week 0 - training facility

[murdergame]

blood match week zero



week zero

When you first wake up in your room, an announcement will play on the television.

You’ll be spending your first week before the game officially starts at a vast facility that has been completely submerged underwater. This facility consists of a central hub surrounded by four smaller spherical buildings. You can get to each subsection by either taking a shuttle or walking across a long glass tunnel.

Setting
Competitors
Private Conversations

Comments

NORTH HUB - MELEE TRAINING GROUNDS

[murdergame]

The shuttle north leads to the melee training grounds. The building here is modeled after an enormous gym. The racks lining the edges of the gym hold a wide variety of melee weapons, from swords to axes to polearms and more. You’ll also be able to find various types of armor in the cabinets here in styles ranging from medieval chainmail to modern day vests. The rest of the gym has been corded off into areas where you can practice melee or hand-to-hand combat against training dummies, friendly robot sparring buddies, or even other competitors - though any attempt to seriously injure another player will result in a reprimand and likely some sort of penalty during the game. There are also small rooms nearby where you can watch instructional videos on basic self-defense and beginner’s tips for melee combat.

[cygni]

[ And there is an Atsuko here, idly swinging around a rapier at a training dummy. It's pretty obvious she's not concentrating on practice. Her mind is definitely elsewhere, as she starts humming various tunes timed to the sword's movements. ]

[kouyouensei]

[Haruhi wanders over. Between her casualwear and armor choices, plus the shinai in her hand, she vaguely aesthetically resembles a kendoka. Underneath the mask, her face has a vague interest in Atsuko, typically reserved for a colorful insect.]

Is that an epee?

[cygni]

An...epee? [ blinking ] I'm not sure what you mean.

[bloomsinsilence]

[...quite obvious indeed. Saitou frowns disapprovingly.]

You shouldn't swing a blade when your mind is elsewhere.

[cygni]

Hmm? Oh, don't worry, I'd never accidentally hit someone.

[ it does prompt her to sheathe the rapier, though ]

[dramatist]

[Jack can be found off to the side of the training hall, one hand on his hip and the other just sort of... holding on to the shaft of a huge axe. The actual blade is so heavy that he's holding it facing downward, with the edge resting against the carpet to support its weight. Every now and then he'll try to pull it upright or heft it over a shoulder or something, but it really looks too big and bulky for him to wield.

Eventually, to anyone close enough to hear, he'll call out with a curious:]

Are there people here who could really wield something like this comfortably?

[AMAZING, HONESTLY.]

[existency]

Yes.

[ Cole has been standing to the side, not quite watching Jack, but not exactly... doing anything, either. It's like he prefers being around people, but he's also too shy to actually saying anything unless he's spoken to first.

(In reality, it's because he doesn't know what to say. Without things whispering to him, calling to him, it's quiet. He doesn't like the quiet. But the quiet is something he has to accept.)

His voice is soft and very gentle, at least, so it helps with that shy impression. He's still kind of creepy, though. ]

Big, brawny, brave people. They are always big. Like The Iron Bull. [ He cants his head lightly from under his hat, and it seems like he looks up towards Jack, though you still can't quite see his eyes under the big stupid thing... ] You cannot.

1/2

[dramatist]

[At least Jack doesn't seem perturbed by his general creepiness... He seems decent, in spite of his blunt way of talking! Someone who isn't used to speaking with people, maybe? Someone who doesn't have much of a filter regardless of friendliness? Or maybe just a rudeass, but it's at odds with the way Cole carries himself... Not that it would be the first time Jack has met someone like that either, BUT STILL.

He's all friendly smiles and laughing good-naturedly as he turns to face Cole more fully, heaving the axe up a little yet again. If this was the weapon he was assigned with, he'd be supermurdered......]

You're definitely right about that! I've always admired people that are tall and strong. They look like they can do anything in the world, even if they can't handle eating grape tomatoes. [OSWALD... He laughs to himself at his private joke, shaking his head and glancing down again at the weapon's shaft.]

If I wanted to use it...

[dramatist]

[And then, he hefts the axe up. He still can't lift it high, but it's clear he's not aiming for that this time. Instead, all he does is lift it enough to swing it off to the left, where a friendly sparring robot buddy is busy going through a display of offensive and defensive techniques, and it just so happens to sail that way directly when the robot kicks outward...! Wow, who could have had the freakish attention span to memorize an instructor's training pattern to this degree?? SURELY NOT JACK.

Either way, propelled outward by the kick, the axe lodges itself in a practice dummy. It's not anywhere lethal and not stuck in as well as it would obviously be if someone stronger actually swung it, but that sure is a thing Jack managed regardless...]

—I would have to do something like that, right?

[But despite that display, he still seems perfectly friendly and open, stepping over with a bounce to fetch the weapon.]

But that's a lot of work! And these are really heavy no matter how they're used... It's a little cruel too, I think. If even hunters don't use axes to get their next meal, I don't see why it's preferred in battle.

[If you're gonna kill someone, just behead them with a sword, gosh!! Only Mirandas use axes and nobody wants to be a Miranda right]

[quncertain]

[TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, here comes a pretty huge Homestuck troll grey-skinned man with a large rack (of horns) ambling by. He peers at the battleaxe and snorts derisively.]

No point using anything with an edge that blunt.

[dramatist]

[WHO LET THE HOMESTUCKS LOOSE-- no okay that's actually pretty strange and intriguing!? This guy looks more like a Chain than a human, and it's only by the grace of Jack's good manners that he doesn't stare like a rudeass.

