'em, too!Activity: Throwing Axes - Weapons, 07/16.
"Alright, the good stuff," Rosa started. "Throwing axes. It's a skill worth knowing, because there's nothing more satisfying that cleaving an axe into someone's face from a good distance, especially if they're close enough that you can still hear the crunch."
She'd clearly missed her calling as a poet, painting a picture with her words like that.
"But it takes some work and some practice getting to that point. Throwing an axe is all about knowing how and where to grip the axe and, most importantly, about when to release it. If you're new to axe throwing, you're going for the two-handed, over the head method, like this." She took a moment to show them, "which looks stupid and isn't good in an intense fight situation, but it'll get the technique down and get to your axe where you want it to go. Both hands on the axe, firm, and I'd say like you'd hold a baseball bat, but I'm pretty sure not even half of you even know what baseball it. Bring the axe over your head, lean back a little, and then swing forward," which Rosa did, "release," and there went the axe, smashing perfectly into the center of the target on the tree, "and there you go.
"That's the basics," she said. "When you get that down, try it one handed." Which, of course, she was also going to show. "Swing one arm down to your side, bringing it up quickly behind you once it passes your leg. Swing it back up, forward, until its over your head, and then, when you come back down again, release," look at it go!, "when your arm is parallel to the ground."
Clunk! The second axe landed just shy of the first one, and Rosa turned her attention to the students.
"Easy, right? Go on, then, pick up an axe, get throwing, I'll see how you're doing and we'll go from there."
Activity: Battle Axes - Weapons, 07/16.
She took a moment to go over basic form and a few strikes, and then went into more detail, with a variety of specialized moves that they could all find useful and interesting to try.
But something was missing. "Blackstone, what are we hitting? We're not just attacking air, are we?"
"Whoops, sorry!" Amaya called back. "I forgot!"
She sounded very much like she did not forget; in fact, she was grinning as she had clearly planned a reveal and the targets materialized on the scene...the targets being just a collection of doors.
"You are not as funny as you think you are, Blackstone!"
Au contraire, Diaz, Amaya knew she was hilarious. You should know by now your glares had no effect on her; she had immunity. Rosa grunted, shaking her head, turning her attention back to the students.
"Alright, go hack down some doors, I guess."
She was, clearly, over it.
Activity: Cut Tress - Weapons, 07/16.
Talk to the Teachers - Weapons, 07/16.
OOC - Weapons, 07/16.
Re: Talk to the Teachers - Weapons, 07/16.
Re: Talk to the Teachers - Weapons, 07/16.
Re: Sign In - Weapons, 07/16.
Re: Sign In - Weapons, 07/16.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Weapons, 07/16.
Look, if Nina was going to be snekky today and they had class together anyway, they might as well both arrive for this one in style, right?
Re: Sign In - Weapons, 07/16.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Weapons, 07/16.
So waaarm. Blissfully waaarm.
Nina was maybe not paying a lot of attention to the lecture.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Weapons, 07/16.
Pink. Sneaky. Inexplicably had a thing for him, kind of (although he didn't realize quite yet that that was apparently a trait held by snake women in his world). And way overdue for an animal transformation, anyway. It all checked out.
But if not, he might need to pull Vette aside and have a chat with her about hairless pets, because Miss Dozy was fine, but snakes were pretty gross and the sentiment was not shared, snake ladies from his world! Not even a little!
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Weapons, 07/16.
"This," Vette replied, sounding absolutely delighted as she modeled her sneklace, "is Nina! Isn't she cute?"
She had no idea what she was, but she definitely wanted one, sorry not sorry Prompto.
Re: Sign In - Weapons, 07/16.
Re: Activity: Throwing Axes - Weapons, 07/16.
She was also really terrible at the ax throwing. But what she lacked in aim, she more than made up for in enthusiasm. And that was the important part, right?
Re: Talk to the Teachers - Weapons, 07/16.
She hovered between the two teachers, glancing between them, not sure which was better equipped to talk to her and realize who she was.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Weapons, 07/16.
disgustingly modded against their willthankfully far too into their lecture and their axes to notice much at the moment, and chuckled, lowering his voice and his energy a little. "Yes," he whispered. "Finally!"He grinned over at Nina, taking one more quick picture, before adding, " And she's never looked more beautiful," because he was a brat like that. And she'd know he was just joking, right? Right...?
Prompto made a note to himself to look up snake deterrents as soon as class got out, as well as to block all the vents into his room until this snake thing blew over now.
Re: Talk to the Teachers - Weapons, 07/16.
Well, she'd noticed a while ago. Sort of hard to not notice one of your students with a new friend draped around their neck. And it was kind of hard not to notice another student snapping pictures of it when you were trying to teach them All About Axes.
But she felt she had a pretty good idea of what was going on here.
"I think it might be fair to assume," she said, grinning faintly as she folded her arms in front of her, tilted one head thoughtfully, "that you're actually signed up for this class, and this isn't a situation where I've got to include a lecture about bringing your pets into dangerous classes. Am I right?"
Re: Sign In - Weapons, 07/16.
Re: Activity: Throwing Axes - Weapons, 07/16.
It didn't help much.
Well, she was probably doing better than most first-timers, but for a weapon, she'd stick to her lightsaber.
Re: Activity: Battle Axes - Weapons, 07/16.
Well, at swinging it around with intent, anyway. When it got to doing something...she eyed the doors dubiously. "Are there targets through the doors, maybe?"
The doors weren't attacking!
Re: Talk to the Teachers - Weapons, 07/16.
With an entire day's worth of practice, Nina was actually pretty good at approximating a human nod at this point. Yes, she was supposed to be in this class!
Could Amaya guess who she was?
Nina looked hopefully at the axes, but no, she wasn't actually going to go anywhere near them. She was small and probably made an excellent target when people… er… didn't seem to have the best aim.
Also they definitely did not seem to have any axes small enough for her to use.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Weapons, 07/16.
"She's gorgeous," Vette agreed. "Way better than what I get."
Stupid tiny bird thing.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Weapons, 07/16.
It was still better than a snake, too, but he wasn't about to say that where Nina could hear it.
Which meant he wasn't about to say that ever.
He was, however, thinking that, hey, even their colors matched as animals, and that was pretty cool.
Re: Talk to the Teachers - Weapons, 07/16.
"Well," she said, "that's for coming to class anyway, even in your current state; you at least got to hear all the good stuff, even if you can't put it into practice. But if you do want a hand at some axes when you've...actually got hands, you're more than welcome to hop on into the shop and swing around a few."
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Weapons, 07/16.
"... The flying part was okay, I guess," Vette allowed, shrugging her shoulders lightly. "But Nina is an adorable noodle and you were all floppy! How do I compete with that?"
By being a tiny blue pom-pom with wings, Vette.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Weapons, 07/16.
Adorable.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Weapons, 07/16.
"I was round, Prompto," Vette protested, and just barely refrained from stamping a foot right there in the middle of the lecture. "I was a little round thing that went beep!"
And BB-series astromech droids were both part of the other Star Wars continuity and wouldn't be invented for another three thousand years from her time. So.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Weapons, 07/16.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Weapons, 07/16.
That was... probably a fair assessment, really, and Vette threw her head back melodramatically (or as much as she dared without risking throwing Nina off) and sighed.
"I guess I can pay attention to the lecture about butts, yeah."
... Anyway, axes looked pretty fun. Why didn't she have one of those already?
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Weapons, 07/16.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Weapons, 07/16.
And hopefully Vette's giggling wasn't going to be too disruptive to the class, because at that? She absolutely broke right down in a fit of them.
Re: Sign In - Weapons, 07/16.