seventeen ✪ video

[imfollowinghim]

[Filtered to Wardens + Select Inmates*]

[Bucky has set himself up in the firing range, and has mounted the camera at an angle so you can see where he is and what he's holding pretty clearly. He's back in his Commandos jacket instead of the soft plaid button downs Stiles requisitioned for him.]

Alright, at this point, most of you know who I am and what I was doing before I got sucked into this circus. For anyone who just got here, I was a sergeant in the US Army before I got transferred to the SSR to join the Howling Commandos, which was a squad that's pretty much a combination of the Army Rangers and OSS. It was 1945 when I got grabbed to come here. [So, World War II, obviously.] Barbara was talking about how we've gotta be better prepared for whatever shit gets thrown at us next, and we got talking about how putting you guys through Basic might help.

And before anyone starts complaining about how they've got superpowers and don't need this shit, Basic's not about who can run the fastest or do the most pushups. It's supposed to be getting you used to following orders, doing what you have to to survive, and working as a unit with guys you just met. It's also supposed to help get you ready for what it's like to have people trying to blow you up every minute of every day.

Most of the stuff I know how to do you hopefully won't ever have reason to worry about, [Although who the hell knows, maybe training people to use frag grenades would be a super smart move if they ever wind up somewhere like the Vanquish's planet again.] And it's probably not realistic to expect all of you to go through actual basic training, [Even though he thinks that might do you guys some good. Maybe a lot of good.]

So I guess we'll start with something simple.

[He lifts up his rifle so you all can get a better look at it.]

This is an M1 Garand. It's a semi-automatic rifle. You get eight rounds to a clip, and it ejects when it's done automatically. It's a little old fashioned for most of you, but it'll fire in the water, sand, mud, whatever and won't jam. It's also really simple to use, so it's not a bad place to start if you've never shot ay anything before. The only thing you've really gotta worry about is we didn't use smokeless gunpowder, so you fire a shot and you're pretty much showing whoever you're fighting where you are.

[He lifts the rifle to demonstrate how to load the clip, working slowly enough for people to follow.]

You load the clip into the magazine with your thumb while holding the rifle bolt back with you palm. Push it down 'till it locks, pull your thumb back quick so the bolt doesn't pinch it when it releases, [Which he does expertly, and the blot slams forward, pushing the clip into place.] And you're ready to go.

[He raises the rifle higher, quickly squeezes off three shots, and punches the release to bring the paper target up to the range. All three hit the bullseye almost exactly, with very little variation.

And with that done, he deliberately takes his finger off the trigger, puts the safety back on and lowers the weapon, barrel pointing at the ground and to the side as looks back at the camera.]

I could tell you I'm gonna really kick the shit out of anyone I catch calling this a gun, not a rifle, but there's more important stuff to cover: you keep the safety on unless you're definitely gonna shoot something. You don't point the gun at anything unless you're definitely gonna shoot it. You don't put your finger on the trigger unless you're definitely gonna shoot something.

[He is absolutely not playing around.]

You think I'm kidding, but guys shoot themselves or their buddies because they think it was just some drill sergeant being an ass, and as great as it is that we don't stay dead here? No one needs to see their friend's face blown off because they weren't being careful.

Blanks can kill you too if you put the barrel close enough to your skull. Don't be a fucking idiot.

[There's a lot of other really basic stuff he could cover - don't serrate your bayonet, don't drink all your water until you know you're gonna have access to more, don't hug the ground if you hear a shell coming at you because you're exposing more of your body laying out flat like that - but that can come later.]

I can give lessons to anyone who's interested in rifles and sidearms. [Grenades, knives, maybe even mortars or a BAR if they needed one, but that's pretty heavy duty for something they'll probably never need to use.] If anyone's interested in hand to hand or needs some survival skills, I can do that, too.

Honestly, what I'd really like to do is get anyone who's interested doing at least a couple hours training a day. It's not gonna be fun and it's not gonna be pretty, but if you wanna stay alive, you'll listen to me and stick with it.

And if anyone wants to talk coordinating lesson plans, I'm all ears.

[Strictly Warden Filtered]

Offer's on the table for inmates, too. Lemme know if you want me to add them to the filter. Figured it probably wasn't a good idea to be broadcasting this shit to everyone if there's someone who'd use it as an excuse to cause a clusterfuck.

[ooc: As Bucky said, he can and will include inmates on this filter if their warden thinks they should be here. Right now that means Helena, Blight, The Emperor and Morgana can see this.

The list will be updated as tags come in!]

Comments

[dinosize]

Love to. Be right up.

[ He comes up casually dressed, cargo pants and a t-shirt. Folded knife in one pocket, the compass that is his warden item in another. Nothing else. ]

Stephen Hart, by the way.

[imfollowinghim]

[Bucky's got a trench knife in a sheath on his belt, his side arm and another knife stashed in his boot, plus a D-ration chocolate bar in one coat pocket, because basically he might be out of the war, but he doesn't really feel like he is. At all. Anddd might not ever be.

But he still smiles like a normal person, so that's good.]

