Dojo Mingling log!

[girlverine]

WHO: Laura Kinney / Open / Mingling!
WHERE: The School of Thunder Dojo
WHEN: Any time between the 9th and the 13th?
WARNINGS: Well, it's a dojo, so maybe some mild violence.
SUMMARY: People come and go and chat and do various things at the dojo!
FORMAT: Whatever!

Given the fluctuation in ownership and teaching staff, the dojo has remained surprisingly active over the years since it has been opened. During the day there are a few paid classes for younger children, and after school a few more for older kids. Adults can come in and teach (with approval) or train on the import-rated equipment, or train with one of the volunteer adult classes (for a fee.) There is a steady stream of 'street kids' coming in and out, learning for free from whichever of the teachers or volunteers have time!

A desk sits by the side of the doorway for volunteer sign ups, and Laura is usually there when she's not teaching or doing paperwork, otherwise she can be found around the building taking care of various things.

[ooc: So this is a mingling log for the Thunder Dojo! If people want to come in and talk to other people, make new threads, make new CR, volunteer to teach, whatever! Go wild! There will be a thread with Laura for people to volunteer IC if they like, just give me a vague idea what time they're there. Otherwise, free for all here, have fun. :D ]

Comments

Want to volunteer?

[girlverine]

[The table at near the door has a stack of sheets for people to volunteer to teach at the dojo. Some basic background questions, and arranging a time for an interview with Laura so she can check character and qualifications. She'll be around the table whenever and will conduct impromptu interviews with interested parties.]

[plains_hunter]

[Thomas is glad he happened by the place, at least. It was hard finding ways to fill the hours.]

Hm...

[He thumbs over the pages, taking note of the questions about his past. This was going to be difficult. Could they even do background checks on people from other worlds?]

[girlverine]

[Laura was finishing up a class when she spotted the man by the volunteer desk, and once the kids were squared away she headed over there. He looked familiar, but she wasn't exactly sure why. Hmm.]

May I help you?

[plains_hunter]

Ah! Don't mind me, just looking over the applications. I haven't exactly gotten a real job since coming here. Well...Haven't had a "real" job in a very long time, even before that. Thomas Blake.

[He put a hand out in front of him.]

[girlverine]

[She hesitates before shaking his hand, her green eyes narrowed in consideration. That was why he was familiar.]

You are a criminal. Why are you here?

[Whoops.]

[plains_hunter]

Ex-criminal. My record is perfectly clean here, I'll have you know. I'd like to think that our current actions here decide who we are, rather than our baggage.

For Laura

[girlverine]

[Laura is all over the building, teaching, straightening, organizing. Feel free to catch her for a spar, or to talk, or if she's been pestering people to come by! Just specify a time!]

12/9 sometime?

[guardiandevil]

[Matt feels more like himself with his radar and heightened senses restored. Returning to the dojo to get back into shape was at the top of his to-do list: without perfect control of his body, his other missions might never come to fruition.

Inside the building, he catches the sound of Laura and follows the sound until he finds her. He moves quietly, though he isn't being particularly sneaky.]

Laura. Hello.

[girlverine]

[It was almost impossible to sneak up on Laura, though if anyone could try it would be Matt. Still, since she could smell him coming...]

[She was putting away the training pads from one of her classes when he approaches, and she turns around after a moment to give him a little nod.]

Welcome back?

[guardiandevil]

Thank you.

[He stood and listened to her for a second or two before taking her movement as a sign that he had permission to continue.]

I'm glad to be alive in this world again. And to have my senses restored to me.

[Excluding sight, naturally. That one he could do without.]

[girlverine]

[Laura nods.] It sounded terrible. [She couldn't imagine losing her senses, but then...she probably couldn't, not with her mutation.]

Do you want to resume teaching?

[guardiandevil]

That's the plan, though I may need a few days to get back into the swing of things.

[He had been resting too long. Three weeks and he could feel the age settling into his bones. He wasn't young enough to let himself get out of practice, not when he needed his body to perform beyond human perfection.]

We've never sparred, Laura. That seems an oversight.

i guess we'll just call it 12/12

[glowsferatu]

[ getting back into the habit of sparring had been a bit of work for kanaya. she hadn't done much practicing since carrie was ported out, but having been powerless for the first two weeks at least made keeping her approach somewhat measured easier, not having any extremes to fall back on.

now that they had returned, it was more about keeping her mood in check, practicing control there so that she wouldn't risk an unwelcome shift. she still had things to learn in this one. it had been a rocky start at first, nowhere near as easy as turning her glow off had been, but she was starting to get the hang of it.

it's been nearly three weeks now since they started when she came in for their session that day, wearing a a tank top and an ankle-length skirt loose enough not to impede her. sweatpants would be easier, sure, but she's gotta be her. ]

So, what will it be today?

