[closed] "getting three gorgeous men to protect you during training is impressive..."

[gotyourbach]

Who: kaede akamatsu (gotyourbach), qrow branwen (blodsvorr), goro akechi (grakraka), gundam tanaka (gundamned), ryuji sakamoto (ryuji)

Where: the dojo!

When: pre-Candlenights log

What: Nervous about taking a weapons class for the first time, Kaede invited several of her friends to come with her. Like, half of them are there for entirely different reasons, though.

Content Warning: Ryuji is a vulgar boy, also Akechi is here? So who knows, really. Possible spoilers for DRV3 I guess.

[Welcome to the dojo! While this particular room might be soundproofed from the outside, the inside is anything but restful and contemplative. The high ceilings and slightly-springy mats reflect the sound back inside, the crack of wood against wood and metal against metal as others train inside really creating the atmosphere that this is a place to learn how to fight. Or wallflower. Or watch out for weird perverts. Hey, whatever you're here for!]

Comments

[blodsvorr]

a

[Qrow, who is absolutely wearing the school uniform entirely because he had to but modified it extensively to be Punk, is at the back of the room, leaning against the wall, one of his feet pressed against it, his arms folded. It is very much the vibe of a Rebellious Teen Who Rejects Authority Figures, but he is no teen. He is, unfortunately, an adult. At least in body.

Anyway, for about the first half hour of the lesson, Qrow is going to linger there at the back, watching. While some people (Ryuji) may find this concerning, further inspection will reveal two things: one, that he's wearing a serious frown, complete with a scrunched up nose of distaste, and two, that he's not watching Kaede. He is watching the teacher.

And the longer things go on, the scrunchier that nose gets. Someone is disapproving, but is determined to give it a half hour before stepping in. Chat before he does?]

b

[It is after that half hour that the entire class is treated to a beautiful drama as the local Adult Goth kicks off from the wall, hands in his pockets, and steps between Kaede and Professor Schimmrigk by catching Schimmrigk's staff as it's about to come down.]

Right. Because this is the teaching method that's gonna work. Ever heard of adapting to suit your students, Schimmy?

[Unsurprisingly, this does not start this conversation off on the right foot.] "I have. Have you heard of something called consistency? It's how children learn new things."

Yeah, no, this is just being an inflexible ass. Every student's different, and you're gonna let them down if you don't adapt your teaching style to them and let them adapt their combat styles to suit their personalities.

"Adapt their combat styles to suit their personalities? Yes, and let's just let chaos unfold while we're at it. Teaching like this will keep them safe in the field."

Teaching like this will get them hurt in the field because you're not teaching them anything. But hey, if you want me to show you have to do your job, I'd be happy to step in.

"It's sweet you think you could do better than me teaching. I can smell the whiskey on you. Are you sure it's safe for you to be armed around children?"

I'm not sure it's safe for me to be armed around you.

"I'm terrified. Why don't you prove it?" [The staff has been yanked out of Qrow's hand and pointed his way. Someone is in a fighting mood.]

[Qrow draws his own weapon. In a whirr of mechanical parts, it extends to the form of a large two-handed sword. Anyone who still has soul-related powers may sense that the Aura of Qrow's soul has shifted to envelop his body.] Age before beauty, Schimmy.

"Then put your weapon away, and we will fight."

Yeah, I'm gonna—what. [Hold on he did not plan for this. What. Qrow is now staring.]

"An honourable duel is conducted as hand-to-hand combat. That's the way of my order."

[...................................Shit. Qrow was Taiyang Xiao Long's teammate for long enough to know what happens if he has to go hand-to-hand against an expert in the field. He isn't winning this one. Time for Plan B. Because only one of the kids in this room will realize what Qrow is about to do, and honestly, Qrow's pretty sure that Akechi will approve.] I'm not a monk, I'm a Huntsman. I'm not doing hand-to-hand.

"Scared?"

Schimmy, you'd kick my ass at hand-to-hand. I'm passable for when I'm disarmed, but I'm a goddamned s—

"Please watch your language around the children."

[Qrow just. GROANS at this point, putting Harbinger away.] Look, I'm not going to fight an expert in a field that I've only practiced in often enough to keep an ex-teammate off my back about it. Let's deal with this like adults and talk about your pedagogy in private. Alright?

[Schimmrigk, who is a man of honour, agrees to these more civilized terms. Qrow gives a little wave towards the children and says, "Be back in a bit, kids!" but there is a brief moment where he—makes eye contact with Akechi? and seems to be grinning a little? Maybe you imagined that.

