Hunting 101, Thursday

[likethegun]

Sam was looking a little disgruntled as he stood in front of the class today, surrounded by bags. There was a suitcase that said BLACK SHEEP, a long telescope case that said RESPONSIBLE FOR MOM'S DEATH and other small bags with peeks of BROTHER and BOYFRIEND that he was trying to kick under the desk without drawing too much attention. There was also a purse by his feet that said TERRIBLE TEACHER which, yes, he was aware of.

"Hey guys, I'm so sorry about being MIA for the past few weeks. I had something different planned for today, but in light of our current island situation, I thought today would be a good day to talk about djinn." Not gin, sorry Frank. "Djinn, or genies, are pretty popular in stories, and mentions of them go back for centuries, even before written record. Most people think of genies like the genie in the lamp - if you find the right lamp and free the genie trapped inside, you get three wishes. Unfortunately, the actual creature is a lot creepier." Which was pretty par for the course with the supernatural. "Djinn look like humans, and survive by draining their victims of blood and drinking it. But this isn't a quick drink like a vampire. Instead, djinn poison their victims with a touch, and cause them to have severe hallucinations. The victims end up thinking they're in a world where their greatest fantasies have come true, and they can stay in this fantasy world for days while they're being drained, until they finally die."

Sam ducked out of the way as a duffel bag labeled STILL TOO EMO and kicked it under the desk with the rest. "Djinn can be killed with a silver knife dipped in lamb's blood, or you can go the zombie method and bash their skulls in with something." Sorry for the grossness, but he didn't make the rules. "If you're willing to share, tell us what you think your fantasy world would look like. I can tell you, mine would involve a lot of my family members being healthy and alive and kicking." And less baggage. "Then, if you--or anyone, so maybe it's not so personal--had to go out by being killed by something supernatural, do you think it would be better to be killed by something like a djinn that made sure your final days were pleasant, or would be better to go out fighting?"

Library, Thursday (November 19)

[wildandbrave]

Cosette's player had finally remembered to emerge from the Wasteland was lugging around a small valise today, labeled Guilt Over Being the Lucky One. This she set down beside the collections desk . . . where, rather than a chair, she was sitting on a steamer trunk that had Doesn't Remember Childhood emblazoned across the side.

She was taking this rather well in stride, all things considered.

She would sigh every now and then when she looked at them, but really, overall she seemed to be reconciled to their presence.

How To Get By In A Hostile World, Thursday

[suitably_heroic]

Atton had gotten to the gym about an hour early: you could tell, because he'd built a small fortress out of his baggage, with all the words strategically pointing in a direction where they weren't visible. "So we all have baggage," he said, "Obviously. Sometimes baggage gets in the way. Ignore your baggage. That's easiest."

And totally healthy!

"We could do some soul-searching here about how to keep our metaphorical baggage from getting in the way of our life's ambitions, and y'know, if you want to grab one of those mattressy things over there and do that, be my guest."

He eyed the class dryly. "Or you can use everything in the gym to beat the shit out of your actual baggage. Or something. I promise I'm not going to read anything, and neither should you."

That was it, apparently.

Adulting With Cars, Thursday, Third Period

[10secondcar]

Brian looked terrible today, with a black eye and bruise along his jaw and generally like he hadn't slept a wink. Also, if everyone could ignore the massive pile of steamer trunks behind him, that would be great. (The most visible label read 'TRAITOR but can't decide who he betrayed.')

"I don't even know, guys," Brian admitted. "I'm having a shi--sorry, a bad couple of days, so just take your cars out and explore, or don't, whatever. Quick reminder though, we won't have class next week, there's a holiday." For people who had families or somewhere to go, at least.