[training log] june training sessions

[darkinferno]

WHO: Anybody on the network
WHERE: Utsuki Dojo in Tisse
WHEN: Sunday, June 18 and Sunday, June 25, 6pm - midnight
WHAT: FIGHT CLUB Weapon/self-defense training sessions! Plus the potential beginning of a secret society...
WARNINGS: None expected; will edit if they become necessary

training sessions - June

i. Introductions.

Just after 6:00, the dojo is theirs. Come in, warm up, stretch out, or mingle--it's your choice. Nothing will really begin until about 6:15, when Dante Rantanen hops up on a small chair he's produced from somewhere, giving him enough height to see over all of those assembled.

"Thanks for coming," he says, scanning the group. "Most of you have probably already heard the warnings, but for any of you that haven't, listen up." A pause. "We're meeting here tonight because a lot of us have either been sent weapons by Retrospec or had them turn up somehow, or have memories of fighting in whatever you believe these visions are, memories or hallucinations or visions of the future.

"Some of you might already know how to fight. Some of you might have remembered how to. Some of you might be completely clueless and want to learn. That's all right. All of us are here to practice--this isn't some chance to punch each other as hard as you can and beat the other guy into the ground. If you're here because that's what you want to do, the door's right there." He points toward the door of the dojo.

"For the rest of you, before we start doing anything, the prof--Professor Izunia--helped draft up a waiver to cover all our asses. Apparently training to use unregistered weapons isn't looked on kindly by the law; who knew?" A small smirk comes to Dante's face, but he moves on quickly. "Do us all a favor and sign it so we can keep this whole thing legal and not get shut down.

"That all being said, we've got a bunch of training weapons available and people who know how to use them. I'll let those people go ahead and introduce themselves."

Once those with experience fighting have introduced themselves and the weapons they can help teach, Dante nods to himself. "All right. I think that's everything. Any questions, come and see me. Aside from that, don't do anything stupid."


ii. Master & Student.

Thanks to Tatsuo and Dante's efforts, there are plenty of practice weapons available for people to use. There are wooden swords, with or without crossguards, thick, thin, shaped in various styles as might be found around the world. Fencing foils lie beyond those, all carefully tipped with practice buttons so that they can't do any damage to an opponent--again, in a variety of different styles. Some have quillions, some shiny bell guards, but all sit ready to be used.

There are staves and polearms, spears and a couple of small wooden shields (are those borrowed props...?). As many possibilities are represented as could be reasonably expected--what will you try out?

Once you've selected your weapon of choice, it's time to get to work! There are a number of people that have offered their time and skills to help teach, but perhaps you'd rather learn via trial by fire? Are you teaching your skills to willing "students?" One of those learning? There's a lot of time for training tonight, so make the most of it!


iii. A Secret Society.

Six hours is a long time! Nobody is expected to fight for six hours straight, so there's plenty of time for breaks. And where there are breaks, there's socializing. Sit and chat, mingle amongst yourselves, but wait...

There are some papers being passed around the dojo, very faintly numbered if anyone cares to look hard enough. Perhaps it was left behind by someone else, or somebody's handing it off to you with a "shhh" gesture (or perhaps you're the one handing it off?). Whatever the case, the message is the same:

Don't talk about this on the Retrospec network
(or anywhere else their "surveillance" might overhear)

Sundays, Utsuki Dojo, 8:00pm
Retrospec info briefings

Learning how to fight is a useful skill, given everything that's been going on the past few months. Figuring out what Retrospec's really up to and pooling our information might be even more important. We know they're keeping tabs on us through our electronics, so the next thing to try is meeting in private without giving them any way to find out about it.

It's doing what Jim wanted us to do, but at this point it's more important to start working together to figure out what's going on.

No cell phones. Leave them with your stuff and come join us outside if you want in.

Will you go? Or will you choose to stay inside and keep fighting? Someone's gotta keep up the illusion that they're still training, after all...

