Everything’s A Weapon, Wednesday, Period 3

[raspberryturk]

When students filed into the Danger Shop today, they probably wouldn’t be expecting the layout that greeted them. Just a few steps in, after all, there was a shelf stocked quite neatly with teddy bears of all shapes and sizes. A little farther in, a display stand showcasing brightly-colored modelling clay, not far at all from the bin of bouncy balls, just a stone’s throw from the pogo sticks.

Every toy store needed pogo sticks.

Beyond the pogo sticks, finally, were their teachers, Reno with his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his lips, and Cindy leaning against a pyramid made from wooden building blocks.

“Yo, rookies!” Another summer term, another group of students starting off with a lowercase ‘R’ from Reno. “I’m Reno, that there is Cindy, an’ welcome to what’s gonna be, for all intents an’ purposes, your high-tech battleground for the week, yo.”

Cindy didn’t have a fancy name for the students, but she did push herself off the pyramid and give them all a smile. “So, this is Everything’s A Weapon. Some people might see this class as an excuse to put you all in ridiculous circumstances and then throw enemies at you for our own entertainment. And those people would be right--up to a point. But with the way life works--especially on this island, but not exclusively so--sometimes bad shit happens. And you’re not always going to be prepared. So you’re here to learn how to think outside the usual conventions and realize that in the right mindset? You can use anything to save your skin.”

“Anything you can find in the settings we toss you at, anyhow,” Reno agreed, grinning. “I catch you bringin’ in your own weapons to these classes, an’ I’ll make you stand in the hallway while your buddies have all the fun without you, yo.” That was totally a valid threat, if you got your kicks out of stuff like this half as much as Reno did. “Today’s exercise is gonna be simple enough. We’re in a toy store. So, first, we wanna know who you guys are. Toss us your names, ages, what you’re doin’ here, and whatever weapons experience you got behind you before this class. And then comes the fun part, yo.”

Cindy’s grin matched Reno’s for pure mischief. “We went over the name and purpose of the class already, so you can probably guess what comes next. You have then entire store to search through. Come back with the best weapon you can find, scavenge, or put together from what you can find in the store. Bonus points for creativity, but functionality is what really counts.”

Their teachers would have no compunctions about looking at a suggested weapon, laughing, and then sending the students back to try again. In fact, they’d probably enjoy it.

“You might want to get going,” Cindy said impishly. “You know you’re going to spend at least a few minutes playing with the toys.”

[Open!]

Comments

Assignment 1 - Introductions

[raspberryturk]

Who are you? Let’s have your name, age, why you took this class, and what in the world kind of weapons experience you have.

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[awakestheghosts]

"I'm Chloe and I'm almost sixteen. I took this class because I always take Reno's classes because I learn a lot." She shrugged. "I don't have much experience with weapons but I'm trying to learn."

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[steel-not-glass.livejournal.com]

Cindy looked amused as she listened to Chloe's introduction. "I hope my co-teaching only adds to the experience," she said. "Any specific weapons you're focusing on?"

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"Squall Leonhart. Eighteen. I'm here because it sounded like fun."

He shrugged casually. "I have training in a wide variety of weapons, but my expertise is with the gunblade."

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[raspberryturk]

"Hey, gunblades," Reno replied, smirking a bit. "Not too shabby."

Because Reno was one of a handful of people on the island that the phrase probably made sense to, right here. Not quite in the same scope as it would for people from Squall's reality, but still.

"Hopin' that it'll be fun, then? We'll do our best to deliver, yo. What kinda shit did you an' your gunblade go up against, Squall?"

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[squire-hand.livejournal.com]

"I am James," he said, starting off. "I'm about seventeen. This class looked interesting, and I believe it will be a good learning experience." He tried to keep his grin from overwhelming his face. "I'm familiar with swords, less so with crossbows."

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[steel-not-glass.livejournal.com]

"Still think so, with the first class taking place in a toy store?" Cindy asked, also grinning. She was enjoying this class hugely.

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[notagoose]

"I'm Shane Gooseman and I'm 15," Goose said, "my guardian signed me up for this class so I believe he thought it would be useful for me and I've had basic experience with most weapons but my main expertise is with a blaster,"

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[raspberryturk]

"Blaster, huh?" Reno pursed his lips thoughtfully for a moment, and then shrugged and nodded. A gun of some type, probably. "What were you blastin', man?"

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[whitequeensfire.livejournal.com]

"I'm Angelica Jones," Angel said when her turn came. "I'm fifteen, and, um, I don't really have a lot of experience with using weapons." Other than her own powers, of course. "I guess I want to know how to defend myself."

