starsand | seems everyone wants to beat each other up

seems everyone wants to beat each other up

Since interest was expressed in the plotting channel, here's an open post for the Power Training Centre!

The gym is located on Level 4 and marked by pink gems in the outer walls shaped into a seven-pointed star. There are a few levels, but most of the rooms are regular padded training areas with magical reinforcement; some include things like punching bags and targets, others, obstacles to simulate terrain. If you still manage to wreck something, it'll regenerate or repair itself, so there's no worry about wrecking the place. That's what all the magic is for! There is also a small cafeteria, shower area, and hot tub area for after you're done training.

Most of the employees are spirits who, while not officially contracted to Velda, will perform repair and reinforcement work or offer snacks after training sessions. They're paid well in Starling (which is probably why she still lives like she's poor, come to think of it), but they won't refuse a tip, either. Velda herself can be found at the front desk when she's not working her day job at the Shrine of Sin, and will answer any questions you have.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[On the days that she's in, you can ask your resident frumpy witch anything!]

Play Date (Intended for Kokoro, observers may chime in if Jisu doesn't mind, but beware there will be Shenanigans)
[It's with only mild trepidation that Soma arrives at the building Kokoro had described, a whip at his side and a small package tucked under one arm. He'd been debating on this 'gift' for a while; while he was certain it would be useful, he wasn't sure if Kokoro would even want to try using it. Then again, considering what he knew about her split timeline... yeah, she probably wouldn't mind getting her hands on something a little more modern. Even if most people would consider it a 'toy'.

They'd agreed on a time to meet, and he was only a few minutes early.]

Looking for Gym Buddies (Open to all)
[Now that he knows where the place is, Soma will be making use of the facilities to practice - both with wooden training weapons and with magic. He's got a lot of rust to knock off, especially with the latter...]

[Kokoro shows up on time, and she does look at ease enough to smile and wave, even if it goes into her serious look. And even if she's got her own weapons on her despite the presence of nonlethal training weapons. You never know.]

Well met. Good, you found the place. ...What seems to be the issue?

[She's definitely not mentioning the gift his spirit gave her... and she has no idea her own spirit gave him something labelled from her, too.]

[Soma smiles and nods in greeting, stopping just short of bowing.] Nothing major. I just want to warn you, going in, that the only experience I have with one of these things is getting hit with it. I am very, very much an amateur - and since I started making this thing with alchemical powers, it's... probably not very safe for me to practice with. It has a Frozen Shade and a Flame Demon bound into it. I'd planned to add in a Rycuda or Lightning Doll too, but... well. That's about when I lost access to my collection of demon souls.

That's why I made this one. [He lifts his coat on the other side to reveal a second whip. This one is made from obviously cheaper materials, but it's of the same length and heft as the enchanted one - and it doesn't have a cracker.]

[Kokoro looks it over and gives a small, serious nod.]

Good to see you've put effort and thought into this endeavour. We do have access to training weapons, but I think they only have the popular ones in here. Shall we?

[Kokoro starts to head into the building, pausing at the door and looking back to see if he's following.]

[Soma follows, nodding when she stops to look back.

The room they end up in is a fairly normal one on the surface - set up for close to medium range with a few target dummies. They are, after all, mainly here to work with the whips.

Soma puts down the alchemical whip, swapping the normal one into its place. He might be ambidextrous, but he does still favor his right hand for these things. He also sets down the box he'd been carrying, not opening or offering it just yet.

Now, he does bow.]

Shall we begin, Kokoro-sensei?

[She bows in return, albeit with a small frown. She thinks back and looks him over.]

I will admit I have never taught anybody before, and I learmed a long time ago, so... Regardless. Show me what you think you should be doing.

[Soma closes his eyes for a moment, thinking back to his battle with Julius. Almost immediately, he shakes his head - Julius was, quite possibly, the best whip-wielder the modern world knew. Starting with him as an example would be setting himself up for failure.

Vlad's memories, on the other hand, are somewhat attenuated by dissociation. He might be able to glean info from them once he knew the basics, but they were likewise a poor position to start from.

That left him with his experience with a vaguely similar weapon, the whip-sword. He steps into a forward swing, which wraps around the target dummy - and does basically nothing else before falling to the ground. Right - no blades on this thing.]