[[June training logs! Feel free to use this as a log for both Sunday, June 18th, and Sunday, June 25th. Info-sharing will be going on at both meetings! And of course, treat this as a mingle log and have fun :) Any questions, concerns, or additions can either be PM'd to me here or PP me at journeys.]]

Comments

Chloe - Open

[true_noir]

Training Sessions - 18th & 25th

[Chloe actually made an appearance among the various trainers who introduced themselves. Anyone who knew her only passingly got to see the same, slight little french girl with the purple hair who worked at the florist shop gently pull out a thin looking throwing knife and show it to those who were present. Besides the knife, though, she was dressed in a martial arts gi, wearing a white belt. Her usual clothes were stashed elsewhere.]

I am Chloe Bouchard. Anyone needing practice with swords or knives, I will help with your training. I am competent with a spear, but much more ... I guess you could say 'rusty' with it. [Any memories she had of its use were more rudimentary] If you need help with pistols... we can set up an appointment at the firing range for another day, once I have my license registered.

[After the introductions, she was generally easy to find in front of a wooden target board that was set up, away from the others. The board was easily twenty meters away from her and a string of markers were visible at points between her and the board to show the distance. When not assisting someone, she was at that range, throwing the knives with impunity and alarming accuracy once she'd warmed up. There was no spin. They simply shot straight from her hands with each throw, slamming into the target.

As soon as someone came close, she would smile and look over at them.]

Did you need some help?

Secret Society - 25th

[The first week, she made it known to anyone going to the secret meeting that asked that she'd be keeping up appearances outside. She needed to make sure that what she had managed to find the day before was secured, photocopied and there were no immediate reprisals first. But, by the time of the second meeting, she would duck out of practice as soon as was reasonable.

She was dressed in a martial arts gi. Only one knife was on her, and she had bought it herself. She had none of the items Retrospec sent on her and no phones. As much as possible, she was doing what she could to limit their 'presence,' just in case they had a way to observe.

Meanwhile, she spent the first half hour of the secret meeting, checking every nook and cranny for a sign of a listening device before finally piping up to the others.] I... have managed to find something recently.

(OOC: Forward-dating her participation in the secret meeting to make sure Leo and Pyrrha have a chance to tag in over in the other thread. Both were busy this weekend, but the mods have approved the results of the thread.)

Training - 25th

[prometheanflame]

[Mohammed is dressed in a loose, long sleeved shirt and exercise pants. He had expected a rigorous training session along with basic knife handling skills, and judging by Chloe's outfit, he was to expect just that.

He still wears his scarf. If he finds himself in a fight, more likely that not it will be wearing his usual outfit. It might at least make him look elegant.]

I received a knife in the mail. [He holds up an dagger with an ornate design carved into the handle.] I'm...not sure the best way to fight with it.

Training - June 18

[megabond]

[Augustine is not much of a fighter and his other self from his visions seemed to be seen much more as a researcher. But learning about the training sessions from the network, he feels that he might try to get some fighting experience. Besides, after the shrinking incident, he feels that he might try to find a way to defend himself since he can't rely on Modeste's strange abilities forever.

For his training outfit, he wears a simple white T-shirt and blue jogging pants (which are gray for obvious reasons) while he's holding a wooden sword as his training weapon.

Although as he approaches Chloe, you can see that he's embarrassed for some reason.]

Why yes. I was hoping I could try to learn some self-defense skills. To be honest, I was a little conflicted when I learned about the training sessions.

Training, 25th

[cattack]

[Cleo approaches Chloe, the heaviest wooden sword they had in her hand.]

Good evening. I was wondering if that offer for teaching was still open?

18th - Training

[crushcard]

[ He's not much of a weaponry person in general - and any hand to hand combat he knows is largely ingrained muscle memory from years of judo training as a teenager. And after the incident from last month, as well as any other assorted... mishaps that Retrospec seems fit to inflict on them, it's not surprising that Seto's currently standing in front of some of the weapons.

As Chloe makes her way over to the wooden target board, she'll probably spot Seto testing out one of the longer wooden swords, those that look vaguely like katanas. Might as well get in as many weapons as possible to see which ones would be good to incorporate, right?

