synflux | closed.

[ So here he is, blessedly free from his own fundraising stall shift to go amble around to everyone else's booth. This isn't the sort of thing he's ever taken part of - though it's not a bad idea, all things considered, and maybe he ought to implement something like it in the future if he ever makes it back to the Fortress? - so he spends a good chunk of time browsing through everything that's on offer.

The shateki booth in particular catches his attention, a recent conversation with Taryon floating to the top of his mind. He heads towards the counter, pays his requisite fee, and picks up the toy gun used to shoot at the target. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, he hits the target less than half the time. Sad. Who could have guessed that aiming to hit a guy's face close up with your fist would be so different from aiming a gun at a far-off target?

Please, won't someone give him a hand here? ]

( There is only so much watching a man fail with a toy gun that Vash can successfully witness without having to intervene. He tries, he really does, he knows butting in will probably be more annoying than the help, but he's a friendly guy! And really, this is just painful. )

You're gonna lose all your money like that, buddy!

( Friendly, easy, Vash falling into the space beside Wriothesley like he belongs there. Really he should be helping his team out with fundraising, but this counts, doesn't it? He doesn't want anyone to get disheartened and stop playing! It makes sense. )

It's not going to jump out of your hand if you relax a little.

[ Thankfully, Vash's interruption is a welcome one, because this guy is the type to absolutely accept a few words of advice (so long as they're well-intentioned and said non-disparagingly). The gun goes down and his head goes up, a small sheepish smile crossing his face. ]

Isn't that the point?

[ He quips back, seemingly unbothered by the future excavation of his (digital) pocket by this single innocuous stall. ]

But if you've got more suggestions, I'm all ears.

( Oh good, he loves when someone is all ears. It means he has an excuse to sidle up closer, smile on his face. )

Okay, first off you're holding yourself too tense. I don't think the toy guns have as much kickback as a real one, probably, but it's better to just let all your energy settle in your body. Also don't hold your breath too long because it makes your heart rate spike and that messes up your aim.

( Very serious tips for a not-so serious game, apparently. )

There's an acronym for it. BRASS? Breath, Relax, Aim, Squeeze the trigger, Squeeze some more. I think they added the second S just so it didn't spell something different though.

[ They're all competing not to get pie'd in the face, it's clearly extremely serious business out here. But Vash offers his tips and Wriothesley listens, a surprisingly solemn expression on his face despite the levity of the situation. ]

An acronym just for this? [ That's dedication.But he takes all the suggestions under consideration, loosening his stance and letting his breath settle into something more even. ] I take it you're used to doing this kind of thing.

[ 'This kind of thing' being whatever Vash wants to interpret the words as. ]

Well, on Gunsmoke a lot of people have to pick up weapons for different reasons, I guess an acronym helps some people remember?

( But he nods, boyish and earnest, scrubs the back of his neck with a glove covered hand. ) And you could say that. I carry something like this most places I go. Mostly as a deterrent. ( Why does he make himself sound so much more shady every single time? ) Because you have to! Someone might try stealing the only double-dollars you have left to buy a donut. Though usually if you wave it at someone they leave you alone.

( But, back to the task at hand! ) Okay! Posture's good. Sometimes people think you have to close one eye to shoot better but don't do that. It looks cool but it messes up your line of sight.

[ Why does this guy sound so shady...... Though all things considered, considering how openly questionable so many of the Outsiders here are, just shady is pretty good. If anything, this guy sounds a little more pathetic than shady?

His target for the moment goes forgotten momentarily, brows crinkling as he glances at Vash. ]

Are people usually hounding you for money?

( Just wait until you find out about the hilariously large bounty on his head! )

Uh. I guess I must look like a pushover because it happens more often than I'd like. ( Also he keeps going into dark alleys with people because he thinks they need help. ) But it's fine! They usually need it more than I do anyway. And nobody's tried to here! Not that I have any money to take. I already spent the crab kryptos on sandwiches.

( That he just gave away. )

[ Vash.....please take care of yourself first king before you take care of other people.

Wriothesley looks down at the gun in his hands, then at Vash. Then he holds out the gun. ]

You sure you're not the one that needs this more?

( That gets him to laugh, waving a hand and shaking his head. )

No, no. I've got a real one anyway! But I'm good, and anyway we're focusing on you, right? You want to win a prize? So! BRASS. You can do it!

( He believes in you!! )

[ Actually he was mostly out here just seeing how well he could do (the answer is: very poorly) but now that they're on the subject, maybe it would be nice to win a little prize?

But first, he'll have to hit the target. Easier said than done. ]

Right, BRASS. [ Seriously, who came up with that acronym? ] Breathe, relax, aim, squeeze....squeeze again.

[ He follows the steps as he recites them aloud, breathing in, relaxing, aiming, and then squeezing. (But not squeezing again, sorry gun bros.) Amazing what a few tips can do for a guy's aim in bringing it from absolutely terrible to simply terrible as the laser hits three inches closer to center instead of right at the edge. ]

Okay, that's better. That's better, right?

( He is not judging! He is doing his very best to be the most supportive a man can be. It's just a lot of the time even children can shoot better than that and he's not used to people who can't. But! He has hope. And so he comes a little closer, stepping around Wriothesley to look at his posture. )

A different stance, maybe! The one you're in now doesn't have that great a balance. Put a foot back a little? And hmm, whichever hand you're not aiming, put it higher up the barrel? ( Vash comes up beside him, mimes holding an invisible gun. ) Like this.

