II. (open) i'm gonna fight with myself til i'm bleeding

[oorah]

featuring: hotdog castle & everyone (open to new arrivals too!!)
what's happening? frank feeding everyone venison dogs; frank fighting everyone; introlog spillover stuff + whatever else you want hmu
day: 11th nighttime (after all new arrivals are out and about/getting settled)
content warnings: ground meat, being a good neighbor, boyfights
notes: hit me up on PM or plurk hotdoge if you want anything else! happy to oblige

A. have you ever had a hot dog cooked by a guy named hotdog? this is going on instastories.

[ the time has come for frank to probably show all you losers what a hot dog is. for posterity or some such. he's been curing deer meat from a recent hunting trip with aloy and after their housemate reigen had soundproofed house six's kitchen, well. it seemed as good a time as any to put his plan in motion. not to mention he's in a good mood for once after encountering his best friend among the new arrivals.

early in the evening, frank will be piping his mixture into homemade casings with the doors to the back deck wide open for anyone to come pester him. and then later on of course he will be cooking them up with mustard he made and onions he found. he will also chop up pickles from the natives for anyone who gets down like that. none of y'all better ever ask him what a hot dog is ever again!!!

if you come in while he's cooking expect to be put to work, and did i mention he'll be downing rosé the whole time? e n j o y.

note: the kitchen is only soundproof when all the doors are closed. he will tell everyone on arrival this, so while he's cooking the doors will be shut but all other times feel free to mingle!! ]

B. the rules of fight club are bring snacks and make sure frank castle stays in bruises. tia for your contribution.

[ after posting up this little gem, frank has been steadily gathering members for his and mike's "club." his garage is a makeshift boxing arena and open for all any time they want to blow off steam or learn some new skills from punching bag himself. or from whoever else is lingering around. feel free to match yourselves and have a fight without him too, he'll ref!

the only rules of fight club are: bring snacks, agree with your partner on tactics: weapons/no weapons, fists only/every man for himself etc etc. AND when one person taps out or doesn't get up the match is over. the garage is approximately 80% soundproof. every fighter must wear wraps on their hands to muffle sound and agree not to shout or make loud noises, even in pain. soft-volume trash talking is allowed and perhaps even encouraged... ]

C. write your own starter or ping me for one!

Comments

[beyourzoomer]

[Max shifts her gaze back to him, nodding slightly.]

So you teach people to fight?

[oorah]

I can. If that's what you want. [ he nods, leaving that part up to her. ]

[beyourzoomer]

[She's studying him very intently.]

Okay, so what's the catch?

[oorah]

Uh. Catch? [ he gets being suspicious and all, but what could even be a catch in teaching someone to fight? enlighten him. ]

[beyourzoomer]

What do you expect in return?

[Because she doesn't have any money and she's pretty sure it wouldn't even matter if she did, here.]

[oorah]

[ it isn't hard to glean what kind of life max has had. but frank just shrugs. ] I'm really bored. [ it's not even an exaggeration. he's got the time. if she wants the lesson he's in. ]

[beyourzoomer]

[For a moment, she just squints at him suspiciously, trying to figure out if he's serious or not. Then she lifts her chin just a little.]

Okay. So how do we get started then?

[oorah]

[ frank goes over and retrieves a pair of hand wraps, tossing them her way before he picks up his own. if there are dark spots that look like blood on his please ignore. ] You ever hit someone before?

[beyourzoomer]

[She catches the hand wraps and starts winding them around her hands. She's never used them before, but apparently it's a day for new things. She can't help but eye the dried blood on his own wraps, though. It's hard not to notice blood stains. She pauses at the question and reluctantly meets his eyes.]

Yes. [Once or twice. But it counts, right?]

[oorah]

[ he nods, she looks the type. scrappy and fierce. she'll be a force all her own soon. he climbs up into the ring and silently bumps his cotton-clad fists together, immediately bouncing on the balls of his feet. ]

Alright, Max. Gimme your best shot.

[beyourzoomer]

[Punching a kid your own age because he snapped your bra strap is one thing. The idea of punching an actual adult - even with permission - is something else entirely. But she is suddenly very clear on why his face is all bruised. She has a feeling she's not the only complete stranger that he's invited to punch him.