He'll stop her as she passes. ]

Kaiba. [ It's a short, almost brusque introduction. ] We've spoken on the network once or twice.

[ It's easy to recognise him from his profile picture, actually. ]

I'd like to take you up on that offer for the firing range once you have your license. Also. [ He'll shift his grip on the bokken just slightly, tightening his fingers around it. His grip his probably wrong. ] How proficient are you with a sword, compared to your throwing knives?

[ It's mildly curious - rather than confrontational. ]

[erythristic]

first aid: (both sessions)

[it's training, yes, but Dante hadn't asked her here to teach. rather, she's here off to the side with a kit for first aid, for those that might get injured in the process and don't feel like just walking it off. if you need something checked out, a bandage, or someone to tell you to stop being a big baby, Grell's agreed to be here for your needs.]

What's going on?

secret society: (both sessions)

[of course she wants to join this part. when people seem less in danger of needing her, she casually turns her phone off, leaving it in the first aid kit and coming outside to see what people are saying.]

So, any drastic changes we should be aware of?

[her voice is low - no phones, but she still wants to be cautious.]

defense: (6/25 only)

[it's late in the night, probably in the last hour that she slowly moves away from the first aid station, slipping away to the wooden swords off to the side. people are fighting, and she's reaching out, sifting through the swords. each one she picks up, she shakes her head a little before setting it back. she's searching carefully, but if she catches someone's eye, she's giving them a smile.

if you're not busy, help a girl out?]

wildcard:

[idea outside of these? just throw it at me. as a side note, by the 6/25 session, Grell's hair will have been changed by Retrospec into a true scarlet.]

wildcard???

[accordance]

[ As agreed, both doctors are out on duty with their first aid things. When he's not being actively needed, Lucian would either be writing, or working on something on his laptop. Notes, written in Latin, it seems. He's taken a break and come over this time. ]

How is it?

[ 'it' being what's happening in general, apparently ]

defense;

[complementing]

[Minako is here to return the practice spear, about to head back home. She doesn't have any plans for tomorrow, but she definitely wants a day to herself for once, so she wants to leave early. Seeing Grell among the weaponry surprises her, though, and she pauses, smiling back.]

Did you want to try using one too, Doctor Sutcliffe?

6/25 - defense

[crushcard]

[ He's staying late - it's not like he has anything resembling a regular sleep schedule or anything along those lines, so in that sense, even though it's the last hour of the session there isn't enough people for it to be crowded.

He's not very much of a swords person, or very much of a weaponry person in general, but when he catches Grell glancing over and smiling, he pauses for a moment before taking a couple of strides over to where she is. ]

Something caught your eye?

[ Sorry, he's also mildly distracted by the bright, almost blindingly scarlet tone of her hair - he doesn't recall it being this bright the last time she had crossed his path. ]

Secret Society - 25th

[true_noir]

Aside from what is obvious? No. No world-shattering changes lately.

[Chloe shook her head as she leaned against the wall and looked over at the doctor. Her voice had a resigned, distant edge to it right now. Here, she didn't really need to hold back on her thoughts, after all, and she wasn't going to do so.]

Have people been coming to you lately, for treatment and check-ups?

first aid!

[sharplydressed]

[Grell is someone he trusts, and that's probably the only reason he approaches her for this at all. It's after he's run through several hours of practice matches and sparring, and as he'd expected, his old injury is acting up again. He's never actually seen a doctor for it beyond the initial healing, though, so he has no idea how far he can actually push himself here...

AND SO, whenever he notices she's free, he'll just siddle on over and stick his arm out.]

Is my wrist okay? Like, is it okay to keep going tonight?

[It looks a little swollen, but hey, nothing's like... sticking out in places where it shouldn't be or something! Small victories.]

