How Does One Write Concealed Weapons Without An Ass Pull?

What the title says.

In a story I'm currently writing, my protagonist is just the type of person who would appear very vulnerable to creepers*

, so she's realistically bound to be attacked by people with less-than-stellar intentions once or twice while she's walking on the street, or at the very least expect to be attacked by such people.

To solve this issue, I decided to have her parasol have some sort of self-defense mechanism, since, according to The Other Wiki, such things have apparently been done.

That's all well and good, but the problem is writing it. How do I reveal that without making it sound like an Ass Pull? Short of having her outright mention it when she first pulls out the parasol when the first steps outside in the third scene, I can't think of any way to actually bring it up, aside from if/when she actually needs to use it.

But holding off on mentioning it until she activates the self-defense mechanism would be triggering Suddenly Always Knew That, which I consider Bad Writing.

So how does one do it?

edited 9th Feb '12 1:27:32 AM by burnpsy

Could you, perhaps, hint at it? For example, by saying things like how uncomfortable she is without the parasol nearby or how she's going to a bad part of town so she'd better take the parasol. That would let readers know that the parasol is in some way useful without stopping the story dead to explain it in detail.

edited 9th Feb '12 1:44:01 AM by LoniJay

Be not afraid...

Draw attention to the parasol without explicitly making it clear what's so special about it.

Well I'd suggest that as she's walking the streets and is feeling wary, scared, notices some creepy guy watching her etc, she grips her parasol tight and feels safer, something simple like that it all you'd really need. Then when the guy comes up behind her and she turns her umbrella into a sword to scare/stab the creep it won't be completely out of nowhere.

Hi

That makes sense.

Thank you.

To be honest, there really isn't a problem about having characters pull out unexpected talents as part of their introduction - Suddenly Always Knew That is about sudden "skills" or the like popping up quite a bit into a work, at a point where we would've expected to have seen them already. If you plan on introducing this concealed weapon very early on, I honestly wouldn't worry about needing to foreshadow it.

edited 9th Feb '12 2:14:16 AM by nrjxll

Of course showing it early makes it not an issue, since a character's introduction is precisely when one is supposed to show this sort of thing.

Sadly, as things stand, it most likely cannot be introduced early without messing up my pacing, since the story starts with a testimony in court that introduces the setting, followed by several issues at home and other private matters that will most likely take a while to wrap up.

So she won't be out and about until the mid-point at the earliest. Ideally, the main character would be pretty solidly established by then...

Have her check if whatever mechanism is in the umbrella works properly before leaving her house.

The point of such a mechanism is that it is a surprise. It's not an Ass Pull, it's designed to be concealed in plain view and to not draw attention.

Nous restons ici.

I'd note my use of the phrase "at a point where we would have expected to have seen them already". If the concealed weapon doesn't get introduced until your first fight scene, I still don't see that as a problem.

/Ah. I see where you two are coming from. Yeah, that makes sense as well.

The only a time "concealed weapon" likely does mean Ass Pull... you're probably writing for Jack Harkness. I'm not sure if that justifies it, or what.

But, no: I agree. Concealed just means "behind something right in front of you". Even if it means blisters being hidden there (some boot-like hiding places spring to mind, there).

EDIT: it's late, I'm tired... and trying to get the Torchwood link killed my brains cells... bed!

edited 9th Feb '12 6:47:06 PM by Euodiachloris

My two cents here. First off, is the reader aware of why the character would have a concealed weapon? Not everyone carries swords hidden in parasols around, creepers not withstanding. Secondly, draw attention to the presence of the parasol, not the weapon.

If I were you, I wouldn't actually go for such a situation at all, but if you can pull it off, well and good.

Currently cursing my way through Radiant Dawn Hard Mode. Give it a look!

The explanation of why she'd carry such a thing to defend herself can be easily inferred from her testimony at the beginning of the story. My protagonist is certainly not a normal person.

So yes, most readers would be able to infer why she'd have it.

Fair enough. Though I now question why your character (based on your link) would be without an escort, and even then, not incognito. I hope you don't mind my nitpicking here, but that seems far less realistic than a cane-sword (parasol-sword?)

Currently cursing my way through Radiant Dawn Hard Mode. Give it a look!

The character is trying to keep their status a secret to blend in with the common folk. In fact, the royal place is underneath the capital with an entrance disguised as a normal house.

So, as you can tell, having guards would come off as weird (and, for various reasons, she feels more natural without one). She can just explain away the parasol by informing people of her skin condition that requires certain parts of her body remain protected from the sun at all times.

Adequately explaining it in any more detail essentially requires a total infodump, so yeah.

edited 9th Feb '12 8:24:18 PM by burnpsy

Now I really want to read the story.

Shinigan (Naruto fanfic)