Or maybe Qrow is about to live up to the name of a crow collection. Some time later, after an unfortunate conversation, Qrow comes back with his hands in his pockets, whistling idly.]

Alright, kids. Looks like Schimmy is gonna take a sabbatical after an accident with someone's familiar and some exploding pocky. I'll be teaching you for the rest of the session, and if you want to find someone else to instruct you after, I can help you pick them out.

[Wow Qrow just murdered a dude to take his job!]

c

[obviously you can wildcard him at any point in this nonsense]

[gotyourbach]

[Hey, guess who's been stewing in guilty frustration since someone stepped into the middle of her training? It's this girl!! The second Qrow finishes addressing the class, she's stepping forward until they're almost toe-to-toe, hands balled into angry fists at her sides to match the glare.]

What did you do to him, Qrow-san?

[She's not entirely stupid, and while poor, dearly departed Schimmrigk had been kind of strict and frustrating to try to learn from, he didn't deserve whatever Qrow had threatened him with!]

[blodsvorr]

[Wow?? How could you accuse him, an innocent bird man, of doing anything?

Qrow's eyebrows lift, but in many ways, he respects Kaede's outright bravery and determination in this moment. It suggests a strong sense of morality and the backbone to support it. That's good. It is never, in Qrow's books, a bad thing for a child to be able to stand up to an adult.]

Look, the guy was clearly stressed out. He even knocked his water on me while we were talking. I think he was due for a break, and that glitter bomb made him realize it.

[gotyourbach]

Mmmnnnggghh...

[It's the same drawn-out pouting noise she'd treated Ryuji to earlier, except this one is even more annoyed. That guy was a teacher! A jerk, but a teacher!]

You could have at least let him finish the lesson...

[She doesn't buy it. Local birdman disappears into a room for a friendly chat with a guy he'd tried to duel, and only the challenger comes out? It's fishier than one of Mozart's operas being played by the Lisztfish!]

[blodsvorr]

[He is an absolute innocent who has done nothing wrong, in his life, ever.

Also, he has nieces. Pouting cannot defeat him. He has stood strong against the most powerful protests over the years.]

He agreed to the conversation, kid. We teachers love talking pedagogy. If you don't believe me, you can go ask Schimms yourself.

[Schimmrigk is doomed to forever get nickname variants from Qrow, yes.]

[gotyourbach]

...

[She doesn't want to ever see that teacher again, to tell the truth!! Considering Qrow stepped in once already, she doesn't know how she'd ever look him in the eye. Honestly, she'd consider quitting the class and figuring out something else to train with...]

Still... that doesn't explain how sudden it was. Is pegadogy a fancy word for threats?

[blodsvorr]

It means teaching style. You know, the thing that he had that sucked.

[QROW HAVE YOU NOT PUT THAT MAN THROUGH ENOUGH

nope]

[gotyourbach]

That's really harsh!

[Well, so was the-man-formerly-known-as-professor. She scowls up at Qrow again.]

Even if you're a teacher, that doesn't mean you can just stop somebody else's lesson like that...

[She's embarrassed!! Think of her feelings, baka!!]

a is for asshole

[ryuji]

[You know who is an actually rebellious teen, with a whole lot of issues with adults doing skeevy shit around teenagers? He's casually up against the wall next to Qrow, proper attire and all (his cardigan is two-three sizes too big, he hated the form fitting design that the gnome insisted on, and eventually caved to his bickering demands), completed with a Windsor knot that he definitely didn't tie himself. A reformed punk. Maybe post-90s anarcho-capitalist punk. Who cares about labels anymore, anyway?

And he's watching Kaede try her goddamned best at learning something that definitely doesn't come natural to her. Ryuji pretty much picked up a baseball bat, a lead pipe- eventually the replica of Sun Wukong's staff- and it was a breeze for him. Hitting shit was almost his calling.

Like kneecaps.

Arms crossed, out of earshot from Kaede, he pulls off the over defensive asshole like he is-]

So, uh. Got anything you wanna say about this?

[blodsvorr]

[Shooting kneecaps is fun too.

Qrow is not surprised to see Actual Rebellious Teen Ryuji show up.]

A lot of things, but I figure I owe him at least another fifteen minutes of failing Teaching 101 before I have a talk with him.

["a talk"]

[ryuji]

[Rebelliousness is a weapon! Who woulda thunk it.]

Nah, ain't what I'm talkin' about. Either you got some real twisted way of talkin' to girls or you gotta watch your phrasing.

[He's not looking at Qrow directly, still keeping his eyes on the training that's unfolding. Never having anything really formative about his own style other than what felt right, instincts, the power behind his swing, all of this is really foreign to him.]