JUNE 25TH ONLY

[complementing]

I. ENTER YOUR NAME: MINAKO ARISATO

[Hello there! If you know Minako already, then she won't mind if you tune her out for the next five minutes. But if you don't, have this 21 year old woman with red-brown hair, red, red eyes, and a smile as bright as the sun.]

Hey there! Sorry I wasn't here last week, I had a trip to the woods to go to. [NO BIG DEAL.] I'm Minako Arisato, and I'm here to help train you guys! I only work with naginatas and spears, so I won't be very helpful outside of that. But if there's anyone here who wants to learn how to work with polearms or wants to spar against a polearm user, you're free to ask me questions.

II. VEL VEL MURUGA

[...is the name of the actual spear she's gotten from Retrospec, but for this session Minako has a staff tipped with a practice spearhead, so she doesn't do too much damage.

She's alone for the moment and just doing drills, swinging it between her hands like it's a colorguard flag before jumping, twisting in midair, landing on a foot and then repeating the process, faster and faster until she's like a mini tornado.

And then when she stops she's got the spearhead pointed at you-- your throat or your chest, perhaps, but don't worry, it doesn't stay there long before Minako staggers and clutches her head.]

Ooh...that makes me so dizzy...

III. WHO LET THE DOG OUT

[Because I can never resist sticking Koromaru everywhere A silver Shiba Inu with red eyes is curled up next to the pile of weapons-- more specifically around a knife, though a baton is set out in front of his paws too. If you politely ask him to move, he will, but every time someone approaches he picks up either the knife or the baton in his mouth, looking eager.

Yes. The dog wants to spar with you.]

IV. HI-MI-TSU

[Upon receiving the note, Minako gets up and stretches, her arms reaching high above her head with the note tucked between her fingers. A moment later she's sashaying past someone, slipping the note into their pocket or palm after giving them a friendly pat on the shoulder.

Want to follow her out? She has a few words to mention about what she'd found in the forest on the 18th. Honestly she would prefer to leave it to Sorey to explain, since he's the one with spiritual awareness, but not seeing him around, she decides to get straight into it.]

Do you believe in ghosts?

[Said with a smile, but her eyes are searching, staring right at you.]

IV

[true_noir]

[They had already pretty much agreed to update each other, hadn't they? So she was all too happy to follow... damnit, why was a certain someone sashaying? She was not allowed to sashay. Chloe really should have said something, and if Minako was the sort to notice, she might have needed to clear her throat to catch the florist's attention before speaking.

Ahem, right.] Ghosts? Y...yes, I think I believe that they exist. Why, Miinako?

iii

[buncho]

[ Mafuyu zooms right in to the dog the moment she stepped inside the dojo and threw her shoes off, running up to Koromaru and taking one end of the baton. At least it isn't the knife, because ]

What d'you wanna play, boy?! Fetch? Tug-a-war?

[ Why is Mafuyu even here. ]

2

[cattack]

[... okay. The spinning was impressive, but Cleo's extremely surprised by the spear pointed at her chest, and she just raises her hands, letting her practice sword fall to the ground. And then Minako staggers, and Cleo approaches to help try to steady her.]

An admirable technique, but I had not been aware we were sparring.

[It's said lightly, as a joke, at least.]

ii!

[sharplydressed]

[COLOR HIM IMPRESSED.

Also probably a little less concerned about a practice weapon suddenly being pointed right at him than he should be. Clearly he trusts Minako...]

Wow! That was super fast. How long've you been practicing, anyway...?

[He's a little surprised, but not as surprised as he might have otherwise been if he wasn't partially convinced Retrospec was trying to build some kind of dang army with a bunch of reincarnated warriors or something.]

toushiro hitsugaya - ota

[toushiro]

INTRO - 18th, 25th
[ even if you've met hitsugaya, he hasn't really told many people about this, and he's only told silver that he'd show up tonight. he does want to find someone to spar with so he can see if he remembers more about his sword fighting. in his hands is one of the wooden practice swords, and he's ready to go.

he's not one of the teachers, however, so he'll only introduce himself if you approach him first: ]

Hitsugaya. I had a memory and subsequently gained the ability to sword fight. I'm willing to spar a bit and test the waters, but if you're looking for a teacher, ask someone else.

