2023-01-16: Trigger for Harmony
- Cast: Seolla Schweizer, Eisen Daiwel, Gemini Sunrise, Ennil El, Sayoko Shinozaki, Qivi, Kallen Kozuki
- Where: Tsutsujidai - North Floodgate
- Date: U.C. 0097 01 16
- Summary: A contest of wits and aim as an outlet for those who've seen down the barrel a few too many times.
<Pose Tracker> Seolla Schweizer has posed.
At the fringes of Tsutsujidai, the 'open-ness' that most avoid instinctively is, itself, seeing use - in a perilous state as the colony is, the place to abuse any destructive properties is as far away from everyone else as possible.
...and what's set up here is certainly destructive.
A frankly massive system of rails and targets has been erected in the muddy outfields beyond Tsutsujidai's north flood gate - motorized and rather strongly anchored to the more 'sturdy' colony surface nearby.
...In a carefully distributed armory, contestants are given three armaments: a simple pistol, a standard (if somewhat small) semi-automatic carbine, and a scope-equipped bolt-action rifle.
The rules are so very simple! Three rounds of target practice - with no indication of what the general 'pattern' of each round's targets will be. (It is ostensibly an unfair contest on account of this - as luck will determine whether the gun drawn is right for the range presented.) All for the sake of bringing some of the more...roughly raised individuals in Tsutsujidai a place to rest their ever twitchy fingers.
Among these contestants is Seolla Schweizer, still in an odd state of both 'better than usual' and 'rather suffering'. Slurping from a rather large thermos, tucked in tight with a fluffy jacket and a gaudy neon pink top beneath, she easily maneuvers three guns from the station to her assigned booth - though for now, she leaves them on the table and leans on a partition - alternating between gazing skywards, gazing into her cup, and staring wide-eyed at everyone who arrives. Her hand often comes up to the one holding her bottle - clutching it tightly to stop the slightest amount of shaking...
Gemini Sunrise teleports in.
<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Eisen actually has some military training, although he holds no candle to an actual seasoned veteran. Dressed in a longcoat with a hook - allowing the constant rain to drip off of the black leathery material - he stands out due to the internal glow of the wear.
"I can't believe you got a setup like this going. This must have been a lot of work." Eisen remarks, hoping to express a certain sense of being 'impressed' to Seolla as he joins her at the station.
He starts taking some time to inspect the three weapons. Pistol, carbine, and bolt-action. Checking each and every one of them carefully, as he will be taking 'ownership' of these weapons, before moving them to his own booth and laying them down, with a small tarp being put over them so they don't get affected by the water as heavily.
Noticing the way she is gripping the bottle, he continues to follow after Seolla for a moment and tilts his head a bit within that inner-glowing hood of his. He's not followed up with Seolla since recovering Ouka from this place last, and he's honestly not sure how she's been holding up for most of this. So... he tries to reach out.
"How're you holding up?"
<Pose Tracker> Qivi has posed.
Qivi is perhaps not quite as rough or military as some people in Tsutsujidai, but she's more than the average, and the prospect of a competition always grabs her attention. She's been spending a *lot* of time working, after all; the sight of a friendly giant carrying equipment, moving rubble, or building short-term structures (and, at first, rescue) has become common enough, as is Qivi's presence in her smaller-scale form performing salvage and scavenging, jury-rigging repair, coordination, and volunteer duties.
She could use some time to blow off some steam.
Qivi had been hanging around a while ago to watch the construction go up (and help if they need a hand), then she left, and now she's walking back again. She's wearing a tank top with what would be a camo pattern on it if it wasn't in blues from sky to navy rather than actual camo colours, a bomber jacket, some artfully worn jeans, and Boxbury-style low motorcycle boots. The bomber jacket makes it very clear who she is as it has her logo on the shoulder: Sarangay's icon of a snorting bull's head surrounded by a ring of rainbow-coloured gems. She is also really wishing she had a hat because her hair is a mess, which is not helped by the absence of her headband; her pointed ears poke out of the mane slightly. Blame the rain.
"Yo," she says, hands in her jacket pockets as she approaches. She's a little older than some of the crowd that's already here, but this doesn't seem to dissuade her. She also gives Eisen a bit of a stink eye, but it passes. "This the place?"
<Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.
Gemini, cowgirl that she is, would never hesitate at an opportunity to get some good old fashioned shootin' in. She reckons she was startin' to get bored anyway. She's in her usual cowgirl regalia, but has a simple hooded jacket with fur trim over it.
In true Texas Colony fashion, she has elected to only take the pistol, twirling it on her finger and juggling it in the air for a bit to get used to the weight before loading it. She really would have been more comfortable with a good six-shooter, but country girls make do.