[girlverine]

[Laura knew about losing control, she fought that same impulse every time she went into battle, that urge to let loose, to release the feral creature that lurked somewhere inside her and just tear her enemies apart. And she could see it in Kanaya, nothing as bad as her own but still animalistic, dangerous.]

[She had to give the younger girl credit for her control. She knew many people twice her age who couldn't have managed. But it's still worth focusing and working on. So when Kanaya arrives, Laura stands up from where she is sitting on the end of a practice mat, dressed in leather pants and a black exercise type. Green eyes study the other girl for a few moments, carefully considering. Kanaya wasn't bad, but Laura was better, which gave her the control in a situation like this.]

Today we fight until you knock me on my back. [A pause.] If you can.

[glowsferatu]

Hm. [ knock her on her back, easier said than done. laura certainly knows defense better than kanaya, since kanaya...doesn't generally worry about it. it's getting past that which will be the real challenge.

she takes a deep breath, tucking her bangs behind her ear. with greater speed she might have a better chance at success, but she's pretty sure that would be cheating. so she just slides her feet apart and assumes an opening position. ]

Alright. I'll give it my best.

[girlverine]

Good. [Laura gives a nod of approval and bounces on her feet for a moment before she settles into her own defensive posture. It's not a very serious once, relaxed, her muscles loose, almost as though she's not taking the whole thing seriously.]

[She couldn't be taunting Kanaya, could she?]

13/9 SINCE I'M TOTALLY LATE

[jupiterson]

[ Jason hadn't known a lot about the Dojo. Mostly, he'd just been looking for somewhere to train.

Before Juno had interrupted his life, he'd been on a strict regimen in Camp Jupiter. Jason had been in the Legion for twelve years, and had trained every single day. For the last six months, he'd done nothing but get ready to go on his quest to stop Gaea. That had involved training at Camp Half-Blood on a near constant basis.

His only break from that had been to spend time with his new friends, with Leo...and, increasingly, with his girlfriend Piper. None of them are here, and he misses them badly. Especially Piper. He hates that he's separated from his friends, despite the assurances he'd gotten from other ImPorts that they wouldn't miss him. That helps, because it means they'll all be safe, and that he'll be with them if they're attacked. But it doesn't stop him from missing them.

All of that makes his need to train even more acute. He needs something to make the time pass here, something to keep his mind and body occupied. He can't spend all his time thinking about what he can't change.

So, eventually, he had found his way to the dojo. A gym seems like exactly what he needs, and he settles into it at once. He finds equipment to use and makes himself busy, getting used to how this place operates. After a few hours of solid training he stops, retreating to the edges of the room to drink water, and there he sees Laura straightening up some equipment. He watches her for a moment, and then speaks up. ]

Does this place belong to you? I've been appreciating it today. It's not a bad training ground. It's exactly what I needed, I guess.

In a month that doesn't exist... :P

[girlverine]

[Laura had noticed the knew kid, she always did. She had kept tabs on him while she was working until she was fairly sure he wasn't going to cause trouble, and then had let him go. So when he approaches, she looks up without surprise.]

Yes. [There was a faint hesitation there. It felt strange, owning the dojo, when she knew other people had owned it first.] It was designed for imports, so it's best used by them.

[jupiterson]

[ Jason hesitates, noting that she seems to know he's an ImPort and wondering if he's doing something that's so obviously non-local.

Then he realizes that if she's one too, she probably recognizes him from the video phones. As in, that thing that he left at home today because he keeps forgetting it belongs to him. Oops. ]

Then I guess it's doing its job. It drew me in. You have local kids here too, right? I saw there were classes.

[girlverine]

Yes. It was originally just for local children, but has been expanded somewhat over the years. [And at times gotten smaller, given the lack of professors.]

The classes are mostly for the younger students, we're lacking instructors right now.

open!

[swordedpast]

[ Any time it's between classes...

...there's a guy cleaning up. Let's say he's even taking a mop to some of these rooms. He doesn't exactly look happy. He never looks happy. But he looks pretty dedicated to this job. ]

[girlverine]

[Laura pauses as she passes the room, watching him for a moment of quiet consideration.]

You are off probation now.

[swordedpast]

[He doesn't initially seem to notice her--save for the slightest of glances, he just keeps on with his work. Even after she speaks, it takes him a few moments to respond.]

That's good. It's a pain not knowing if I'm keeping this job or not, since I have needs to attend to at home.

[girlverine]

[She just nods.]

You can keep this one as long as you wish to.

[swordedpast]

[He pauses on the mop for just a moment, his eyes half-closing, a small smile on his face.]

I'd like to. You're not a bad employer, Laura.