[ blunt as always. ]

SECRET SOCIETY - 18th, 25th
[ at first, hitsugaya was going to leave this to other people to work out. however, in light of recent events--elda's eyes, silver's crocodile, and his own memories of people he's never met--he's got to start doing something. he has to start helping. so he turns off his cellphone, leaves it inside and joins the rest of the group. ]

I'd made a suggestion to someone about investigating the school. It'll be a hard task, but it's a central location. We may be able to find something.

HOMEWORK? - 18th, 25th
[ during one of his breaks, hitsugaya's sitting on the floor cross-legged with an open textbook, some sheets of folder paper stacked neatly beside it. he appears to be...writing something? is this boy seriously doing homework during training? isn't school over already?

upon closer inspection, however, you'll see that it's a book on japanese culture and he's got a page open that has a picture of a katana on it. looks like he's taking notes. care to take a look, or ask him what he's doing? go for it! ]

WILDCARD
[ don't see anything you like? hit me up with something else! ]

18th, probably - homework?

[crushcard]

[ He happens to be nearby, taking his own break. It's been a while since he's actually actively done anything remotely resembling physical fighting - turns out that without the discipline of regular lessons and sparring sessions, the motivation to actually do anything drops off extremely quickly.

In that sense, the fight club and its sparring sessions are slowly getting him to remember stuff that he's learned back when he was a teenager.

He recognises Hitsugaya, and among everyone else testing out their weapons and the like, the fact that he's examining a book and taking notes makes him stand out. ]

Researching your weapon of choice?

[ He's not very much of a sword person, personally, but he knows enough about Japanese culture to be able to talk about them - remembering your roots and all that. ]

june 25th only - ota

[notbunaga]

[While she has a real, actual sword sheathed at her hip, Aki has no plans of using that in an environment like this. She's got a practice sword in each hand, giving off a very real aura of lethality.

Still, it's a practice session. Don't worry too much.]

I'm Akinobu Taira. [that's all you're getting for an introduction, potential students.] I don't know a thing about teaching or being taught. I just get pulled around by my instincts when I fight.

But defending yourself against someone who can fight is experience, so it'll probably help.

["Probably"

Maybe you should go ask someone else to teach you instead...]

Who's first?

(Also open to sparring between two people who know how to fight! im easy)

[sharplydressed]

[At some nebulous point during breaktime or whatever when everyone takes a breather and 5 seconds to pick their shattered bones up off of the ground, Kashuu will mosey over. He's also carrying a real actual sword, probably unsurprisingly. Him being here at all might be the bigger surprise, honestly...

Regardless, he's clearly joking when he pipes up, because what he says is 100% not surprising at all to anyone who knows this menace even a little.]

Wow, you don't go easy on 'em at all, huh?

[rip in rest students of Akinobu Taira.]

[thisloveisjustice]

Training Sessions - 18th & 25th

[Tatsuo is mostly just hanging about in a supervisory function, making sure things don't get out of hand and cause damage to the dojo. And since he's semi-representing the dojo, he's wearing his gi.

But he does know some bo katas for those wanting to learn staff, so his bo is leaning against the wall next to him. Need to figure out what length of staff weapon you need? Tatsuo can find one for you.]

I'm Tatsuo Kihara. I haven't 'remembered' any weapons myself, but I've been studying at this dojo for twenty years, and teaching for twelve. So, if you're working with a pole weapon, I have some bo katas I can show you.


Secret Society - 25th

[Tatsuo skips the first meeting, just to keep an eye on the training hall. But during the second meeting, he pops outside to listen. He doesn't have anything to contribute just yet, but he's curious what everyone else has found out.

So he stands toward the back, arms folded, and just listens.]

Secret Society

[true_noir]

[She was also another to have skipped that first meeting. the reasons were similar, but when he came in the second week, he'd find her there, holding a small package with her. She didn't speak to everyone in a public address, but she did notice him and approach pointedly.]

