shiroi_tiger: (Sitting)
Nathan Algren ([personal profile] shiroi_tiger) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2009-01-21 09:01 pm
Entry tags:

American History, Period 2 01/22

When students filed into the Danger Shop, they would find themselves in the front room of a large colonial home. Algren, who was, yes, fully clothed thank you very much, seemed almost worryingly amused as he waited for everyone to settle in. He started speaking even as the students were sitting down and thawing out.

"Okay. Last week, we covered pretty much everyone who ever landed in America... Ever. This week, we're going to be nicer to you all. From there, history until about the mid-1770s can be summed up as follows: We didn't like Britain. They were kinda being overbearing jerks. So we wanted out. We fought. We got it. And somewhere in there, to cement our point, we wrote on a sheet of paper to prove that it was ours. It's a pretty important sheet of paper, which states right in the title what purpose it serves. It was the American Declaration of Independence, which was approved by Congress on July 4th, 1776."

Tyler was wearing a t-shirt. It didn't match the surroundings, but he was warm for the first time in a while and he meant to enjoy it. "The reason we're in the Danger Shop today," he contributed, "is so you can watch this lovely -- and completely historically accurate -- re-enactment of the decision to leave the writing of the Declaration to Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. He was young, 33, but he was the best writer in the group that summer. He also didn't manage to talk his way out of it."

He hit a button on the shop console, and five men in Colonial garb appeared in the midst of the students and started to sing.

When they were done and vanished again, Tyler began to read from a sheet of parchment. " 'When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.' That is what Mr. Jefferson wrote."

Algren, arms crossed over his chest, flashed a bit of a grin.

"You will each be given a printed copy of the Declaration of Independence to take home with you to read over the course of the week," he stated, walking across the room to a wooden chest and opening it up to reveal a heap of powdered wigs, enough for each person in the class to have one. "Your assignment today, however, is a more simple one. You are to each take a wig, to help you get into character, of course. We'll be writing our own Declaration of Independence, and you are to discuss as a class what points you would be certain to include."

"And speaking of in character," Tyler added, passing out a thick stack of handouts, "you should each pick one signer to represent. It's up to you whether you want to be John Hancock or Button Gwinnett, with one exception." A specific costume was plopped on the TA's desk. "Ino, you get to be Benjamin Franklin."

Tyler might have still been paying her back for the onsen message.

[OCD is up! Run wild!]

Re: Lecture [01/22]

[identity profile] sixstandingby.livejournal.com 2009-01-22 04:14 am (UTC)(link)
The singing was amusing but the wigs were...less than amusing. And ugly. Holy kriff, they were ugly.

Re: Lecture [01/22]

[identity profile] iruinenglish.livejournal.com 2009-01-22 02:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Buffy was looking and feeling more like herself today, which meant that the bandages were gone from her forehead, but the cut was still there, and the scrapes around her eyes were healing nicely. Still, she was a little self-conscious and wondering if people were going to stare, or whether it'd be more "That kind of thing happened to the other Buffies all the time!"

...Oh god, singing. And was he reading from parchment?

Re: Lecture [01/22]

[identity profile] not-a-mused.livejournal.com 2009-01-22 02:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Cal didn't want to be incredibly amused and entertained, but, for some reason, he couldn't really help it.

Re: Lecture [01/22]

[identity profile] death-of-hope.livejournal.com 2009-01-22 03:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Anemone was doing her best to ignore the wigs, the singing, and anything else that wasn't her sketchbook. It was the only way she'd make it through class without wanting to throttle Mr. Durden.

Re: Lecture [01/22]

[identity profile] thismaskiwear.livejournal.com 2009-01-22 03:52 pm (UTC)(link)
. . . oh, they had to be kidding.

Katchoo slumped lower and lower into her seat, her glare rapidly building in power until it could probably bore a hole straight through a mountainside should she spontaneously develop a superpower.

Which, it should be noted, it was better for everyone that she didn't.
carsexual: (last one standing (emo))

Re: Lecture [01/22]

[personal profile] carsexual 2009-01-22 05:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Sam was...pretty sure that scene wasn't how it had actually gone down. Unless Americans of 1776 had been way more fond of singing than they were at present.

Re: Lecture [01/22]

[identity profile] notyourpawn.livejournal.com 2009-01-22 07:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Alice was quite enjoying trying on the wigs. Perhaps far more than one should.
likethegun: (i'm laughing while looking down)

Re: Lecture [01/22]

[personal profile] likethegun 2009-01-23 12:47 am (UTC)(link)
Sam cracked up at the singing. The wigs? Not so much.