fandomhigh | Spying: Week 4, Period 1

Aly was relaxed and amused as the class congregated by the campfire. "Hey guys," she said with a grin for the group of them. "Hope you all had a good week. Maybe even some of you thought of ways that disguises could be integrated into everyday life at Fandom right now. Sometimes it's better to not make your identity obvious at first or second glance." She wasn't going to go into any more detail at that, but she was confident some of the students, at least, would get the reference.

"Today we're going to talk about lying. Very few people like to lie, but especially as a spy, it's a necessary skill - both to lie well yourself and to be able to tell when other people are lying.

"As probably all of you know, there are plenty of tools - drugs, magic, technology, mental tricks to detect lies or conceal them, but for today, we're going to focus on simpler methods. Observation, body language, the logic of how lies are constructed. You're not always going to have an arsenal of fancy tricks at your disposal, and, going back to earlier classes, you need to be able to trust your instincts."

"So a few of the ways to tell when someone is lying without a fancy trick is to look at their body language. Someone telling a lie usually tends to have limited physical expression, they keep their gestures and movement restrained in an unconscious attempt to be overlooked. He or she will avoid eye contact with the person questioning them. He might also try to place objects - like a book or a coffee cup between him and the person he's lying to.

"Another way to tell is simply by looking at the disconnect between a statement of emotion and the gesture that goes with it. For instance if I say I love you, then smile a beat later, there's a disconnect there that can give you a clue. Someone telling the truth - or an accomplished liar would smile saying 'I love you.'"

She grinned. "All of which is well and good, and excellent to know. So how do you avoid getting caught when you have a need to lie? Pay attention to your body language. Avoid the pitfalls we discussed here and that are on the papers I'm handing out. The absolute best way is to construct a Liar's Palace in your mind that you can escape into when being questioned. Which is sadly something that could be a course all of its own so I'm not going into it more here."

"Today, I have an interesting test for all of you to try on the laptop over there, and then I'd like everyone to pair up and lie to each other. Try to use the techniques to tell if the other person is lying, try to be aware of your body language and make your lie undetectable. And hey, it's a class on deception so change it up a bit. See if you can trick your partner into thinking you're lying when you're telling the truth." She grinned. "If you want to try it with me, feel free."

[OOC: I am so, so sorry for the lateness of this class! I had errand s to run and didn't get it done last night and it was just a comedy of errors. So my abject apologies to all of you. OCD ~~is coming~~ up]

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"And I gather you are an expert in such a subject?"

"In spying?" Aly asked with a sweet smile of her own. "I'm rather good at it, yes."

"In lying," she clarified. "Which I'm sure you're good at as well."

"Why thank you," Aly replied. "I don't generally find the need to do so, but I've always found it's better to know something than to stay in ignorance."

"Ignorance," she said, rolling the word around. "Something the former principal seemed to be quite apt at."

It was an attempt at baiting at the very least.

"I never noticed that," she said, not taking the bait in the middle of class. "But then I've actually met Principal Washburne and know what she's capable of."

"So, you practice ignorance as well?" That was accompanied by a smile, of course.

Aly laughed. "Oddly, I've never been accused of that."

"There is a first time for everything," she said, watching the quill make more notes. "I am pleased I was able to inform of you of that in front of all your students."

"And I'm sure they'll take that accusation with as much seriousness as it deserves," Aly replied.

"Hem hem," was her response to that. "Yes, well. The accusations might go over the heads of your student's but your superiors will see the truth."

"Luckily none of my superiors are around," Aly snarked back.

"Insubordination," she pronounced slowly, "is not a good look for you. Think wisely before you speak to me like that again."

Aly couldn't help being amused at that. "On the contrary, Principal Umbridge, I've always found that people who are encouraged to think and express their opinions freely do a better job in the long run."

"Headmaster," she corrected immediately. "Tell me, teacher, do you think your place here is safe?"

"I don't generally like safe things," Aly replied, taking the point the wrong way on purpose. "Besides any place with random dinosaurs and trolls attacking can hardly be termed safe."

Umbridge knew a purposefully mistaken point when she saw one. She grinned and it wasn't kind. "I do hope you remain safe," she said, gathering her items to leave. "I would hate to see an...accident happen."

"It's not usually on my list of things to do either," Aly said, starting to turn back to the class though Umbridge was still very much in her vision.

And Umbridge thought her message had gotten through so she stood up and made to leave (http://community.livejournal.com/fandomhigh/1464977.html?thread=89243025#t89243025).

Spying: Week 4, Period 1

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