I'm glad you made it this week. I have some things I want to show you.

Noah Campbell - 25th ONLY - OTA

[redarm]

[A. Fight Fight Fight!!]

[Noah has no real skill or experience with formal fighting. He's been in plenty of fights before, but they were nothing more than fist fights. But, that's not about to scare him away from trying out every weapon he can. So he can be found trying out all the different weapons to see how he suit them, and if he spots someone that's an amateur like him]

Hey. Wanna spar?

[Note- Open for any style of weapon, but I'd love to have some fights with either sword or hand-to-hand, since that's what'll trigger regains for him]

[B. Secret Society.]

[When Noah got the note, he decided it'd be a good idea to check out. He didn't have much to offer in the way of theories or evidence- that is, except for what's on Timcanpy. So when he heads out, he's got a backpack where he's stored Timcanpy the whole night. No point in allowing the creature to disclose the exact location. When he's there, he'll get straight to the point.]

So Retrospec sent me this weird creature that works like a droid. He doesn't have Retrospec on him, but he does have recordings of some of the visions I've been getting.

[He'll move to sit down on the ground, pulling out a bag of chips he stashed in his pocket to consume.]

If anyone wants to see 'em, go ahead. I don't give a fuck.

Fight!

[true_noir]

[She looked at Noah for a moment and then nodded, holding a knife in one hand, twirling it before she gestured towards the weapons rack of practice blades. Any of them, she was willing to use today.]

Swords, knives, or something else? I'll be happy to spar a little... though will your off hand have any problems?

Cleo - Open

[cattack]

[Training: 25th]

[Cleo is picking up one of the heavier wooden swords, looking at it, swinging it back and forth as if she's testing its weight.]

It doesn't feel like the one from my visions...

[She takes a form, mimicking the forms from her visions, striking at air and even gripping the 'blade' of the sword.]

... Why am I doing this?

[she's questioning quietly to herself, but it is a bit louder than she intends. The cat ears twitching on her head make it so hard to figure out how loud she's properly being anymore.]

[mincingminuet]

[Well there's a couple of things here that stand out to Pen. The first is, obviously, the cat ears. But the second is that it's clearly Cleo. She'd caught the picture on Retrospec at least, so it's not a total surprise even if they haven't met in person yet. Walking up, toying with a long wooden shillelagh she salutes smartly.]

Because it may be a useful skill to have. You never know, anymore. And at least having held something resembling a blade is better than nothing.

[Leaning on the shillelagh like a walking stick, she inclines her head.]

Cleo, right?

June 25th Only

[mincingminuet]

I. Introductions

Penelope hadn't really known what to expect from Dante when this all came together but she was pretty pleased when this all got started. Stepping up to the front and stumping an actual spear into the floor, she grinned at everyone. At 5'3" the weapon was a head or more taller than her...

"Hello everyone, my name is Penelope Raban, or just Pen if you don't mind. I missed last week because I was out in the woods with Minako and some others, but I'm here now. Some of you know me, others don't, but I hope we'll all work well together. I'm here to train, but also to teach you guys how to actually fight with a spear."

Shaking the weapon in her hand to emphasize it, "I've had this thing for a couple of months and I've had a lot of memories using it, including instruction on how to actually fight with it from someone that really knew what they were doing. If you want to practice with me, I'm happy to accommodate you here, or elsewhere."

Shifting her weight to one side, Pen turned to show anyone that was looking a small hip-holster, empty but very clearly well worn.

"If you want to learn how to shoot, I can do that too. My parents were soldiers, so were all of my brothers. I grew up around guns, and I am a pretty good shot. I'm happy to work with any of you at the range, but not here. Just let me know and we'll arrange a day. I go to the range a couple of times a month myself, now, just to stay sharp and coordinating shouldn't be a big deal."

She let that hang in the air a moment before she clapped her hands and grinned impishly.

"Now, who's interested?"