Max climbs into the ring, too, watching him for a moment as he bounces. She curls her hands into fists, careful to keep her thumbs out of the way, which is about the only thing she knows about fighting mechanics. She moves quickly, throwing her fist toward his stomach.]

[oorah]

[ someone told her to tuck her thumbs, which is good. he watches her carefully as she shoots for his middle. at the last minute he catches the hit in his palm, trying to discern the power behind it more than anything. she'll get a chance to actually hit him, but first: the basics. once he has her hand he mimes a punch to the side of her ribcage, pulling it before it gets there but leveling her with a look all the same. ]

You left yourself wide open. [ he says softly, careful to make sure sound doesn't carry even in this room. he shows her how to stand with her arms closer together, her elbows protecting her midsection. then mimes another strike so she can watch how he always brings his arm back to center, protecting himself even in the offense. ] Now you try.

[beyourzoomer]

[She's not even a little surprised when he blocks the hit, exhaling slowly. She flinches involuntarily - just barely - when he mimes punching her ribs, nodding when he tells her she left herself wide open. She lets him guide her into better posture, doing her best to copy what she'd just watched him do, throwing a punch and quickly drawing back to protect herself.]

Like that?

[oorah]

[ frank lets the hit land on his belly, though it's like it doesn't even register. he nods, pleased with how fast she's learning already. ] Much better. Again. [ he throws a few hits through the air to show her again, then goes back into a defensive stance and waits for her next move. ]

[beyourzoomer]

[She doesn't want to punch him hard for real. She just wants to get the movements down. She wants to learn, so that it's instinct. She goes through the motions again and again, sweat breaking out on her forehead eventually.]

Do you teach a lot of people how to fight?

[oorah]

[ he eventually settles into a rhythm with her, holding up his hands so she can practice punching into them instead. she isn't comfortable hurting him yet, but soon she'll realize she can't anyway so it doesn't matter. he shrugs a shoulder without pausing in their lesson. ]

Only the ones worth teaching.

[beyourzoomer]

[That earns him a skeptical look even as she throws another punch into his hand.]

You just met me.

[oorah]

[ he nods a little haplessly, catching her hit. it's the best one yet and he can't help the smile that ekes out. ] Yeah, well, you make a good first impression.

[beyourzoomer]

[The tiniest of unladylike snorts escapes her and she throws another punch, this one even harder than the last.]

You may be the only person in existence to think so.

[oorah]

Then everyone else is a dummy. [ he gives her a look. the latest punch knocks his hand away, her fist glancing off his abdomen. see, she's proving herself already. ] You wanna try blocking now?

[beyourzoomer]

[Almost involuntarily, her lips tug upwards in the barest hint of a smile. She's startled when she actually makes contact with his abdomen, eyes quickly darting to his nervously. She relaxes a little when he asks her about blocking. Max gives a quick, short nod, shifting a little to copy his posture.]

Ready.

[oorah]

[ frank wants to ease her into hitting him, but he knows it will come with time. he tries not to read into that nervous glance, even if he's almost positive he knows what it means. he's not going to be able to have a relationship with any of the kids here without wanting to kill their parents, is he? once max puts up her hands, frank reaches out to gently reposition them before hunkering into a boxing stance and putting his fists up. he telegraphs his moves, slow so she can watch the follow through and attempt to catch his fist. ]

[beyourzoomer]

[Max has never really wanted to hurt anyone. She still doesn't. She does, however, want to be able to take care of herself. To protect the people she cares about when she has to. And she's smart enough to know that she's going to have to, be it here or back home. She has no idea if people remember things from this place when they get sent back home, but she hopes so. If it's for nothing but muscle memory. It's why she's going to be practicing posture and stance a lot, even when she's not here with Hot Dog.

She lets him adjust her positioning and catches the first slow-motion fist he throws at her easily enough, despite her tension. Therein lies the problem. Anytime she's been in any kind of...altercation, her instinct is to shy away from it, curl in on herself, rather than try to actively stop it as it's happening.

Maybe she's been doing this all wrong all along.]