fandomhigh | Mad Kings and Queens [Wednesday, June 26th, 2nd Period]

The class met in the Danger Room today, as Ghanima had ~~handwavily~~ ordered. The room was configured, oddly enough, to look like their classroom.

"Over the last few weeks, I have given you some examples of rulers gone mad," Ghanima stated. "We have seen that the best way to survive such a monarch is to, quite simply, keep your head down. If you don't make waves, you'll probably survive the experience. Some may call this cowardly, but it is quite simply common sense. Unless you have some way to change the status quo, your best option is to try and wait it out."

"There are many ways to remove someone from power." Hopping off the recreation of her desk, Ghanima picked up a marker and twirled it between her fingers. "Assassination, a military coup, a legalized change in the laws of succession, an conspiracy by other family members, bribery, kidnapping, the list goes on and on."

"Today we are discussing how to be a successful revolutionary, as well as how to keep and hold power. For those of you who favor the democratic methods, I’m going to ask you to set aside your personal feelings for the time being. Our focus today is on the various ways to overthrow a government. I’m not interested in hearing about the right or wrong just yet, that’s up to each of you as private individuals."

"We're going to discuss what revolutions can be used for, how they can be put together, and why a failed revolution can be just as effective."

"Weapons. Organization. Tactics. Propaganda. Intelligence." Ghanima turned to the wipe-board at the front of the room and began writing as she spoke. "These are some of the basic resources on both sides of the divide. However, these alone are not enough to overcome a government. It requires teamwork, coordination, a willingness to make hard choices, determination, and passion. Despite what romantics and poets may think," she said, turning back to the class, "there is no such thing as a one man revolution. While one person can start the ball rolling, they most assuredly will not win without an organization backing them."

"What is the difference between a revolution and a rebellion?" Setting down her marker, Ghanima grabbed some handouts from her desk and began distributing them. "Is it simply the matter of selecting an adjective, or is there a fundamental, underlying difference between the two? How do you decide if you are rebelling, or beginning a revolution? If you are an emperor, how would you portray such an insurgency? To the ruling faction, is there a difference, or is the only distinction in the eyes of the opposition?" She asked, smiling quietly at each of the students. "These are difficult questions, and I do not expect you to have conclusive answers already prepared."

"Now, how is the battle fought?" More handouts were passed around the class. "Guerilla warfare, the army, irregular soldiers, special forces, spies, propagandists, strategists, tacticians, all of these people are employed by both sides of a revolt. You don’t just need to win a fight on a physical battlefield, half the battle in a revolution is spiritual. You need to win the hearts and minds of the people. No matter which side you’re on, if you do not gain the support of public, you will never win. Never. You might win a reprieve today, or tomorrow, or for a week or a year or ten years, or ten thousand years, but you. Will. Lose."

"As the ruler of a country, what would you do when faced with a revolution? Don’t say 'negotiate', or 'listen to their grievances,' because realistically that is not what’s going to happen," she said, stalking down the rows of desks. "You are the God King of the Universe, born, bred, and trained to the position, and you have some nobody telling you that you’re not doing your job properly? Are you actually going to listen to these people? No, you are not."

"Remember – sometimes a failed revolution can do just as much good as a successful one, if you play your cards right. However, is a dead revolutionary really a successful one, even if his or her cause succeeds?" Ghanima leaned back against her desk, neon eyes swirling. "I will leave that up for you to decide."

[OOC: ~~Wait for the~~ OCD ~~to go~~ up, ~~before you~~ go have your fun!]

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Reno had to suppress a snort at that.

"You weren't causin' a scene, nah. If anyone was causin' the scene that day, it was me, beatin' on a freakin' god with a metal stick."

Reno fully admitted that it would have been stupid. Stupid, if it hadn't accomplished exactly what it was supposed to.

"Was a relief when you started talkin'. More a relief when you started talkin' back to me."

Edited 2008-06-26 05:48 (UTC)

"I thought I was ... back at the asylum," she said softly. "Half the time I saw nightmares, and half the time I saw myself, frozen in place. Having never been free at all."

"Well, I, for one, am damn glad you got out in the first place," Reno replied, his own voice taking on a more gentle sort of tone. "Fandom is freakin' weird, but it's kinda..."

He had to pause to consider.

"A buddy of mine and me, we got this theory. That everyone who came here doesn't belong nowhere else, you know? So this place kinda exists to be home, yo. And maybe you hate it at first, but a lotta people who come here are kinda broken to start, too."

He shrugged a little.

"If nothin' else, Fandom sure does a good job helpin' people put the busted pieces back together. I hope it does the same for you, Alice." Another pause. "You're a good kid."

She was.

"I never hated it," Alice said, smiling a bit softly. "That much fits, that I had nowhere else to go. I ... have been adjusting slowly, I think, and it's been ... difficult at times? I don't know a lot of what goes on, or what anyone means, and I worry about things like the boy who can set himself on fire. But this is miles better than the asylum, and people here ... are astonishing."

She bit her lip before adding, "I ought to apologize, for calling you a Card Guard. Except that somehow, you still feel like one, but ... in a way that it isn't something horrible. As though you're a protector of Her Majesty's, not a mindless minion I had to slaughter along the way. It seems ... almost noble, like that."

Once again, Reno had to suppress a snort, but this time it was for a slightly different reason.

"Noble? Now there's a word I ain't never heard anyone put anywhere near to me before," he mused. "You call me whatever you wanna, Alice. Card Guard, Turk, whatever feels right. I been called plenty that was worse, anyhow."

"You protected me," she said softly. "Sworn knight sounds far better than Card Guard. I thank you, humbly. What is a Turk? I'm not familiar with that term."

"Turk's the name of my job," he answered, squaring his shoulders slightly. The way she kept talking, it almost made him feel like being a Turk was damn near heroic, even. "Doin' what I do back where I'm from. Mostly, it's-"

Reno was going to say 'dirty work.'

But it hadn't been, really. Not since ShinRa collapsed.

"-bodyguard work, yo. And you're new here. Protectin' the newbies is what I do."

That was more like it.

Mad Kings and Queens [Wednesday, June 26th, 2nd Period]

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