II. Let's Get Physical

Pen is all too happy to practice with people, but when she's by herself there's always a chance to work out too. She's small, yes, but scrappy, and she's obviously a pretty practiced hand with that spear. And she's almost never actually alone, as a small creature working opposite indicates. The two of them make quite a pair, if anyone's watching. Pen's spear is a a whirling dervish of thrusts and jabs, swipes and hacks while the tomato creature hops, skips, and jumps nimbly around to avoid them. The routine goes on and on, until eventually she does wing the monster and sends it skittering across the mat a few yards off. Turning to you, she grins.

"Ready to get started? Or was it just a show you were after?"

A muffled chirp from a few feet off and a sackcloth hand indicate, quite clearly, that the little hellion is, in fact, fine and ready for more. Just in case you were worried.

II

[crushcard]

[ When she turns, Seto will be watching, with just the vaguest hint on a grin on his features, and he'll be clapping. ]

A pity that most of the fight sequences for my next game have been programmed, or I would have considered including a spear as an option.

[ It's not easy to impress him, but he definitely sounds more than a little bit impressed, especially since the last time he'd seen her use the spear had been when they were both shrunk down to about several inches tall.

There's a slight glance and a small double take when he hears a muffled chirp from the creature, although for the most part, Seto ignores the creature and turns back to Pen. ]

I'd offer a spar, but I'm more a hand to hand person, unless you think I'll be able to pick up a spear? I've picked up a dagger, at least.

june 25th only (open)

[seeker]

II. training
[Like all amateurs in this day and age, she's done a lot of looking up videos on Youtube to prepare herself for this.

Alison's reasonably certain she has the upper body strength to at least pull the bowstring back. Her worry is primarily her aim. Being able to pull a string taut is not the same as balancing the arrow, at knocking a target dead center, or hitting a target at all.

Still, the worst that can happen is that she totally embarrasses herself, which, given all the fumbling through everyone else seems to be doing, she's made a little more at ease.

But first, if you're nearby:] You might want to step a ways back. I really don't want to hurt you on accident.

[A pause.]

I mean, really far back.

II. b spearwork

[Swords seem to be pretty commonplace among a lot of people here, but for some reason, she's drawn to the polearms. No idea why. She picks up one of the practice spears and spends a while just testing the whole feel of it in her hands. The familiar belonging thrum she's come to associate with the bow she'd received is not there, but still, spears seem less daunting than swords. You could keep your distance in a fight this way, had better reach.

Her form isn't bad, but it's pretty clear she's not the most experienced. Still, she appears to be enjoying herself, is a little less self-conscious with this weapon.

If someone looks like they know what the hell they're doing though, or vice versa, if they're fumbling around like she is, trying to find their footing, she'll ask:]

Want to try practicing with these things? [Sword or spear or otherwise, you didn't learn anything unless you took a couple of hits, first. She knew that much.] Don't worry about going easy on me.

II

[notyourutopian]

[Eleanor wasn't sure why she had come. Maybe the fighting in those false memories? Although most of that had been with her TK, not...actual fighting. But people were remembering things all the time. Maybe there was something...]

[She wasn't even sure she wanted to know. But it couldn't hurt to waste an afternoon and see. She had made her way around the dojo quietly, just picking up various weapons, seeing how they felt. But all of them felt wrong. Some more wrong than others really. When she picked up a polearm though, it at least felt...comfortable? Like the weight was somehow right. But not...quite...]

Hm?

[She had done one basically terrible twirl, and that had apparently drawn the attention of the redhead nearby.]

...Sure? I mean, if you don't mind me probably stabbing myself in the foot with it thirty seconds in.

both sundays - ota, of course!

[darkinferno]

i. notorious (both sessions)
[Honestly, Dante's pretty certain that he doesn't need to say who he is--after all, anyone that's here has probably seen the post he made to the network or is someone he's talked to himself! But he's the one that's organized this, so he feels a bit of an obligation to re-introduce himself anyways.]