"Hope y'all are ready to get yer butts whooped!"
<Pose Tracker> Sayoko Shinozaki has posed.
Sayoko has never handled a firearm.
It's true!
What need would a maid have for a firearm?
However, Sayoko's always been a little bit curious about them. She's certainly seen them plenty. On the news. In movies and TV shows. In the hands of soldiers around Area 11. She also has a general sense of how they work simply via such exposure. But she's never actually tried to fire one.
So this competition seemed like a perfect opportunity to give it a go! Which is why the maid has walked up to the competition area, umbrella keeping her maid attire relatively dry between cover. However upon arriving and looking over the weapons available to competitors, Sayoko looks a little clueless.
Looking around, Sayoko notices Gemini nearby twirling a pistol on her finger. She seems comfortable around weapons. She also certainly sounds confident! Sayoko wanders over to Gemini, "Excuse me, miss?" Sayoko proceeds to bow for a moment, "I am Sayoko Shinozaki. I was hoping to find someone who could give me a quick instruction on the use of these weapons. Would you have a moment to do so?"
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
Sometimes a person seems completely unassuming and normal. Friendly, cheerful, and definitely not military in any way. That's a good way to look at the OTHER girl with red hair who has come to join this competition. She doesn't seem like the type who should even know how to USE a gun. She just looks like a regular high school girl, though the 'rich girl' in her looks has been sanded away by the lack of a lot of normal day-to-day things. Instead she looks a bit tired, and her hair is sticking out wildly in every direction, despite extensive use of combs and brushes. As she explained a few months ago to a few people... her usual hair style at school is the result of a LOT of hair-care products that Tsutsujidai simply does not have.
Two or Three people here know her by name, but to MOST else gathered here she's just some kid that's been running herself ragged to help people. Organization, deliveries, rescue and cleanup. She's definitely still in school, too, since usually she's wearing the Ashford uniform. Today, she's not.
She found a comfortable jogging jacket, to put on over a casual shirt and skirt. Boots as well, instead of more normal shoes, because she's needed something stronger lately, for hoofing it through half-wrecked buildings and damaged streets.
A grin is subtly shot Qivi's direction. The one person here who knows of Kallen's... competitive streak. And when she's in a difficult situation like the Closed Off City, it's just that much harder to resist the siren call of a challenge. Which is why she's here today.
Because for something soon, she's going to need all this anxiety and built-up frustration GONE.
<Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
"Chuu... Bit chilly today."
Ennil El is a bit late to arrive - blame NGJHS work, and not wanting to turn Vit into her personal chaffeur - and for once she's thrown a second, navy jacket over her usual black suit. She sidles over to the appointed weapons, gives them all a look, and brings them over to her station. Each of them does get hefted and inspected in turn, but after a few attempts shifting the larger weapons from shoulder to shoulder and a dissatisfied little huff, she leaves them on the table. She's a pilot, not a soldier - sidearms are her expectation.
Once she's done with the technical, she does glance up to Seolla and give her a little wave. "Hey! This was a clever idea. Maybe you can even the score from our last game, huh?" She's a good kid... and the outfit just enhances her natural fluffiness. It's a shame she still looks kind of uneasy... but that's understandable too, isn't it?
<Pose Tracker> Seolla Schweizer has posed.
A tired wave to Ennil and Eisen alike - there's a slight darkness under Seolla's eyes. "...a loaded question. I'm holding up...how I'm holding up. ...maybe I'm pushing things too hard-" Another terse sip - one that drains the rest of her thermos. She deposits it in her side bag - - then draws a second, and keeps drinking. "-But there's...not that much time or resources to get...super thorough. But I'm still standing. That's what's important."
...The sight of a genuine cowgirl makes Seolla rub her eyes. "And I'm hallucinating already. Horrible start. Don't tell me I'm going to have to-" She claps her cheeks once, then twice, and Gemini is still there, looking exactly the same. ...it's enough to make her blanch a bit, and she plaintively calls out, "Uhhhm, with the way the contest works, they'll explain it in a bit, but you'll really wanna get all three guns. Has to do with how the round works." The cowgirl is approached by a maid asking about how to shoot the guns. Seolla remains unsure she isn't having a very -sticky- hallucination.
A slight salute to Qivi is in order. "Ah. Thanks for all the help on this project. It's still a bit rickety, the materials we had on hand weren't the best, but it only needs to last the contest, and you did really good with the scraps
She does catch Kallen's grin - and gets a little bit balked at the ferocity momentarily flashed. That's the one to look out for, Seolla decides.
The announcer brings out his megaphone and swiftly declares the rules!