[ Sometimes you are a grown man with no talents outside of using your fists. Just kidding.

Considering that he shot a nailgun in his youth, he really ought to be doing better than this, but he supposes there's a difference between an actual (laser) gun and the sad excuse for a weapon he'd had strapped to his wrist. ]

Maybe I should call it quits and go back to using my fists. [ Dryly. Does he still get a prize if he punches out a target...? ] At least Clorinde's not here. She'd laugh herself silly if she saw this—and I'm pretty sure I've never seen her laugh before.

Well, not everyone likes guns. There's no shame in that. And if you don't think you need to know then that's cool. But if it's just you're nervous about learning you don't have to be. Nobody's going to laugh.

( Or, Vash won't. And he'll glower despairingly at anyone who tries. )

If it helps, when I was first figuring out this stuff I almost shot off my own foot at least ten times.

[ Automatically, he winces and looks down at his own foot. ]

It's never been something I've thought about too much. Never had any need for it back home.

[ All he had to face back in the Fortress were a bunch of thugs, reliant on whatever brains or brawn nature had seen fit to give them. And he'd spent enough time training and practicing to be able to meet them all on even ground. Here though…

He frowns, idly weighing the gun in his hands. ]

Unfortunately, relying solely on my fists here hasn't been working out for me so…. [ He lifts the gun again. ] Here we are.

Oh, yeah. I guess it could be handy to learn something new. I haven't seen any of the real big kaiju but it's not like you could just challenge them to a fist fight, right?

( He hums, contemplatively. )

Well, I don't mind helping you out. And this is pretty low stakes, right? You even get a prize at the end! I wish more of my training had prizes. But we can figure it out together, a lot of different people have different shooting styles and stances, we just gotta find out what yours is.

( Another contemplative glance over Wriothesley's form. )

You mind if I touch you real quick? Just to get your arms at the right height?

[ Whoa....being touched by Mr. Vash the Stampede himself..... 😳😳

Despite how harmless the offer is and how open Vash has been up until now, there's still a moment where Wriothesley tenses, the thought of having a stranger inches away from him enough to briefly trigger a fight response. Then it calms and he relaxes, and there's a small nod of allowance. ]

Sure. I could use any help you're willing to offer.

[ At least he'll be an engaged student, if nothing else. ]

Though if you're going to help, you should at least be paid for your services. [ What'll it be, Vash.... ]

( He notices that tensing, which means when he smiles again it's a little softer, a little more careful. ) Nah, I'm good. I like helping people out whenever I can, you know? And besides, shouldn't we all share our knowledge in the interests of keeping people safe? I know how to shoot, you don't. It's a fair exchange.

( It isn't necessarily a service either. But he waits patiently for Wriothesley and then he places his flesh hand under his elbow, lifting a little. )

Your stance is pretty good anyway, maybe you're just psyching yourself out. That happens to plenty of people. I've even seen famous gunslingers bow under the pressure a little. But that's why stuff like this is good practice. Low stakes. Unless you really, really, really want a prize. Not that I can blame you. Some of the little guys are real cute.

[ It definitely wouldn't hurt to get a prize and now he's making that his goal, because what's progress without tangible milestones along the way. He lets Vash prod and readjust, trying to commit the new posture to memory.

And while Vash may not want any sort of recompense, Wriothesley's never been the type to let any perceived debt hang over his head. So! ]

Then how about a meal or five? [ What was it again, something about scrounging up dollars for donuts....? ] Everyone likes a free meal.

[ And he's not exactly strapped for cash anymore these days, after having lived and worked in Neo-Tokyo for so long now. No point in growing his collection of tea blend tins if there's no one to share them with. ]

Five?

( Wriothesley, come on! He's not even doing anything. But Vash hums once, low, and takes a step back to eyeball the way he's stood. )

How about this? You hit the targets and you can buy me something from the food stalls. ( Because he gets it, he does. He's always trying to pay people back for their kindness too. He just doesn't think his is deserving of any kind of fanfare. ) Okay, looks good. Now remember to breathe, and also that it's not really a big deal. It's not life and death, so it's fine.

( No psyching yourself out! )

[ It's down payment for the future lessons that he's going to rope Vash into? It's fine? Don't worry about it.

But he's gotta actually get to a point where he can make use of those lessons first, so it's back to square one (standing in front of the booth with the laser gun in his hand), putting all his newly gained skills to use.

Has the application of both BRASS (last S optional?) and better posture helped improve his aim any? Stay tuned....!

...For the exciting conclusion where he fires his gun and hits two rings away from center. Wowee, old dogs really can learn new tricks. ]

( Vash whoops, eager and cheerful. ) See, you're getting it. You must be a fast learner, huh? And that's better than missing entirely. Especially if a lot of the time it's more of a precautionary gesture.

( Have you ever met a pacifistic gunslinger before? Well, now you have. This one pats Wriothesley gently on the shoulder, all bright pleasure. )

Hang on, hang on. I have the tokens for this try. I have a good feeling about it. ( He gives up the credits to the bemused stranger running the stall, shifting back to give the other man a pair of impressive fingerguns. ) You got this.

closed.

vash.

no subject

no subject

no subject

cracking up at this acronym

me finding it on google like do ... we truly need to squeeze again ... rifle bros ...

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

i feel like all my googling is gonna get me on a watchlist now 😁

me when i was googling the most effective way to kill a man.....

i always wanna write ( pls it's for fiction ) after

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject