Public Service - On the Edge, Monday, Period 2

[raspberryturk]

Class this week was once again held in the Danger Shop, with the students up on the cliff in the desert, overlooking Edge down below. Reno was standing right on the outcropping of that cliff, next to a table that looked decidedly out of place in this particular sim, and today he had a bit of a smug grin. And some company.

"Yo, Rookies," he greeted, once it looked like everyone was settled. "Feel good to know who the hell you are again? This place, right? And just in time to come back to see my smilin' face on a Monday morning, yo. It's okay if you wanna applaud. I'll wait."

If anything but a small patch of yellow flowers grew out in this desert, this would be where the tumbleweed would have rolled through. Or where people applauded, if his students actually cared to.

“Ooooh, they look so young!” Standing next to Reno was a badly-dressed young woman who seemed extra-fond of bright colors and bouncing on her toes. “Hi, everyone, I’m Rikku and I’m totally helping out with class today. Maybe other classes, too! I mean, like, maybe future weeks of this class. I’m not just gonna be dropping into your other classes all randomly. Although that’d be fun.”

Yes, she was always like this. Sometimes, it was even worse.

"Watch out," Reno chuckled. "Now she's gonna audit all your classes. But today, she's here because next week I'm plannin' on taking you all on your first actual trip to Edge, and there's a few safety protocols I wanna go over with you guys. Since, you know, Edge is crawlin' with nasties - I mentioned there are monsters, I mean that in a real literal way - and I'd rather none of you get eaten by anything from a dog to a demon-possessed friggin' motorbike this semester."

No, he was not kidding. Did he mention that his world was a special place? It was. Edge: Super special.

“So I made armor!” Rikku announced, in the tone you might expect for someone baking cookies. “I didn’t know who would want what, so there are a few different options at, like, different levels. Some of you just might need a nudge in case things get bad, and others might want as much protection as possible. It’s okay. Take as much as you think you’re gonna need, because it’s way better to be over-protected than under, you know?”

"I don't want any of you kids gettin' in shit while we're in Edge," Reno added, "so I'm makin' it mandatory to put this stuff on before we go. You don't like it, you stay behind. You got somethin' better you'd rather wear, run it by me first. You got a weapon you want to bring along, run that by me, too. This isn't a 'beat up monsters' class, though, and it ain't in the Danger Shop, so any shit you get in out there? It'll be real."

“Don’t worry,” Rikku said calmly. “Reno won’t let anything happen to you. He just means, don’t go picking fights because you think maybe that monster looks like something you can take, you know? So there’s armor, and if, like, anybody has special requests, armor-wise? You can totally ask me. I can do all kinds of cool stuff, so if you need, like, extra protection against lightning or to make sure you don’t pass out, just give me a heads-up.”

It was a shame that some ingredients were so freaking hard to find, or else she would have made everyone the Super Extra Protect level of armor. Considering Fandom, though, they’d be okay.

"Once you get your armor," Reno said, "I'm gonna let you have a turn at the three types of things you might run into out there that'll try to kill you, just so you know how friggin' important it is to stick to the group. There might be different monsters the closer we get to Midgar, but for most of Edge, it's gonna be the desert fare." He gave a nod, and the Danger Shop shimmered three different figures into view. "We got Kalm Fangs, which I guess most of you would probably think of as more like wolves. They'll bodycheck you, or they'll bite you, and they're pretty easily taken down with fire, if you got anything like that on hand. Devil Rides are probably gonna freak some of you out a bit. Motorbikes with no rider, and they want nothin' more than to run you over. They ain't invincible by any means, but there's no easy way to off 'em if you ain't a fighter. You spot one, you come back to the group and I'll take care of it myself."

The last of the three figures? Was just a man in a mask, standing with his arms crossed over his chest.

"And you ain't gonna like this one," Reno said, finally. "Prowlers are roaming thieves that'll get the jump on anyone who gets too close to the edge of... Edge. They won't hesitate to tackle you, take anything of value they can get their hands on, and take off. The wolves and the bikes, I trust you can handle. But straight-up bein' mugged in the middle of class is why I'm sayin' right now, the smallest our group sizes get if we split up is gonna be half-and-half, and you're all gonna have my phone number so I can come runnin' to bail you out if somethin' goes bad."

There was no arguing with this point. Reno's expression was more serious than most of his students had probably ever seen it.

"So, I want all of you to take a look at this armor that Rikku's rigged up. Talk to her if you need anything specific. And then, if you think you're a fighter, I want you to show me what you can do against any or all three of the enemies we got lined up here. If you're not, work on water filtration plans for the rest of class, let's see if we can figure out what we're gonna need to look for once we hit Edge next week."

“And if anybody mugs you,” Rikku said, “you let me know so I can go steal it back.” She was totally a thief, you guys. It was what she did.

[OOC: Open! Co-written with the lovely the_merriest this week, yay!]

Comments

Sign In

[raspberryturk]

Ready for a fight!

Re: Sign In

[dauntless-four.livejournal.com]

Four

Lecture

[raspberryturk]

Featuring a redhead and a blonde, some armor, and a killer motorcycle. You may boggle at the motorcycle if you like. At least it isn't a killer house.

Re: Lecture

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy snuck into class several minutes late and hoped that no one would notice. Look, after spending a weekend as a miniature, bouncy antelope and then waking up naked on the guy you were seriously crushing on, a long shower and some time to calm down was seriously needed.

Armor Up

[raspberryturk]

On the table were a variety of different armor pieces: bracers, armlets, targes. All were designed to strap on to the forearm for hands-free protection.

In the first pile, all items had been treated to contain:

SOS Shell
SOS Protect
SOS Haste

with a small piece of paper explaining:

If the wearer is hurt, wearer gains Shell (magical shield), Protect (physical shield), and Haste (enhanced speed).

The second pile, all items had:

Defense 10%
Magic Defense 10%
SOS Regen

and a paper again explained:

Wearer has additional protection against both physical and magical attacks. If the wearer is hurt, wearer will be healed in slow increments.

The third pile:

Auto Shell
Auto Protect
SOS Regen

which again explained:

Wearer has Shell (magical shield) and Protect (physical shield) status at all times. If the wearer is hurt, wearer will be healed in slow increments.

Step right up and pick the armor that you feel would be most useful to you. Fighters, keep in mind that there are students in class who aren't. Non-fighters, please don't let pride get in the way of choosing armor that would best benefit you. Fighters who are trying to let on that you can't fight at all? ... Use your better judgment, here.

Re: Armor Up

[dauntless-four.livejournal.com]

Four was glad that the armor wouldn't affect the new ink he had on his forearm (a stylized version of the Fandom castle), but he wasn't going to have full movement there just yet.

Naturally he wouldn't admit to that because he was Dauntless and sometimes Dauntless meant being stubborn and kind of stupid. He left the more powerful armor to someone who hadn't been trained in combat and would be keeping an eye out for them as the class continued.

Abnegation selflessness died hard.

Re: Armor Up

[not_every_mage]

Anders moved slowly as he considered which gear to take. He wasn't quite clear on the difference between the last two piles, but he assumed there had to be one.

In the end, he went with the third pile. Being protected at all times sounded more than useful.

Re: Armor Up

[wildandbrave]

No, see, Cosette had indulged in far too many pretend-fantasies and acting out of adventure tales in private to not leap on the chance to armor up as much as possible -- she was courageous, but also practical enough to be prudent in an entirely unfamiliar scenario -- and all right, it wasn't exactly the full plate she had in her imagination but still! Actual armor she got to wear!

The hardest part of choosing wasn't the degree of protection, because she was definitely going for that third pile. It was just that all of it was surprisingly pretty!

Re: Armor Up

[beautifulsenshi.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, Minako really really wished everyone knew she was Sailor Venus. Because being stupidly-durable while transformed would be really helpful for this class.

Still, she went for the first pile. If she got hurt, she could get away fast without needing to transform or waiting to be rescued.

Re: Armor Up

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy could give a slew of reasons why she'd gone for an armlet in the first as it always had said pile. The reality, however, was just that she wanted to see how fast she could be Hasted. That just sounded all kinds of awesome.

Re: Armor Up

[notamascot]

Kaylin already had a golden bracer on one arm. One she wasn't allowed to take off. But she picked one other one and one of the targes things from the first pile.

Class Activity A: Fighting

[raspberryturk]

For those of you who want a chance to prove to Reno that you know how to handle yourself in a fight out there, you can step right up and throw down against any one of the three enemies he introduced you to. If you need a weapon, the Danger Shop will provide. If you prove you can handle these guys, go talk to Reno and you can negotiate being allowed to go to Edge armed. It should be noted that winning a fight against a Kalm Fang, Devil Ride, or Prowler doesn't automatically mean you get to bring a weapon along next week. You have to clear it with Reno, first.

[OOC: Mod your encounter with any of the enemies above, or tag me in the OOC thread for an NPC! Please tag Reno in his thread or let me know OOCly if your character wants to bring something smashy or shooty or whatever for the rest of the semester.]

Re: Class Activity A: Fighting

[dauntless-four.livejournal.com]

Sentient motorbikes. O...kay. "Don't suppose they'll run away if I find a screwdriver to throw at them," Four muttered.

Re: Class Activity A: Fighting

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

Barry spent a good ten minutes giving the danger shop system vocal commands on the precise weaponry he wanted.

Hey, he was picky about his armaments.

The weapons included were a blaster and what appeared to be a lightsaber laser sword that he no doubt ripped off from Space Battles.

The first two nasties weren't that hard to dispatch. Barry relied on the laser sword and his own acrobatics to dispatch them. The devil ride was actually pretty easy.

The Prowler took a little more time and Barry had to fall back on his blaster but he eventually got the job done.

Re: Class Activity A: Fighting

[not_every_mage]

It was hard to explain what a staff was to the Danger Shop, but eventually Anders got it to cough one out that was more or less identical with the one currently stashed in the weapons locker.

He went for what seemed like the easier option and fought the Kalm Fang. He thought it would be easy -- one blast of fire and then out -- but the wolf surprised him, springing forward and sinking its teeth into Anders' calf before he was prepared to unleash a second blow. The creature went down shortly after, but he was still limping as he left the arena.

Re: Class Activity A: Fighting

[spin_kick_snap]

"...I don't suppose the Devil Rides are, well, rideable, are they?" Kathy asked, giving one a wistful look.

She hadn't really been cognizant of the last motorcycle ride she'd been on.

Class Activity B: Planning

[raspberryturk]

For those who are less inclined to smash things, here's where you figure out what you're going to have to look for next week in Edge. Or raise any other concerns that this class might have brought up, to see if you can come up with solutions.

Re: Class Activity B: Planning

[wildandbrave]

Well, Cosette would be over here (occasionally holding up her arm to admire the pretty armlet she'd finally settled on) not looking for a fight, thank you very much, but definitely up for planning.

And maybe contemplating whether she should at least learn to defend herself in some way. It could be useful in Fandom, and her father didn't have to know, right?

Re: Class Activity B: Planning

[beautifulsenshi.livejournal.com]

Minako looked towards the fighters with a longing that she hoped was more 'wish I was able to do that' rather than 'I could so do that but SEKKRIT IDENTITY.'

But planning needed to be done, and she could totally plan! "Have we, like, considered the buddy system? 'Cause even with this armor--" she held up her arm with her pretty pretty bracer, "--two is safer than one."

Re: Class Activity B: Planning

[spin_kick_snap]

After taking out the three enemies she needed to to prove that she was skilled enough at fighting to handle herself, Kathy joined the planners. Fighting off monsters was fun, but that wasn't the point of the class. Focusing on the importance of the water filters and safety was a good reminder of that.

"I think having scouts and lookouts might be a good idea, too. Just to make sure nothing sneaks up on us or is hidden when we go poking around."

Talk to the TAs

[raspberryturk]

When they tag in!

Re: Talk to the TAs

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

So, yeah, this class had her grumpy for... personal reasons... as Karina tried to figure out what level of armour she was supposed to take and if she should out herself as a fighter or not. Even though she wasn't particularly fight-inclined and more... naturally advantaged.

But, like, if you needed her, you could talk to her. That was why she was there.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[spin_kick_snap]

Okay, being Hasted was the absolute best. Kathy was pretty sure she'd broken the sound barrier a few times this class.

Talk to Reno and Rikku

[raspberryturk]

When they tag in!

Re: Talk to Reno and Rikku

[raspberryturk]

Reno was, as Reno usually did, lounging back against the table and watching his students carefully. He did kind of hope that people who could handle themselves wouldn't hog the better armor, but hey, he knew at least some of them were in denial to their fellow classmates, and it wasn't like he could force them out out themselves.

It would be an interesting exercise in seeing what kind of students he had, he supposed.

OOC

[raspberryturk]

Ping here for NPCs or if you want to handwave clearing one of your kids to bring a weapon. Bear in mind, Reno's not going to let a student just bring a gun or a sword or something along unless they can prove to be proficient with it, so use your better judgment there, please.

Re: OOC

[dauntless-four.livejournal.com]

Please give Four an NPC (once I get there) and permission to bring his shiny gun the rest of the semester. :)