<<Each round, a target distance will be declared, from 1 to 13.>>
<<For each target distance, you will select a gun.>>
<<The carbine will have an equal chance of each distance from 1 to 13.>>
<<The pistol has the highest chance of achieving a distance of 1, then sequentially lower chances of other distances, with 13 at the lowest.>>
<<The rifle has the highest chance of achieving a distance of 13, then sequentially lower chances of other distances, with 1 at the lowest.>>
<<Each firearm only has the ammunition for one round and thus can only be used once.>>
<<Your score for each round will be the subtracted distance of the target and your firearm. Lowest score wins.>>
And with that - the game begins, and targets begin to spring up!
<<The first round's targets are at a distance of 4.>>
<<Seolla selects the carbine, and rolls a 10 - accumulating 6 points.>>
With a strange amount of confidence even at that number, Seolla elects to charge at the relatively short ranged targets with her carbine - seeing the medium to short range targets as 'a little closer to mid-range than point blank'. It's a relative misjudgment, though - and combined with her shakiness, she's relatively inaccurate, building up an awful lot of frustration as she seems to miss more than she hits...
<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Eisen, picking up on Qivi talking, notices her voice before anything else of her. After all, they've never actually met before. Realizing that he recognizes the voice takes place before what she said actually catches up to him. "Huh?" Is the first thing he manages to say, as he doesn't understand what she means. It isn't that she's wrong, she's obviously not, but he doesn't catch on to why.
Seolla expresses a bit on the matter at hand. And of course, Eisen isn't sure how to best respond, but he tries to do better than usual. The usual being to just nod and give up, or immediately try to offer solutions that are far too over the top. "If it ends up being too much, don't be afraid to tell someone and lean on them." Is that how you answer these? He's not sure, but that feels right.
Adjusting his gaze towards the rest coming in on this, Eisen can't help but be amused at the presence of said 'cowgirl'. Rather energetic. "No, we're both seeing the same." He expresses to her.
Only to tip his head up, and more quietly heading towards his little booth, listening to the instructions. Pulling the pistol out from beneath the tarp and carefully aiming towards the track. Two handed grip, slow breaths. His right eye whirrs, focusing on the targets. He's got the training down, but he's still shooting after a long time of no practice.
Careful snap shots fire, some catching the target, others coming up short. He seems to go quiet however, clearly focusing on the task itself.
<<Eisen selects the pistol, and rolls a 2 - accumulating 2 points.>>
Before lowering the weapon and putting back on the safety, to look towards Gemini, who is showing them just how good a shot she is even while helping a newcomer. A low toned whistle escaping him. "You might be as good as shot as Asuka." He remarks to Gemini.
<Pose Tracker> Qivi has posed.
Qivi gets it. She really does. She has the same kind of competitive streak as Kallen, even though it manifests a little differently - but you didn't think she got into competitive sports (including arena battling) by mistake, did you? She grins right back.
"No problem," she says to Seolla, "I've been doing all sorts of building lately. May as well have some fun with it, right? You definitely don't need to salute me, I don't have a rank anywhere. And if someone tried to give me one, I don't know what I'd do about it." She's joking. Probably.
Qivi accepts a pistol. Now, Qivi does know how to fire a gun, but the vast, *vast* majority of her weaponry experience is in mechanized units: wanzers, Valkyries, lately Arm Slaves and other exotic units. You can count the number of times she has had a pistol in her own, physical hand without going into double digits. The rare times she gets into fight on foot, she tends to turn it into a brawl; she gives a much better account of herself in a fistfight.
So though her stance is reasonable her accuracy is a little off. Sure, she hits some of the targets, but there's a whole lot of space between 'hitting the target' and 'hitting the target well'. Qivi makes a face when she realizes her accuracy is not great; about the only relief is that she's not the only person to be less than accurate. Which makes sense, given the group of teenagers here; the only person her age is Ennil, who she doesn't recognize at all.
<< Qivi uses the pistol, and rolls a 7, for 3 points. >>
"Definitely don't mind being outclassed by the cowgirl," Qivi agrees, with good humour. She's only a little embarrassed and not enough to show. Much.
<Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
<<Ennil selects the pistol, and rolls a 7 - 3 points.>>
The targets spring, and Ennil is quick to respond. Maybe... too quick? It's not bad - it might even be more than what you'd expect from a normal person - but it's not clean. Her emphasis isn't on accuracy, it's speed - more than one target is merely clipped, or hit off-center. Shots that might take a human off balance, but aren't serious enough. And the pistol clicks dry with one target left standing entirely. She'd been too eager on the first couple, and lost track of the round...
Tch. This was supposed to be where she's comfortable. Her chest is a little tight... was she holding her breath the entire time? That's not what she was taught.
She sets the pistol down carefully, and in front of everyone else, she shrugs it off. "Some real hot shots around here, huh? Guess I should've taken it more seriously -- not that I'm not! Just didn't expect this kind of competition. Cool."
