Basic Trope: A child version of a character (either actually them when they were younger or a suspiciously similar kid) uses a kiddy version of their weapon.
- Straight: Bob uses a bow, as a kid he was a brat with a slingshot.
- Exaggerated: Back when they were kids Alice played with a lighter, Bob carried a slingshot, Claire was always cleaning with a mop, Danny was always chopping wood and Big Bad Elaina the Enchantress owned Lord Cackly's Lil'monster occult and necromancy kitnote .
- Downplayed: The cast are shown playing with toy versions of their weapon in a flashback.
- Justified: The familiar action of pulling back something elastic meant Bob took to archery as he got older. The same goes for the rest of the cast (Alice loved to burn things and went straight for the fire spells, Claire continued to feel comfortable carrying a staff after becoming a healer, Danny simply transferred his chopping skills to war axes and Elaina continued down the slippery slope until she jumped off it).
- Inverted:
- As a child Bob is shown practicing with a wooden sword and making fun of his Aloof Big Brother for training with a bow.
- As a child, Bob is training with a bow while his Aloof Big Sister tries to save the world armed with a slingshot.
- Subverted: Bob appears to be playing with a slingshot... but immediately hands it back to Black Mage Alice.
- Double Subverted:
- Alice starts using the slingshot to launch burning bits of paper, playing the trope straight.
- Bob picks up a small crossbow (which is much easier to use without training).
- Parodied: The protagonist's parents are shown using the same weapons as them (which include slingshots, BB guns and wooden swords) and doing their best to ensure they follow in their footsteps.
- Zig Zagged: Some of the characters played with meaningful toys as kids, some didn't.
- Averted: Bob used a slingshot as a kid, but a sword as an adult.
- Enforced: The child versions are shown with the weapons to maintain the same iconic character silhouettes (but in Super-Deformed form).
- Lampshaded: "Let me guess Bob, you're the kid with a slingshot and the woman with the bow's your mum?"
- Invoked: Bob et al's parents wanted their kids to be adventurers. So they gave them their toys/weapons/chores to make sure that they'd pick a weapon they knew would allow them to form an effective group with.
- Exploited: The villain gives the children of a vague prophecy difficult-to-use toy versions of the weapons which will destroy him, to discourage them from using said weapons when they grow older.
- Defied: "No, the lady with the bow's Claire's mum. She forbade her from using it so she wouldn't grow up with broad shoulders."
- Discussed: "Which kid belongs to Bob? Just find the one with the slingshot."
- Conversed: "Ah, a kid with a slingshot. I bet it's Bob."
- Deconstructed: Young Bob played with a slingshot because that's what his friends did. When he grew up and got pressed into military service he was put in the ranks of archers because that's what they needed at the time, and if you asked him if his childhood experience with a slingshot gave him any transferable skills he'd probably laugh in your face.
- Reconstructed: ...but when he visits his past he sees his young self using the toy in a much more sophisticated way than he remembered, learning to use cover, find vantage points, and adjust for range and wind conditions, and hugely outclassing his friends who are treating it as just a game. Maybe he really did learn something from it.
- Played for Laughs: Elaina's General Ripper Dragon also shows up as a child... in a frighteningly realistic toy tank.
- Played for Drama: The cast are Tykebombs. Even their playtime was just another form of training...
Here's a beginner's link back to Weapon Jr. Aaaaww... They grow up so fast.