Bucky Barnes. So, you turned down the Olympics?

[dinosize]

[ He gives a half-shrug. ] It wasn't for me. I went to school instead. [ His life probably would have been easier the other way.

He takes in the way Bucky stands, his posture, but not so much the presence of weapons. This is someone who knows how to use what he has on him, and Stephen isn't worried.

He nods to the rifle. ]

May I?

[imfollowinghim]

Sure. [He passes it over casually enough, but he's watching Stephen too to see if any of this is just bluffing or what. He doesn't think so, but he's still curious.]

I've got a M1903 Springfield too, but that's more fun when you've got some room to work with.

[The firing range is basically the opposite of a challenge for him.]

[dinosize]

[ Stephen's not a fan of the space either. He does his best work outdoors. Doesn't like being hemmed in.

It's clear from moment one that Stephen's treating the rifle with respect. He takes the time to feel it, first, running fingers along the wood, checking the heft. He holds a hand out for the clip, and then loads it with a quick, precise motion. Pulls it up and sights it.

He doesn't bother to compliment the rifle out loud. It's been well taken care of. ]

You could try CTS sometime. [ Stephen hasn't, yet. He's not eager to see what sort of opponent it'll produce. CES coming up with ancient deserts half the time is bad enough. ]

[imfollowinghim]

[Oh, it's appreciated. This isn't his original M1 - that got confiscated when he got captured by HYDRA - but he's been carrying and using one for almost four years now, and it's nice to know Stephen's not someone who's going to treat it like some prop.]

I have. Guess it's not so bad. [He likes it okay, really. It's way better than any kind of range he's worked with back home, or here, and at least it can kind of simulate the conditions he's used to working in.

Kind of, but not really, and he's not sure why there's a part of him that's almost disappointed by that.]

Bond and I go shooting in the CES.

[dinosize]

Doesn't feel right without the Nazis?

[ He takes an experimental shot, just to know the pull, the recoil. It hits several inches off of center, though still on the paper target. He pauses, corrects, and the next two shots are dead-on, similar to Bucky's demonstration. ]

[imfollowinghim]

It gives me them sometimes. [Still doesn't feel the same. It's just strange, knowing it's a simulation, when really that's pretty much magic to someone coming from a time before color television.

And that pretty cleanly backs up Stephen's story, and gets him vaguely wondering which one of them would be the better sniper.]

Not bad.

[dinosize]

Thanks.

[ Good piece of work. Not a work of art, but craft. ]

I could lend a hand, if you like. I know about survival on any climate Earth has to offer.

[ The next shot hits precisely between the last two. He's getting the hang of it now. ]

Not much for following orders, though. [ So he wouldn't be able to teach anything having to do with that. ]

[imfollowinghim]

I'm not much for taking them from people who aren't my CO. [So that's not a no, but it's fair warning that he is planning on taking point on this.]

[dinosize]

[ Stephen gives a nod. Makes sense enough to him. He finishes off the clip, just a few more rounds, and unloads it, putting the safety on, before offering it back to Bucky. Safety first. The motions are automatic; this is a routine, for Stephen, not a special performance. ]

Offering expertise, that's all.

[imfollowinghim]

I'm not saying thanks, but no thanks, [Bucky clarifies, taking the rifle back and holding it in both hands so the barrel points towards the ground. Again, the motions are automatic, like he's barely thinking about doing it.]

But following orders is kinda gonna be a part of it. A big part. Most of the people I've got saying they're interested don't have much experience doing shit, let alone trying to figure out how to survive in the open, or work together while they're getting shot at.

I don't wanna turn down help, but I don't wanna wind up in a situation where we're too busy stepping on each other's toes to get anything done. [Seriously, having another skilled adult will help, but he's got Steve, too, and they both know how to survive in the wilderness.

Although technically Steve outranks him and Bucky has more hands on experience, so that's going to be potentially interesting, too.]

[dinosize]

Then I can stop by and teach them how to improvise igloos and go ice fishing, and you can boot me when I'm done.

[ He's honestly more interested in passing on what he can do than in taking over. If these kids want to learn how to follow orders, the more power to them, but he doesn't want to be a part of that. He works best a little sideways to any given authority structure. ]

I won't get an ego about it.

[imfollowinghim]

[Bucky lets out a short, appreciative chuckle. Kind of sounds like they'll do just fine.]

You've seriously had to build igloos?

[dinosize]

You use what you've got to hand.

[ He relents, a little, to explain: ]

There was a blizzard, and we lost the campsite. You'd be surprised how warm they get.

I've got a lot of stories like that.

[imfollowinghim]

Me too, but they involve a hell of a lot less igloos.

[dinosize]

Your loss.

[imfollowinghim]

There isn't a hell of a lot of time to get one set up, where I'm from.

[dinosize]

I've worked out in the wild everywhere from Australia to the Amazon to the Sahara to the Arctic. I used to work as a tracker - for biologists? Finding the species that they wanted to study.

[imfollowinghim]

Sounds like a decent job. When they're not finding you, I guess.