For any of you I haven't talked to yet, I'm Dante. I didn't do any fighting before all of this started, but I've been training with a sword for a few months now. My style isn't based in any real style, so I won't be much help when it comes to forms or anything like that.

[On the 18th, he adds:] I'm not going to do any fighting tonight, but starting next week I'll teach basic combat and spar with anyone who wants to. Come and see me if you've got any questions or if something's going on that we need to be aware of.


ii. here it comes (25th)
[On the 25th, Dante's got his wooden sword with him. He's not going to fight anybody with Soul Eater--at least, not yet, and not here in the dojo--but he's just as comfortable with it in his hand as he would be with the magic blade. For the most part he's observing, watching as he did the week before and keeping an eye out to make sure nothing stupid is going on, but if he sees someone trying to decide what sort of weapon they may want to test out, he'll come over to help.

And of course, if anyone asks him, he's more than willing to work with people and try and teach them what he knows!]


iii. password please (25th)
[As much as Dante wants to keep his ear to the ground and know what's being discussed at the secret meeting, he knows his first priority has to be the training. He's put himself out there and, as Togusa and Ardyn were more than willing to remind him, his neck on the line for these, and so he feels more than a little responsibility to make sure that nothing goes out of control. But after the first week, he feels like things are well enough in hand to step outside with the others, though rather than joining the group proper, he'll loiter near the door where he can keep an eye out.

But on the 25th, he's got more than simple curiosity to bring him there.]

I've got something to share, too. A couple weeks ago, a bunch of us went down into the tunnels to check out the QR codes and binary again. I don't know if anyone else mentioned that last week or not.

We found something that might be important.


iv. wildcard!
[[you know the drill--wildcard me! c: ]]

ii

[redarm]

[He's a week late thanks to the camping trip, but he's here. And he's ready to fight. It doesn't even matter to him that Dante has way more experience than him (that being a couple fight lessons from Kihara-sensei and a spar with Chloe), he's going to grab up a wooden sword and head straight for Dante]

Oy, let's spar.

Orion - both Sundays | OTA

[bitemefightme]

[ I ]

Well, this sucks.

Orion doesn't need to learn how to fight. In fact, the whole reason he showed up to this stupid thing was to find someone to just fight with in general. He hasn't been streetfighting for awhile and he figured this would be a great place to get back in the game.

....Until Dante said, If you're here because that's what you want to do, the door is right there. So much for that plan.

Still, instead of seeing himself out, he sits back against the wall and just watches everybody. Just because he's not here to learn doesn't mean he can't find a potential sparring partner for later.

If somebody looks promising enough.

He can be found observing everyone practicing. Want to invite him to practice with you? Or call him out for looking like a creeper? Go right ahead. But be prepared for weird looks.

[ II ]

He signs the waiver when he receives it and, after watching for a little while, he decides to pickup a weapon and see what he can do. He's so used to fighting with his fists, after all. But, who knows, maybe he can learn something useful here.

He rummages through the pile of substitute weapons and, just as he's about to pickup a polearm, something else catches his attention.

.....Are those Nerf guns? He picks up two of them, looking them over momentarily, almost as if he's unsure as to if that's what they really are.

He turns and aims one, shooting at a wall. When the foam bullet sticks to it, he can't help but grin.

Oh, Hell yea! That's what I'm talking about!

He just got way more into this training gig. And if you happen to look like you're not doing anything, he's going to be shooting one of those Nerf bullets straight at you. Will you duck, defend, or attack?

((OOC: Orion can be found just being a general menace with Nerf guns throughout the training sessions. He's also going to get regains from this, so feel free to take it to varying levels with him.))

II

[crushcard]

He's going to duck.

To be fair, the Nerf gun bullet would have definitely hit him in the face, at the very least, but it's mostly some sort of crazy reflexes (battle instincts, maybe) that causes Seto to duck into a crouch and narrowly evade being shot by a foam bullet.

And when he straightens, Orion is going to be met with a death glare, Seto shifting into something more like a defensive stance, even though the Nerf gun is probably still pointed at his face.

"What the hell was that for?"