[blodsvorr]

[....?????]

You wanna run that one by me again?

[ryuji]

She said that some old guy at the warehouse wanted to teach her how to use a staff.

[And considering the number of adults present.]

1/kelly

[blodsvorr]

[She said what.]

2/??

[blodsvorr]

[Gods. Of course she did. Of course she'd put it like that. This is the kid who just readily trusted him. Why wouldn't she put it like that?]

done

[blodsvorr]

[Qrow groans, running his hand over his face.]

Well, I can tell you the kid has no sense of stranger danger, so sure, fair enough. We met at Fantasy Costco while she was debating weapons. We talked about what she thought would suit her, and I said a staff. [He counts off the reasons on his fingers] Range, crowd control, and a lack of sharp edges. My first suggestion was hand-to-hand, actually, but she wanted to keep her fingers safe for piano. I offered to go with her, because she seemed worried about combat, and I wasn't sure if the teachers here were any good at their job.

[Qrow glances back at Schimmeister, his expression briefly flickering back to annoyed. Because Schimmy sucks!!

His attention then comes back to Ryuji, because Ryuji's concerns were very fair, and they need to be addressed.



Wait a second.]

She called me old? Not okay.

i love that we all just drag kelly now

[ryuji]

[The gut feeling in his stomach that had displaced a weird sense of "this isn't right" seems to calm down a bit. The guy he met in the Test of Initiation didn't sound like he fit the bill, but chalk this up to Ryuji's ever persistent distrust of adults.

He's actually grateful for the explanation. He was, seriously, going to confront Qrow about it, and if he got dodgy, he'd pull off trying to threaten him, even without the credentials to back any of that up. He doesn't care about the size of the enemy or the skill, just like Qrow going off later to "discuss" with the teacher instead of facing someone that's outclassed him by a wide margin.]

Shit... thank god.

[He sighs, posture going back to its own shitty slouch to take pressure off of his leg.]

I dunno what I was kinda expectin' here. Seriously... was ready to throw down a fight with you. Just, uh... Past experiences, I guesses.

[Ryuji also sucks at not telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.]

Yeah, no shit. Teachers are never good at their job.

[He'll evade the "old" comment, at least.]

b

[gundamned]

Interesting.

You are an entity that seeks conflict in all realms regardless of context.

[It is unfortunate that she had to be the one who bore the brunt of that situation though. One only needed to look at her for a brief moment to see that she was out of her natural element and struggling to adapt. Survival of the fittest reigns of course, but her effort was genuine at least.

He can't blame her for being upset with Qrow though. He'd of been infuriated himself if someone stepped in on his behalf.]

It's unbecoming to insert one's self into another's battle.

[How soft.]

[blodsvorr]

[Qrow has already been scolded by Kaede, so he realizes how he fucked up here. He runs a hand through his hair in quiet frustration.]

Yeah, well. That guy needed to stop being a teacher ASAP. Now it's taken care of.

[gundamned]

[Honestly? Gundam was sort of waiting for the moment she was going to start laying into the guy. She certainly wasted no time in berating Supreme Overlords any time she got the opportunity. What this being lacked in physical strength and weapon prowess, she certainly tended to make up for in tenacity.]

It's for the best. Had he faced me next, he would have never been able to show his face again.

[Said the liar.]

[blodsvorr]

[Sure, Gundam. Qrow definitely believes you.]

Someone sure would have. You sticking around now that that's done?

[gundamned]

[What you weren't ridiculous impressed with him hitting himself in the head when Kaede got too close or him using his staff to etch weird symbols into a soft floor mat?]

The use of weapons are the great equalizer of the weak in this world. It is of little interest to one as powerful as myself.

[It seems more humane than hand to hand combat, given how he can kill with a mere touch... but Gundam really just doesn't look too gung-ho about beating people with a stick.]

[blodsvorr]

[Honestly, he half blames himself for the first one. Bad Luck Charm etc etc. Registering the genuine concern about it, he has an instinct to try to help a child work through problems with combat and weapon choice. He was a teacher, once upon a time. But normally, it'd be easy to pry into the issue at hand.

Gundam does not make prying easy. He answers things readily, sure. But Qrow has yet to develop a mental cypher for the things Gundam says.]

That so? I'm curious what works for you, then, Your Dark Eminence.

1/2

[gundamned]

[The honest answer to that question is: hamsters.]

2/2

[gundamned]

[What Gundam says however:]

I prefer to utilize demon beasts for my dark bidding.

[But this is a hamster-less purgatory. And bear-less. Devoid of anything really.]