fandomhigh | Myth Into History, Week 4: It's All Greek To Me [Thurs/1st Period, Danger Shop]

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myth into history

Myth Into History, Week 4: It's All Greek To Me [Thurs/1st Period, Danger Shop]

Today, as the students filed into the Danger Shop, they would find it set up as a large, desolate dirt plain with what appeared to be oddly shaped rock formations until closer examination proved them to be giant bones.

Janice was perched atop a half-buried skull, chomping on her cigar, but in unprecedented deference to her students' potential squeamishness, the long tables and chairs were set up for them in a clear space between a couple of massive femurs. "Welcome to the giants' graveyard," she said casually once everyone had arrived. "You want to talk about larger than life figures? We have the literal embodiment right here. Or the literal, virtual remains, anyway. I mentioned the Cyclops, Polyphemus, last week: anybody know of other examples from history and folklore, Greek or otherwise?"

She waited to see if anyone volunteered a name or two, and then continued.

"So we're going to cover one specific account of a giant today. You've probably heard of him ~~and with any luck one of you mentioned him a few minutes ago when I asked, hint hint~~: Goliath. Yes, as in 'David and.' David had help, though, just keep that in mind. Something else to keep in mind? Goliath didn't deserve all of his bad reputation, either." Janice? Sounding slightly bitter about undeserved bad reputations? No, not really -- just the macabre class setting playing mind games, that's all. "Giants in the ancient world were useful as mercenaries. Think about it: they could probably stomp most ancient armies flat in a few steps. Goliath wasn't any different. 'course, his family was killed in the war between the Israelites and Philistines, so he was out for a little revenge. Plus, the Philistines were paying him."

Okay, so she didn't actually say "Can you blame him," but it was most definitely implied.

"Sure," she went on, picking up a pebble and tossing it up into the air repeatedly, "David killed Goliath with a sling and a stone, but come on, you really think Goliath just stood there and let him? If Xena hadn't come up with a way to distract him . . . but no, we can't give credit where it's due just because she was a woman, and --"

Luckily for everyone in the class, Janice cut off the rant before she really got started.

"ANYWAY. That's a different take on an event typically found in the Old Testament, and it's not the only example of that in the Scrolls: there's evidence that Xena also had something to do with Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, which is a story you'll not only find in the Old Testament and Tanakh, but the Quran as well, although in the Quran, Ishmael is the son to be sacrificed, not Isaac." Janice paused, started to pace back and forth atop the skull, and swore as her leg went through an eye socket.

Followed by the other leg.

Then the rest of her.

"Dammit." Once she'd extricated herself from the inside of the skull, she straightened her fedora, gave her cigar an extra-vicious chomp, and continued. "The names according to the Scrolls are Anteus, Ikus, and Mael, and the whole sacrifice was part of Mael's scheme to have his brother killed and gain his father's favor, but there's enough similarity between . . . well, it's like how most cultures have a story about the Flood."

She fished the Danger Shop remote out of a pocket and punched a few buttons, transforming the graveyard into an idyllic forest path with a roadsign next to a statue. If anyone were to look up through the trees, they'd see that it was an overcast day, with a storm threatening. Perhaps more immediately evident would be the fact that the ground was shaking subtly, as if with the rhythm of very large, very heavy footfalls.

"Your assignment today is this: get the revenge that Goliath couldn't." She pointed toward one end of the path. "The village of Laurel is that way. They're being harassed by Gareth, the giant who killed Goliath's family, and he's threatening to raze the place if they don't give him every dinar. The other way is Piedmon: the warlord Zagreas and his army are getting ready to sack that town. You guys? Get to split into small groups and stop both things from happening." Janice picked up a large kite with a very long string that had a belt buckle hanging from it. "Just bear in mind that giants stomp armies beautifully, Zeus killed giants with thunderbolts, and it's about to start raining."

[OOC: Class Info Post, Syllabus, and Roster See the OOC thread for further activity details, and OCD is up!]

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Make like a badly-played game of Jenga!

Carmela Rodriguez

Zack Addy

Marie D'Ancanto

Cedrid Diggory

Joxer

Matilda Wormwood

Evelyn Carnahan

William Kessler

Sam Winchester

JC Broots.