Seolla still looks a little shaky. Her first round isn't going great. Ennil doesn't want her to get too caught up in it. "I'll have to step it up a bit next round. Don't wanna let Seolla get ahead of me just 'cause I'm comfortable."
She does give some of the others nods or waves, too. Eisen she knows - she grins and gently raises a fist his direction. She flashes a big grin at Gemini - the cowgirl is really killing it out here! And a short wave to Qivi. "Thanks for helping get all this set up! I needed the chance to blow off steam."
<Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.
Gemini look at the maid, tilting her head. P-Plum?! N-Nah, that ain't her. Just some other maid. "Well, I reckon it ain't too complicated. All y'all gotta do is aim and pull the trigger! Nothin' else to it!" Gemini makes it sound easy, but in real life, there's much more technical and safety aspects to proper gun use that Miss Sunrise is taking for granted. But that's life on Texas Colony for ya.
<<Gemini selects the pistol and rolls 4 for 0 points>>
Once her turn comes up, she grabs her pistol, tossing it up in the air once more, pulling the trigger the moment it lands back in her hand, firing bullseye after bullseye without breaking a sweat. Once her ammunition is used up, she gives the firearm a few more twirls before slamming it down back on her station.
"Hot dog! This ol' girl's still got it!"
<Pose Tracker> Sayoko Shinozaki has posed.
Sayoko tilts her head a little bit at Gemini's 'instruction'. She still looks confused. Regardless, Gemini is clearly an expert so this must be sage advice! Thus Sayoko smiles and nods, "Ah, thank you!"
Sayoko leaves Gemini be and goes to find a spot to prepare for the competition. She looks over the weapons briefly, murmuring to herself, "Fascinating."
The announcer's voice booms out across the area, Sayoko turning to listen. The nods along in understanding as the rules are outlined. Then once that's finished, she turns back and prepares for the competition to start.
The first target comes out! It's just below what looks to be the midpoint. From what she understands, neither the rifle or pistol are especially good at this, though also not necessarily bad. So the carbine could be a valid choice. But that said, it's also the type of weapon you may need to fall back on in later rounds... Best to save it and try for just the pistol.
Sayoko takes the pistol before her and raises it, remembering Gemini's instructions. 'Aim and pull the trigger.' Seems easy enough! Drawing on some impressive hand-eye coordination-no doubt honed by years of daily maid duties-Sayoko fires off her shot.
<<Sayoko selects the pistol and rolls a 5 vs a distance of 4 - accumulating 1 point.>>
Sayoko is a little surprised by the recoil and the sound, but lowers her weapon to look. Her shot is just off center! She smiles, "Interesting." Must be beginners luck!
Sayoko then notices the attention being directed Gemini's way. Looking, she sees the bullseye. Sayoko places her hands together, "Ah, what wonderful aim!" Yep, Gemini is clearly an expert!
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
On one hand, she could probably stand to better curate what she's competitive at. Shooting is, after all, a secondary skill. On the other? Even if she doesn't do incredibly, this little break from working is going to do wonders for her mood. She's not the type to be sore about a loss. Not unless she's actively sabotaged.
On her turn, she takes hold of a pistol, feeling it out and getting comfortable with the grip in her hands. "If somebody tried to give you a rank? I suggest punching them." She jokes back to Qivi. Partly because... what kind of group assigns military ranks to non-military people? Sounds like some kind of Britannian conscription scheme.
<<Kallen selects the pistol, and rolls a 9. 5 points.>>
Her arms are shaking a little, and her footing isn't ideal. She's really needed to be practicing more often. But... that's what this is! Practice, to help her get back into it. She squeezes off her shots, gun held carefully in both hands. She's not going for speed here. Minimizing the shakes in her body is the goal, and not one she handles particularly well in the moment. "I think I can already feel the stress floating away from me." Despite her aim being far from ideal, and on several occasions grazing or missing targets, instead of getting clean shots.
Though it still looks better than a sheltered academy girl with exactly zero formal weapons training ought to be doing. Though hopefully the people here who don't know anything about her, will continue to stay in the dark.
<Pose Tracker> Seolla Schweizer has posed.
Seolla stands alone in her choices - and as ever, there's a deep discomfort in having done so. A more inexplicable sweat rolls down her brow (the booths are all under an awning, thankfully, so nobody's shooting in the pouring rain!).
Those with a touch more awareness might notice that ichorous feeling spilling from her thoughts - something she quickly dams up, shaking her head and downing her second bottle of water between rounds. ...and procures a third, quickly downing that too. (But her 'partner' is the one who has the reputation for eating a lot...)