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[steel-not-glass.livejournal.com]

"Hi, Angelica," Cindy said, giving the girl a friendly smile. "Learning to defend yourself is always a good plan. Were you more interested in learning hand-to-hand, or focusing on weapons, or getting any kind of formal training?"

Cindy firmly believed that a girl had to know how to take care of herself.

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

"Blysse Norwood," Firekeeper introduced herself. "And Blind Seer. We is... old enough to be in last year of classes." Since she didn't actually have the slightest idea how old she or Blind Seer was, that'd have to do. "We take class because while he," she nodded at the wolf by her side, "always have weapons with him, but there have been times someone take my Fang," she glanced down at the small dagger which was strapped to her hip. Yes, she'd brought it with her. Didn't mean she was going to go against the spirit of the class and use it, but a wolf without a Fang was just plain wrong. "I am best with my Fang, but also good with a bow, and sword. Blind Seer just use his own fangs and claws," she shared.

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[raspberryturk]

Reno considered the girl, and considered the wolf, and considered the dagger on her hip. Probably had some kind of special permission from the administration to bring it around with her, and he wasn't about to judge. After all, more often than not he had at least some kind of armor equipped with offensive Materia on him. Some things were tough to part with.

"I don't figure he'd do so hot with a bow in his paws," he mused, nodding to the wolf with a little grin on his lips. "No usin' that fang of yours in this class, though, Blysse. It'd defeat the purpose a bit, yo."

Which he figured she already knew.

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[harpy-daughter.livejournal.com]

"Surreal, and I'm fifteen," she said absently, still slightly overwhelmed by all the toys. "I am proficient in a wide variety of blades and poisons."

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[steel-not-glass.livejournal.com]

"Poisons, huh?" Cindy asked, real interest sharpening her gaze a bit. "We're probably not going to deal with much of those in this class, but you never know. Do you have a preference for long or short blades?"

The mun might be making a pun, but Cindy wasn't.

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[regretiz4suckas.livejournal.com]

"I'm Kenzi," Kenzi was looking around with unabashed glee, "I'm seventeen. And mostly I just use whatever I can get. This is awesome."

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[raspberryturk]

"You like it, huh?" Reno's grin was a pretty shameless one, here. "The toy store, or the gettin' to beat shit up with what's in it?"

An activity which, of course, was also like play!

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[withasword.livejournal.com]

"Kate, I'm sixteen, and... I figured, when wouldn't it be useful to know how to kill a guy with a paperclip?" Or whatever else. She wasn't too stuck on the paperclip plan. "I mostly use swords."

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[steel-not-glass.livejournal.com]

"Paperclips, huh? An often-overlooked weapon," Cindy said with a small chuckle. "When you're not using swords, what do you use? And how long have you been training with them?"

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[godofxbox]

"I'm Alex Aaron, I'm thirteen, and I signed up for this class because it sounded like it would be cool and hopefully useful." And also his dad had told him he would be disowned if he took that class from Hercules. Um. "I've got a basic grounding in a lot of different weapons, but I usually use a katana. I like it best."

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[raspberryturk]

Aw, this one was cute and tiny! Reno couldn't help but crack a grin at Alex as he finished his introduction.

"Katana, huh? You know, I ain't never actually used one of them? I should change that sometime, mix things up a bit, yo. Any pointers?"

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[dontvotemeout]

"I'm Jason Todd, I'm almost 16, and I took this class to learn about creative ways to defend myself," he said. "I have training in more typical weapons, but that's mostly to be able to defend myself against them, not use them. Non-lethal methods for putting people down is kind of the key." As much as that annoyed him sometimes.

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[steel-not-glass.livejournal.com]

Cindy didn't really believe in 'non-lethal methods' for the most part, but she kept her expression smooth. "How much training?" she asked instead.

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[batwaffles.livejournal.com]

"Stephanie Brown," she said slowly and carefully, with a brief glance at Jason, "and I'm sixteen. The, um, benefactor who sent me here signs me up for my classes, so I can only guess it's because the city where I live is pretty dangerous, and being able to defend yourself is honestly a bonus. I don't really have anything in the way of weapons training, just a good arm and decent reflexes."

Re: Assignment 1 - Introductions

[raspberryturk]

"There's somethin' to be said for decent reflexes," Reno noted, picking up a small rubber ball and tossing it in the air a couple times, casually. "They come in useful, weapon or none, yo."

Toss. Catch. Toss. Catch.

"Let's see if we can take that arm of yours and get it used to carryin' around a weapon, just in case, yo."

The next toss wasn't so much 'up' as it was 'aimed at Stephanie's forehead,' with an added dose of 'really, really fast.' She'd mentioned reflexes. Of course he was going to act on that.