open ♔ august castle socialization

[wynn]

WHO || Everyone! [ota]
WHAT || Shenanigans.
WHERE || Anywhere in the castle, surrounding environs, London, etc!
WHEN || Any time during August [back and forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam

[ The castle can be a happening place, even on more mundane days. This log is for random interactions over the course of this month.  Because not everyone is into parties, ok.  

You are encouraged to start your own threads and tag around, and feel free to threadjack into any on-going threads that aren't specified as 'closed' in the subject lines since people can enter into rooms even in the middle of what's going on. You can also specify 'single thread', meaning you want only one response for all participants, rather than multi-thread, where a number of different scenes/threads can be done as replies to the top prompt. ]

Comments

[reallywicked]

[She sets down the gun when she hears Emma's voice and rolls her eyes at just the right angle to let the blonde see her exasperation.]

Do I look like I need your help? [Bluff 21 because yeah... yeah she probably does need your help.]

[uncurse]

[ emma's eyebrows just arch in a look that puts faye on the spot, because she knows better (sense motive 22). ]

You look like a sixteen-year-old holding a gun. So, yeah, gives the impression you need a hand. [ she definitely ballparked that age so hopefully she's not too far off. she probably picked sixteen because that's when her life went horribly horribly wrong ... #fuckingneal ] It's not something to get defensive about. You haven't needed to use one before coming here, I wager - and you're a squire, right? Learning's the whole point. [ diplomacy 26 ]

[reallywicked]

Seventeen. [She corrects but thinks on it.] Actually, maybe 18 by now. I never did settle on a birthday.

[But apparently Emma's offer sounds decent to her because she shrugs.] Are you any good at this sort of thing?

[uncurse]

I'd like to think so. I learned around your age. [ there's a thin smile at that. ] That was a while ago. I've had a lot of practice. [ she's comfortable with her old lady status compared to you, faye, she'll just get that out of the way now. ] It's all about your grip. Once you get familiar with it, it'll get easier, and your aim comes with that.

[reallywicked]

[Faye doesn't really care about how old Emma is. Strangely, it's not something she's ever bothered teasing someone about. It likely has to do with the fact that she has always tried to act older than she was.

As Emma talks, Faye looks down at her gun and picks it back up, focusing on her grip- because contrary to popular belief, she can listen to advice.]

Alright, so... grip. What about it? [More specific, plz. This may also be the first genuine thing she's ever said to Emma (or most people in the castle).]

[uncurse]

You want both hands steady on the grip. That's this part. [ she holds her own gun to indicate the part behind the trigger and below the hammer, then shifts it in her hand to demonstrate the grip. ] Keep one hand wrapped around the other, you're using it to lessen the recoil you're gonna catch in your elbows and shoulders. [ she shifts her hands so the fingers of her left hand cup over the fingers of her right hand, with the exception of her right pointer finger, which steadies, extended, beside the trigger guard. ]

Make sure your hands stay low enough that they don't get caught on the slide. [ she lowers her gun and moves her left hand away to reach out and tap the top of faye's gun. ] That's here. When you pull it back, you don't want the skin between your thumb and forefinger getting caught in it.

[reallywicked]

[Faye has never handled actual weapons before. Even if she could remember her life before the Veil, it wouldn't have included this and it shows in the way she tries and fails to follow Emma's instructions (int 6).

Faye doesn't really like not being the best at things, so her frustration is completely evident as she keeps looking from her hands to Emma's and then finally just puts the gun down on the table and folds her arms over her chest.]

This is stupid. [Someone has forgotten that it was her idea to come down here in the first place, apparently...]

[uncurse]

It's not stupid, it's new to you. It's gonna take time.

[ just like magic is gonna take time for her, which makes her look uncomfortable as she knows that the best thing she can do is let faye take her huffy break from the difficulty of firearms in order to enter emma's not-strong-suit. ]

Just like ... Magic's going to be for me. Maybe we could help each other.

[reallywicked]

[Well, THAT has her attention. Faye turns slowly, her arms still crossed, but her posture slightly less defensive.]

You want to do magic. [Her tone is flat and probably offensive as she looks Emma up and down, as if something about her appearance tells Faye that it's just not a thing that should be happening. Her arms unfold slowly and hands move to her hips.]

I help you with magic and you teach me to shoot?

[uncurse]

Sounds like a fair deal from where I'm standing.

[ because faye is as good at holding a gun as emma is at magic so ... ]

[reallywicked]

[She lets a long pause draw out between them, weighing the options of that deal. It was possible that by helping Emma, she might be able to work on increasing her own abilities- or maybe she could impress Gold and he'd teach her something new.]

..Alright. I'm in.