That... is honestly about the only thing I know. I mean, academically I know the lash can break the sound barrier and be used to cut, and I know your line have a vast array of tricks and techniques. I know the physics involved in making a whip crack. But application is a bit outside my field.

[Kokoro watches and gives a noncommittal hum. She steps forward and lightly grabs his arm in both hands to move it a little, trying not to flash back to the incident at the pizza place, because this is training and it's serious and she is not going to ruin this!!]

Stand more like this. Move that foot back a bit. At least you know how to make it hit something, which is a start.

[To his credit, Soma doesn't blush at the contact. He knows perfectly well that weapons training is NOT the time to think on things like that, much less act. He does as instructed, the stance feeling at once familiar and a bit more spread out than he's used to.] Like this?

[He takes an experimental, slow swing, feeling through the range of motion without really intending to actually hit anything - the lash is moving way too slow to even reach the target at this distance.]

[Kokoro lets go and steps back. She nods, gets out her own plain whip, and performs a simple strike at a training dummy.]

To your credit, you're a quick learner. I will admit it took me a great deal more time... and sometimes I still screw up. [Grumble.]

[He mirrors her strike, more or less, with allowances for their differing height and reach.]

It's not like the whip is an easy weapon to learn to use effectively. I mean, I've seen what a Belmont can do with a whip. There's no way any of you get through that training without making mistakes.

[He attempts a small flourish with the next strike, wincing as the end comes back to strike him in the face.] Ow!

Are you hurt? [She stops and looks up at him.] Did you not literally just say mistakes are common? "Learn to do things properly before you think you can begin playing around."

[Her voice lowers to a bitter grumble.]

At least that's what they wouldn't stop telling me.

[He reaches up to rub at the red mark, thankfully not a welt - leaving the cracker off had, in fact, been a good idea.]

How does one learn without making mistakes? Nobody starts out perfect, and mistakes are the single best teacher out there. [He shakes his head, frowning.] I know this sounds bad, considering the source, but I think your family was wrong on this one. I know Julius was a prodigy and all, but that doesn't give them the right to treat you like that.

It's not just them, I -- [She trails off and shakes her head.] Mistakes are one thing, but it's important to be careful. That's all.

[With a sigh, she steps back again and thinks for a second.]

Well, it's good you aren't grievously injured. Here. [She moves the target to the side and sets one of those foam squares on the surface behind it.] Try and see if you can grab something. That should work.

[Recognizing a subject that, perhaps, was not ready to be broached, Soma lets it drop. For now.

Nodding, he takes the same stance she'd put him in before, taking a moment to gauge distances and just... generally figure out how he wanted to try this.

Which would be great and all, if he didn't manage somehow to slip on the waxed floor. His swing goes wide and wild, and by the end, he's on his back - and how the hell did he manage to get Kokoro tied to himself?

A sing-song laugh can be heard fading away, sounding suspiciously like a stringed instrument.]

Oh don't you dare pull that Cheshire crap. Aria! You get back here and undo this!

And how do you expect me to do that? It's not like I can interact with things. Don't blame me for your ineptitude, loverboy.

[Aria totally engineered the whole thing. Soma has no idea yet that she can manipulate things now. Kokoro might have spotted the whip moving unusually during the whole thing - assuming she isn't dying of embarassment... or getting ready to kill him because of it.]

Wha --

[Kokoro doesn't even have the chance to warn him something's up before she ends up stuck and on the floor. She struggles in the grip for a moment, immediately freezes and turns red upon realizing that this is probably just making the problem worse, and starts trying to grab behind herself for the end of the rope.]

Ugh, between the other day and now, I am certain she's got it out for the both of us! At least Ástron never pranks me...

[To her credit, Aria knows better than to put the knots in easy reach. Sorry, Kokoro, it's going to take mutual effort to get out of this one.

For Soma's part, he's groaning, and reaching up to his face. He'd tasted copper when he spoke before... There's a hiss as he touches something, drawing his fingers away quickly. His fingertips are red and sticky, and from the feel of it, his lip is definitely busted. Even 'small' fangs are dangerous, when face-to-forehead collisions happen.]

Owwww... That's gonna leave a mark... Wait, what do you mean, the other day?

Edited 2023-02-18 04:28 (UTC)

TALK TO VELDA

So a vampire walks into a gym...

spectate away!

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