"Haahh, in hindsight, should've been obvious...with aim like that, maybe the cowgi-" Seolla stops herself, leaning back from her partitions and peeking at Gemini from behind. "...Okay it's. It's completely reasonable to call you a cowgirl, right? It's not some sorta - look, that's something I've only seen in movies so I didn't know if- you know?!" (use your words Seolla please)
A deep breath again. Clear as can be when the skies stay so overcast. The next round will be redeemed. Her hand stops shaking. "...Yeah, it's easier than you think to get the hang of, Maid-ey. It's the fine points that mess people up...and when they get farther away. Hopefully that's where they'll be next...lot more confident with a rifle..."
The buzzer beats, after a short intermission, and the targets begin to rise up again-!
<<The second round's targets are at a distance of 6.>>
<<Seolla selects the pistol, and rolls a 10, gaining 4 points, for a total of 10 in the contest.>>
"...N...no such luck, eh. ...it's gonna be the last round that's my trump card then, that's what I've gotta hope for-!"
<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Eisen, spotting Ennil raising her fist a bit, smiles and lifts his hand in a 'catching manner'. They both know what it means, as the youth turns that smile into a bit of a viscious grin for a moment. But it all seems like it's good-natured. Even if it's... odd.
He then looks sideways towards Seolla. He can't read her expression as well. He doesn't have those kinds of extra-sensory abilities that others do at all. "The next one could have been much closer. Nothing wrong with taking a chance." Eisen answers Seolla, hoping to maybe make her feel a tad better about her choice.
The youth, unable to consider beyond the optimal of a 'game', consider the carbine at mid-range and picks it up. He flicks it into single shot mode, hoping not to lose any accuracy, and calmly takes aim again. The rain is making it harder, and he keeps having to blow from the edge of his lips to move some of his hair out of the way.
There's a subtle 'whirr' in his right eye, as he 'zooms in' a bit on the target. The cybernetic eye coming a bit in handy as he gazes over the carbine's sight. Sound melds away, the rain ignored. A fixation driving deeper as that target remains still...
Snap. Snap.
The first shot marks just off-target. The second seeks more accurately.
<<Eisen selects the carbine, and rolls a 5, gaining 1 points, for a total of 3 in the contest.>>
It feels good, releasing some of his stress. Being able to just... focus on a topic. Not needing to let this mind chase something else. Not running from place to place to remove the static in his mind that's constantly chasing him.
Snap, another well aimed shot, before he safeties the carbine, and checks the weapon once more, before laying it down, and letting out a long breath. Listening to Kallen and Qivi talk so comfortably, he wants to ask Qivi about how things were after the fight in Tsutsujidai when Akane...
But he presses his lips together. It's hard to hold back his words, but he manages. Now is... not the time?
<Pose Tracker> Sayoko Shinozaki has posed.
The next round starts! The target this time the target is still roughly middle like the first, just a bit further away. By her previous logic, it seems pretty obvious which weapon Sayoko should choose.
The maid picks up the rifle, raising it to aim. She ahs, "This one is quite heavy in comparison!" Despite her words though, she seems to have no trouble lifting it. No doubt due to all the times she has to lift couches to vacuum under them.
Sayoko tries to aim the rifle, before firing her shot.
<< Sayoko selects the rifle and rolls a 10 vs a distance of 6. Gains 4 points for a total of 5. >>
Now more expecting of the recoil and the sound, Sayoko is better able to handle the weapon after her shot. And yet... Looking, Sayoko sees her hole in the target is far off from the center.
Nonetheless the maid smiles, "Ah, I hit it!" Given the greater distance compared to the first target, this does seem like a victory!
<Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.
Gemini smiles and giggles, blushing a bit at all the praise. "Aw shucks, it ain't nothin', though."
She grabs the rifle for the second round. This wasn't quite as second nature to her as a pistol, but she had fired her fair share of rifles before. She pulls it up, her arm wavering a bit under the weight as she takes aim.
<<Gemini rolls a 7 - 6, gaining 1 point for a total of 1>>
The extra weight means her first few shots are just short of the mark, but after a bit of feeling it out, she eventually gets right on target!
"Shoot, not quite as good as last time."
<Pose Tracker> Qivi has posed.
"Hey, no problem. I'm as glad to have a way to relax as anyone." Qivi grins again, glancing toward Ennil - it's nice to see someone closer to her own age, there's an awful lot of teenagers showing up to play with guns, not that she can really blame them. Or did anything different three or four years ago.
Well, she wasn't a child soldier. But she doesn't really know that part for most of them.
Picking up a carbine, Qivi takes her sweet time checking this one over, because she's never fired one on foot before. Some of the machine guns carried by wanzers may as well really be carbines, but she's not a soldier, and it's the mystery weapon to her, so she doesn't rush.