Instead, he's only looking vaguely impressed. This person looks like someone who could literally murder someone just by bopping them over the head with a fist okay...]

I guess even brute strength would be hampered a little by a poor weapon... Which one would you pick for yourself?

[Curiously tilting his head in the direction of the weapons racks!]

[bloomsinsilence]

[This guy... What is he doing??? There's an impression that he's never used a weapon before in his life, but Saitou doesn't trust something that seems so obvious.]

Your time would be better spent considering how you would fight against someone who could.

[...he shouldn't have to say this, but...]

...I suggest finding a weapon you're able to wield.

[dramatist]

[HE'S BEING A MENACE TO SOCIETY, OBVIOUSLY--

No he's just still toying with the weight of the weapon... It's heavy and big and definitely would be hard for him to wield, but-]

We're only going to be provided with a supply pack and a random tool, right?

[They don't actually know what their weapon situation might be, so as far as he sees it, it's better to figure out what to do with any type of weapon available.

Still, he offers a friendly smile Saitou's way regardless, picking the axe a few inches up from the ground before setting it back down again.]

But you're right about that! Even if defending yourself against something this big and heavy would be a task.

[that_devo_song]

[This whole matter has been displeasing and distasteful from the beginning, but at least now there's a whip in Franziska's hand.

Have you ever felt sorry for a training dummy?]

[onewith]

[She's never really felt sorry for inanimate objects before, but... Wow. Mayu can't help but stop and stare as Franziska wails on the poor thing.

It's impolite not to at least speak up, she knows. That doesn't stop her from keeping quiet.

It's only when Franziska is finished that Mayu brings her hands together in very soft applause.]

[that_devo_song]

[Sweet praise and adulation, so nourishing for a von Karma's spirit. She turns and takes a bow.]

There's nothing like a few lashings of the whip to blow off a bit of steam.

[quncertain]

[Despite looking like someone who'd be very comfortable handling large weapons, Iron Bull seems to be outright avoiding picking one up. Instead, he spends most of the time in here casually meandering around. If he sees someone who looks like they're struggling with a weapon, he'll amble on over with a friendly smile. Just ignore the complete lack of shirt here, folks.]

Need some tips on how to use that?

[If you come in here either at the crack of dawn or late at night, however, you can catch him in the middle of training with either a two-handed greatsword or a battleaxe. He's clearly experienced with both weapons, slicing through friendly robot sparring buddies with ease - and then poking cautiously at their remains with a single finger.]

So uh...what exactly are these things supposed to be, anyway?

[thefaceofjustice]

[Bobby greets Iron Bull with a friendly salute.]

Those are robots! I've met a couple of robots on an investigation before, but I think they were built by someone else. They sure are helpful, aren't they?

[temporalguardian]

[Let's see... small furry animal? Check. Trying to use weapons as big as he is? Check. Pile of them just sort of discarded behind him? Check.

And he's currently trying to figure out how the he hell he's supposed to be handling this rapier, trying not to have it slip from his hands and embed into another dummy this time.]

Actually, that... would be really helpful.

[existency]

[ Cole has at least been mostly tagging along with Bull, being the shy weird kid he is. He dislikes this place and everything about it, because it's wrong. It's wrong what they want to do, but more than that, it's wrong that it's so quiet. Everything is quiet here, since he can't hear people like he usually does, and so he's quieter than he usually is, fidgeting more than he usually does.

But at least as usual, when someone speaks, Cole feels he needs to answer. ]

Armor people. But they're not people.

[ He tilts his head slightly, then asks, ]

Do they hurt if you hit them? It doesn't seem like it.

[temporalguardian]

[A pile of weapons just sort of haphazardly dropped near the wall can already be found here, as Silver just can't be bothered to put them up properly yet. Waking up without his powers had already been strange and disorientating enough, but learning what they were apparently supposed to be doing had made it outright alarming.

He's not exactly from dimensions where weaponry is common outside of the villains using them (or Shadow), so while he certainly knows what all of these are, he has no clue how to actually use them.

As evidenced by the fact that that sword just went flying across the room and embedded itself into one of the training dummies.]

...Whoops.

[whiterosefoes]

... At least you hit something!

[Maybe it was pure chance, and maybe her partner needs to learn how to use these things better so he doesn't die, but. IT'S A START.]

[bloomsinsilence]

[Knowing what he's comfortable with means that he knows what he doesn't need to waste his time on. With the time he does have, he intends to pick up new skills. Because he can't count on his opponents all having skills he can combat as he is now. There are actually a few different options he has, but what he settles on first is self-defense and other methods of hand to hand combat. He can't guarantee himself a weapon out there, so he'll prepare himself for the worst of it.

His hand movements are... awkward, at best at the start. He's left handed, so to begin, he has to mirror what instruction he was able to watch. However, he proves to have a strong kick.

Out of the corners of his eye, he keep an eye out for those who might be practicing similar skills. There's only so much one can figure out on their own. A partner is much more efficient.]

[whiterosefoes]

[An unlikely-seeming, but possible candidate is standing a ways behind him... the young woman is short and even a tiny bit round, but nothing is held back when she kicks in time with the video. Harriet's only combat training (other than the most important kind, card game magic) is in medieval weaponry, so she has to take this pretty seriously. Her own movements are no less awkward, after all. And there were a few tough looking people around... Saitou having been one of them, she thinks as she catches his fleeting glance. It's actually a little surprising that he seems to be new at this too, but as long as they're both focusing on the video, she's not going to say anything to him. Of course, with them at it for a while, it should finish playing soon.]