[uncurse]

Good. So, do you want to give that another try, or do you want to start with the basics of ... magic. [ she gesticulates to the gun and then down-range when she says 'that,' and then shifts uncomfortably at the mention of magic. ]

[reallywicked]

[The idea of making Emma uncomfortable is extremely tempting, but Faye also doesn't really know this woman well enough to trust if her end of the bargain will be held up if they jump right to magic. Or maybe she just wants to make Emma work for it.]

I came down here for a reason, didn't I? We can work on the rest later.

[She turns and picks up the gun again.] Show me again. [It's not a question, but it doesn't have the bite of a demand. It's about as humble as Faye can be to say that she still doesn't get how she's supposed to properly hold this thing.]

[uncurse]

[ emma nods, all too happy not to be the one struggling through the baby steps, and she too holds up her gun to indicate and continue instructing. ]

Keep your feet shoulder width apart, and keep the gun level with your shoulders when you hold it. Elbows loose, you don't want the recoil to hit you too hard.

[reallywicked]

[She's paying attention this time, more than before at least. The instructions seem to make more sense and she mimics Emma's stance and holds the gun steady and almost looks like she knows what she's doing (int 19 for comprehension! hooray!). She turns her head to look at Emma expectantly, but doesn't say anything. She only arches an eyebrow as to say 'what now?']

[uncurse]

Take a deep breath, and pull the trigger after you exhale. It'll steady your grip. Don't look at the gun, look at the target, your hands will figure out how to aim.

[reallywicked]

[She turns towards the target and adjusts her stance. She really wants to prove something to herself with this, but as she exhales, she hiccups just as she squeezes the trigger, and her hand jumps up. The shot goes wild, putting a hole in the ceiling (attack crit fail).

She clenches her jaw and doesn't even give Emma the chance to make a comment on it, but instead closes her eyes and takes a breath before opening them and firing off three more shots, each one better than the last (attacks: 11, 12, 21).

Satisfied, she puts the gun down and glances to Emma out of the corner of her eye before looking down at the target.]

Have you ever killed someone?

[uncurse]

Are you planning to?

[ she turns the question back around on faye, concerned by the line of questioning. she hits the button on the side of the range to bring the target up towards them on its railing. it starts to swing up the range toward them. in a way, she has. maleficent wasn't just some dragon, and knowing as much hadn't stopped her from doing what she needed to in order to save her son. but it's not as though she goes out with her gun with that in mind. could she? sure. if the situation called for it. but she doesn't think it's some rite of passage, and she sure as hell doesn't think it's the first question a 17-year-old should be asking. ]

[reallywicked]

If it comes down to me or them? Do you really need to ask that question? [There's a coldness in her gaze that probably doesn't seem right for someone her age. There was always something darker in Faye, something morally askew.]

I find it hard to believe that you go out of your way to fire non-lethal shots. [A pause.] You still haven't answered the question.

[uncurse]

Seeing how that wasn't part of the deal, I don't plan to. [ she'll just let faye wonder, because the fact of the matter is that it's not important, so she'll go on to provide some of that wisdom instead. ] And no, you shouldn't shoot to kill. [ she pulls the target paper off the clips and holds it up, showing the holes that faye has left - one in the dead center of the target's heart, the other clustered nearby where his hypothetical kidneys might be. ]

The people you're going to be firing at aren't pieces of paper. They're real. They have lives, and they have families, and nine times out of ten, they're just doing what they need to do, or following orders. We train in here to be accurate. And yeah, if they're not going to let you out of there until one of you is dead, you train to make this shot. [ she points at the hole through the paper man's chest. ] If you have to. But that's not your first move, it should never be your first move.

[reallywicked]

The "people" I was up against last time were flesh eating zombie children. If you aren't going to show me something worthwhile, I don't really see why I should hold up my end of the deal.

[She places the gun on the table and folds her arms over her chest. Stubborn teenager mode: engage]

[uncurse]

Those aren't a "someone", Faye. [ she's just saying. ] What I'm showing you is worthwhile, but you don't get to pick and choose what I teach you, that's part of having something to learn. So, yeah, knowing how to shoot comes with the lecture on when and where to. [ her tone is calm and she's obviously not concerned about faye actually going back on their deal (diplomacy 25). ]

[reallywicked]

Guess I should have read the fine print. [She mutters with a fake sweet smile. Just because she's convinced to continue doesn't mean she's going to be happy about it.]

Fine. Responsibility is key. Message received. Can we move on now?

[uncurse]

Can you ask with a little less attitude?

[ she's just saying, ok. that's not how you get what you want from people, faye. but emma's also pulling out a fresh target sheet, getting it ready. ]

[reallywicked]

[Faye weighs her options. She doesn't like playing nice. She doesn't do it well, but this could get her a totally different sort of upper hand. No matter what lessons she learned from Emma, the choices she made were still hers. Cowing to another wasn't in her nature but she could bite her tongue, if nothing else.

While Emma readies the sheet, Faye takes her weapon and adjust her grip just as Emma had shown her. She's clearly waiting for Emma's signal...silently.]