"I just might," Qivi says to Kallen. "Might be overkill though. Not that it really matters. It's never come up." And, hopefully, it never will! Being conscripted would be bad.
Qivi feels Eisen glancing at her. It's not a Newtype sensitivity; she's just alert to people focusing on her and, for a moment, he did. And while he may not have recognized her, she certainly recognized his voice immediately when he was talking to Seolla - and now that she's spoken, and he's had a chance to see her shoulder patch, it might be mutual.
She doesn't much like him from their previous encounters, but in Tsutsujidai she's trying to let things like this pass. There's plenty of worries that don't involve starting arguments with each other. Still... she's not good at hiding her emotions, so her flat question of: "What," is a little less pleasant than it should be.
Qivi also drowns out an immediate response by firing the carbine. As predicted, her aim is not great - she has a tendency to try to walk her shots that might work OK in a battlefield, with expanded magazines, but isn't well-suited for a sharpshooting contest at all. No experience with this particular weapon on foot, and it shows, but she's a decent shot in a wanzer and at least that helps. So does her strength; Qivi works out enough that she can handle recoil, once she knows how much of it to expect.
<<Qivi uses the carbine, for 4 points this round, 7 total!>>
<Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
Ennil nods back. Qivi seems friendly enough - Ennil also appreciates having someone in her own age bracket here, even if she's mostly focusing on trying to make this a good event for Seolla. A second rough round isn't likely to help with that...
Ennil considers the carbine for a bit, but - she wants to focus. Something she can get into a rhythm with... she scoops up the rifle, and this time, she comfortably seats it against her right shoulder.
At least, it's comfortable at first. The first couple shots go clean - and her accuracy never gets worse, exactly. It's just that as the recoil settles in, her shots get more and more askew - never off-target, but they drift away from center. The astute may notice that her aim makes perfect sense... if she's glancing across the gun, rather than down its sights. Indeed, by the time the round ends, she looks a little cross-eyed, and presses her fingers on either side of her nose with a grumpy little murmur before casting them back up to the range.
"That was... better, right? Pfh..." To be sure, she never missed, this time, and the clustering isn't bad. There's just a clear horizontal sweep to it, over time.
She quirks an eye over to Gemini's results - not that she expects to have a real shot to win at this point. Still: "Hey, alright. So you're not invincible, Ms. Texas. ...Just pretty perfect." She quirks up a little smile at the cowgirl. If nothing else, Ennil's hit the bullseye on where this girl is from - but in all fairness, nobody outside of Texas Colony still looks or sounds like that.
<<Ennil uses the rifle, and rolls an 8! 2 points, 5 total.>>
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
<<Kallen selects the carbine and rolls 2, with 4 points in this round, totaling up to 9.>>
The second round arrives, and both remaining weapons are, in full honesty, things Kallen has hardly any experience with. At least, outside of piloting. But that is a vastly different experience. After weighing her thoughts, she goes for the all-range carbine. Reasoning with both of these rounds being fairly close range, she'll want distance at the very end. It seems reasonable enough a possibility.
The recoil isn't much issue for her... While she's no bodybuilder, or enhanced superhuman, she's definitely in better fitness than she looks at a glance. Better able to withstand it. But her inexperience shows plain, as several shots go wide, before she gets the hang of its handling. Even then... Her success is middling.
Yet she seems incredibly happy about it! "Everybody's got a talent. Speaking of, you never did get to show off your shooting during Deculture Festival, huh?" Addressing Gemini, of course. "Might have blown their minds with shots like this."
<Pose Tracker> Seolla Schweizer has posed.
Seolla does have to pace a little bit to calm her nerves - the burgeoning wellspring of how she's pushed so hard her whole life towards perfection in this, but one little change of environment, just a slight impediment, is eroding so much away.
That maid is actively being taught how to use a gun right this moment...Gemini's an impeccable shot, and happy too.
---isn't that a thing that had to be sacrificed to move forward-
...the world is shifting, and unfamiliar faces are more capable of doing what has to be done than her. So then, where-?
"...There's one more round. One more...! This time...I've saved my highest aptitude for last, damn it-! You're all going to see-!!" Pushing through this cloud with sheer fire - even if it hurts. It's what's reliable. It's a sword to fight the darkness with. Even if you can't see the way forward, even if you can't see your enemy - no, perhaps because you can't see it. The only recourse left is to swing as hard as you can - with all your might.
Face bright red - rushing with tense, but slightly puffy anger, teeth clenched as Seolla picks up the rifle - shoving the stock tight to her shoulder, honing in her stance to a terse poise.