Will Vandom

Name a giant. Any giant.

"Hagrid," Cedric said. He was rather large, after all.

Zack thought about it for a while. "Shaq."

"I'd name a giant 'Wayne'," Joxer said. Apparently he wasn't paying perfect attention.

"Fin Macool, and, I don't know his name but the one from the story The Heartless Giant."

"Zack took mine, but I guess any basketball player would work."

Will thought it over. "The one at the top of the beanstalk, that Jack fought. Did he even have a name?"

For all your talking, note-taking, teacher-trash-talking, "OMGWTFGIANTBONES"-ing . . .

Marie looked mildly horrified at the setting and the idea of taking out a large giant as she scribbled down notes.

Joxer raised his hand to ask a question.

"What do you want, Kleinman?"

Joxer crossed his arms and huffed.

"If you're not going to call me by my name, I'm not going to ask," he said.

"Fine, fine, whatever. Joxer." Janice rolled her eyes and added under her breath, "At least it's not that godawful French accent this time."

"Why exactly are we saving both towns?" he asked.

Janice looked at him like she thought he was crazy (a pot, kettle situation really, to the outside observer) and sighed. "Because we can. In theory, anyway."

"But wouldn't saving one make more sense, in the long run? Especially since they're so close together?"

"If you're going to do it, you might as well do it with style. You want to choose who lives and who dies?"

"I'm thinking, five years down the line, the villages are going to be feuding over land, and they'll end up killing each other," Joxer said. "Maybe only saving one means saving more lives."

Zack started poking at the bones curiously.

Evie tripped over a toe-bone while she was trying to walk and take notes at the same time. Thank God she wasn't chewing gum, too.

"Xena traveled quite extensively apparently."

Which way will it be: toward Piedmon, or Laurel?

Send a member of your party to lure Zagreas and his army toward Laurel. Bear in mind that he's paranoid, neurotic, and ~~even more~~ insane ~~than Janice~~.

"Umm. Who would make good bait?" Evie looked around, hoping someone else would volunteer. SHe's silly that way.

"I'll go." Billy said readily.

Climb a tree, fly a kite in a thunderstorm . . . but if you fry the giant before he stomps the army, you fail the assignment.

Get both of your problems to meet in the middle, as it were.

Zap your giant here!

If you really, really want to.

It's pretty simple: lure Gareth and Zagreas's army into each other's paths in whatever cracktastic manner you choose, then pull a Ben Franklin on Gareth. I'll be playing both the giant and the army, and this may take a while while I'm at work, but by the gods I'll get to you all even if I have to slowplay for the rest of the week.

Feel free to email (rpg.shanie *at* gmail *dot* com) or ping me on AIM (info in my profile) if you want to coordinate anything specific.

Zagreus sits inside your head,
Zagreus lives among the dead,
Zagreus sees you in your bed,
And eats you when you're sleeping.

Zagreus at the end of days,
Zagreus lies all other ways,
Zagreus comes when time's a maze,
And all of history is weeping.

Zagreus taking time apart,
Zagreus fears the hero heart,
Zagreus seeks the final part,
The reward that he is reaping.

Zagreus sing when all is lost,
Zagreus takes all those he's crossed,
Zagreus wins and all it costs,
The hero's hearts he's keeping.

Zagreus seeks the hero's ship,
Zagreus needs the web to rip,
Zagreus sups time at a drip,
And life aside he's sweeping. (http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_bf50.htm)

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Myth Into History, Week 4: It's All Greek To Me [Thurs/1st Period, Danger Shop]

Sign In [MiH, Week 4]

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Discussion [MiH, Week 4]

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During the Lecture [MiH, Week 4]

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Activity [MiH, Week 4]: Two Really Big Birds, One Massive Stone

Re: Activity [MiH, Week 4]: Piedmon

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Re: Activity [MiH, Week 4]: Laurel

Re: Activity [MiH, Week 4]: Crossroads

Re: Activity [MiH, Week 4]: Steal Ben Franklin's Schtick

After Class: Talk to Janice [MiH, Week 4]

OOC [MiH, Week 4]

Re: OOC [MiH, Week 4]