<<The second round's targets are at a distance of 5.>>
"You have got to be kidding - did we screw up the calibrations on this damn thing! Ugh. Ughhh!! No. I'm nailing them, damn it - no matter what it takes-!" Her voice is brash and loud enough to echo over the blazing, bolting thunder of her rifle, each thumping's recoil balanced and absorbed by her stance. At this range - she just does without the scope. Her eyes are enough - they're better than enough.
<<Seolla selects the rifle, and rolls a 13, gaining 8 points, for a grand total of 18.>>
...that's enough to utterly exhaust the energy of anger. Hot to cold - in seconds.
<Pose Tracker> Sayoko Shinozaki has posed.
It's the final round! Sayoko only has the one weapon left to use, the carbine. So it's probably fortunate that the final target comes up roughly mid way again. Sayoko too wonders if something with the targets broke... Or maybe it was intentional to give all the weapons a good chance of hitting the mark?
Sayoko raises the carbine, her aim this time proving a little closer than her previous, but still not as good as her first round. Definitely evidence that it was beginners luck!
<< Sayoko selects the carbine, rolls a 2 vs a distance of 5. Gets 3 points for a final total of 8 >>
Sayoko places the last weapon down and clasps her hands together, "Well, that was thrilling! Though I can't say I'm going to start running around wielding an arsenal of guns in some vigilante crusade." Just what TV shows IS she watching?
Looking around though, Sayoko notices Seolla looking rather distraught. Presumably over her performance in the competition. Sayoko walks over and gently pats Seolla on the shoulder, "There, there. Perhaps you were just having an off day?"
<Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.
"Well, I DID do some trick shootin', but that's half theatrics, heh!" Gemini chuckles as she pulls up the carbine. Now this thing, she didn't really know heads or tails from. "Sure didn't have guns like this back on the colony..." How difficult can it be? It's just...a different rifle. She pulls it up, eases her sights, and squeezes on the trigger.
<<Gemini rolls 7 - 5, adding 2 points for a total of 3.>>
A few more shots than last time miss, but still, more hit than miss. This sucker had a hell of a recoil, but it didn't take her long to acclimate to it.
Once the carbine is placed down, Gemini takes her hat off and whips it in the air. "I reckon that's gonna be me fer th' win! Yee-haw! Don't get too upset, I reckon all'a us did a lot better than most people could. 'Sall in good fun anyway, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Sometimes, it's the little things. Just something as simple as a 'What?' is enough to alert Eisen to the fact that he may be being a bit too nosy. But at the same time, there's that patch. "Was thinking, I recognized you." Eisen answers Qivi. "I think we've... kind-of-spoken a few times in the past." Though to no real great extent. It's not really surprising to him that he has rubbed someone the wrong way.
That is kind of his way of life.
"I was just thinking -- that I hope you ended up feeling better, after that mess in this place a few months back." Before this all started. When they last 'spoke'. She asked - so he feels this is now 'the time'.
Then, the next target goes up, and Eisen lets out a sigh. "Dang. That's the one thing I was hoping would not happen." He remarks, as he picks up the last remaining weapon, a rifle, and picks it up. In practice, it shouldn't be as much trouble as it is, but the rain is making it harder to work with a long ranged weapon like this.
What's more, the bolt action snaps back in an annoying manner on the first shot. That little 'TACK' sound of the weapon firing, as it catches just the edge of the target, but fails to make for a proper point. He's never used a bolt action before, so it takes him a moment to reset it, and before he knows it, his earlier lead has severely lagged.
<<Eisen selects the rifle, and rolls a 12, gaining 7 points, for a grand total of 10.>>
He carefully puts the weapon down and stares at the weapon as if it betrayed him.
"I need a gun-jail." Blaming his tools.
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
Rifles are last, and Kallen's expression echoes the one Seolla has in the moment. All the target rounds were about midrange. Still, she's not going to let that surprise tear up her mood. She's having a BLAST right now, in all honesty. Every bullet she fires takes away a little of her exhaustion as well.
<<Kallen takes up the rifle and rolls a 13, gaining 8 points for a total of 17.>>
Rifle's damn heavy, and Kallen has never in her life wanted to be a sniper. Still... She's seen one or two snipers doing their whole thing before, so she copies what she's seen from them. Perfect stance and bracing. But she's not ready for how hard it fires. The rifle blasts her backward from the recoil. THIS ONE was too much for her. And it was so far off the mark, it couldn't possibly GO further afield.
And yet, as she falls straight on her backside, she starts LAUGHING! "OH THAT WAS AMAZING! I never thought it would pack that much kick!" Once she picks herself up, she joins Sayoko over with Seolla. "How about I get you some more drinks and something to eat, as thanks for getting this set up for us?"
<Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
Another mid-range target. Ennil scoops up the last gun and snaps it into place with a little force, but if the rifle was a little better... this is definitely worse. It's less stable in her hands, being so light, and the sighting issues from last time are even more apparent - she might as well be shooting diagonally. She doesn't miss, but there's none of the precision of last round. By the time she's set it down, there's a bit of a cloud over her as well... And not just from watching Seolla try to push herself over the line.
<<Ennil uses the carbine, and rolls a 1. 4 points, finishing at 9!>>
Doing her best to square off her breathing again, she gives Seolla a wobbly little smile, hoping to give the younger girl something to fix on. "Well, not exactly what I was hoping for, but... It did help! And now I know what I need to work on."
As usual, Gemini is ahead... Ennil's not surprised. Ennil's conception of Texas Colony is pretty inaccurate - more the kind of military camp someone like Sagara would feel at home in rather than the rather wide-open place it actually is - but she knows how ingrained gun culture is around there, at least. There was a Texas kid who liked to hang around when she was 11 or so... nice guy, lots of freckles. A little too old for her at the time. The cowgirl look still kind of works for her, though now the problem is in the other direction. "Yeah, no kidding! You can tell I'm not a pro... in the civilian Vulture biz, if I've gotta handle one of these, the job's probably already not worth it."
She's grateful to see girls closer to Seolla's age moving to reassure her. The redhead might even actually know her? She hopes so - the more folks who are keeping an eye on her, the better.
Setting the carbine down, she looks over the table. She's not quite as quick to blame as Eisen is, but she's definitely wishing she had a little time for adjustments... still, the point of a fair competition is to make sure everyone's on equal footing, right? Does that still count if what you need for a fair shot is different? Ugh, too much to think about... Her fingers twitch against the table a bit. She's really feeling a need to tinker when she gets home. Maybe she can grab Vit for some more model work...
<Pose Tracker> Qivi has posed.
Qivi swaps to a rifle after the carbine. This one's even heavier, and Qivi...
Well, she's not much of a long arms fan. The only one she ever uses on Sarangay is a gatling gun, and that requires a whole lot less precision. "Rather have a shotgun," she says to herself, as she spends her time getting used to its weight and heft. Once again she's not worried about the kickback - it's her aim that's the concern.
Eisen addresses her. Qivi doesn't respond for a few seconds while she checks the bolt action on the rifle, but she does eventually speak. "Yeah, I am. ...thanks." She really doesn't want to get into her time in Tsutsujidai in front of people she doesn't know. "And we have. Though, the first few times we kind of got off on the wrong foot."
By which she means they fought each other when she attacked a Britannian military transport train. Still counts as 'the wrong foot'.
Qivi takes careful aim, but she can't tell if she's on target or not. She adjusts her aim a couple times, never to her satisfaction. Kallen fires while she's fussing, and Qivi winces when she falls onto her butt, but at least it seems harmless enough. "Not use to the big guns?"
Eventually, she just gives up on aiming. After an annoyed puff of air through her nose, Qivi says, "Oh, screw it," readjusts her aim by feel rather than sight, and fires.
<Qivi uses the rifle and hits a 5, for 0 points! Her total is 7!>
"..." Of all the things Qivi expected to happen, 'a bullseye' was not one of them, but that's what she's just managed to do. She fistpumps. "HELL yeah!" Not that she's won or anything, not with Gemini right there, but at least she's managed to not embarrass herself.
A glance at Seolla, who is upset at her shooting, and Qivi elects not to interpose herself because she knows that if *she* was mad, it wouldn't work. Instead, she says to Ennil, "You do Vulture work? I have a few times too. Scrapping, at least, down on Huffman Island - done a bit other places too, but nothing long-term." It's a good cover for her to be in weird places on Shuffle business, though.
<Pose Tracker> Seolla Schweizer has posed.
There's just a mote of stiffness when Sayoko and Kallen flank Seolla's sides - the tsun flaring up, until the engine to actually work that font of energy turns out to be running on fumes - so if anything, she's ever so slightly nudging her shoulder into Sayoko's hand - lips furrowing into a sidelong pout a bit, before seeping out a long exhale and going along with Kallen. "...nn, that'd be. ...I'm really hungry after that, that's for sure." Already downing her third water bottle - now gulping at her fourth?
She can't help, of course, but to be...impressed at Gemini. "...Seriously, how did you do that well-? ...Here I am trying to give you advice, when...given how that went down, you'd probably do it all perfectly if you did go in with just what you were familiar with..."
Her hands clasp together as she's slowly led along, flustering out a brief, "A-ah, it's good that you all came-! ...Surprised at just how good most of you are. ...k-keep it up, yeah- I'm not sure how well I'll be able to...back people up if things go south--"
It's probably good to drag her out for those drinks if she's getting this spiral-ey...!