Defending Yourself Against Magic | Tuesday, 4th period

[nuclear_snide]

The Danger Shop this week was simulating a glade in a forest, bright sunlight streaming down on a perfectly smooth stone porch. "Welcome to the place with the good weather," Bob greeted the students. Not that cold or rain or snow bothered him at all, except in principle. "I've left out the bugs and mud." You're welcome, students.

"We've been talking about how best to confront someone throwing magic around," he continued. "We'll come back to it, I'm sure, but honestly the best way to win is not to fight." No, he didn't get that from an 80s movie, shut up. He shrugged. "If you fight, there's always a chance you could lose.

"Of course, the first step to avoiding a fight is seeing it coming. The first step to dealing with any sort of magic is knowing it's there." He stopped himself and looked thoughtful for a moment. "First step to anything, really, I suppose." He waved that off. "Now, some of you will probably find it easier than others. You'll probably find different types of magic easier or harder to detect. We're going to do ( two things )

Basic Mis-Intelligence [Monday, Period 2]

[doubleohblonde]

Today the Danger Shop theatre resembled nothing so much as a wood panelled briefing room, albeit one with incongruously comfortable seating.

"Good morning," Bond greeted his students. "I'm afraid I have more homework for you this week, as today we'll be watching the first few episodes of a mini-series adaptation of one of John le Carre's spy novels and I'd like you to find time to finish watching it outside of class."

"Now, while le Carre's novels and the James Bund series both draw inspiration from the same branch of the British Secret Service, Le Carre's works and accordingly this adaptation are much more cynical and morally ambiguous in tone than Bund, which by this point in time especially had begun to get rather silly."

[Class Roster]

How to Develop a Personal Style [Tuesday]

[begmetwice.livejournal.com]

"Good morning!" Irene sing-songed at the class, who was meeting today in their regular classroom. And, thankfully for everyone (and her ongoing sanity), their teacher had reverted back to her usual level of formality -- and even surpassed herself, some. Irene was wearing a fairly simple pencil skirt today, with an Armani blazer and -- most importantly -- a pale blue Ferragamo necktie. Not her usual at all, still, but at least it brought out her eyes nicely?

"Today," she said, smiling a little, "we're going to discuss a rather particular area of fashion -- something that I'd think many of you would argue that you might not ever need, but it's still a very, very useful skill to have under your belt."

She reached down onto the table and held up a few of the neatly-arranged ties. "There are several ways to knot a necktie -- Windsor knots are very popular, as are Half-Windsors," she said, demonstrating slowly how the knot worked on either. "As well as the less-common Pratt and Four-in-Hand methods. And that's not even tackling bowties, which take a little longer." And if Irene was a little unhappy with how floppy and sad her knotted bowtie turned out when she demonstrated -- well, she wasn't going to come right out and admit it. "Now, these are more modern variants," she added, glancing at Cosette and Anna omg if they were there no modding don't worry, "but we do still keep the cravat alive and well, too, and if you're feeling ambitious, you're welcome to give knotting one of those up a shot, too."

"Even if you don't think you'll ever have to wear a tie," Irene added, moving on from the sad bowtie, "it's enormously useful to know how to do. Maybe you'll have a partner who wears them regularly, and tying their ties for them becomes an adorable part of your morning routine. Perhaps you'll find yourself maid of honor or best man at a wedding where the groomsmen's ties keep coming undone -- and before you say it, I don't even want to know about the existence of clip-on neckties and the like. We don't exercise such laziness in my classroom, kiddos. We do it right, or not at all, or else what is the point?"

She clapped her hands together briskly. "I'd like you to try to tie one on yourself following the directions -- I've laid them out in print in case you weren't transcribing my every word, darlings, don't worry -- and then if you've extra time, feel free to try tying them on someone else. It's a little tricky, either way."

Ethics, Tuesday, January 27, 2015, 2nd period

[sith_happened]

The desks had been shoved to either side of the room and a large white strip of tape had been placed down the center. Looked like it was an interactive class activity today, kids!

"Please line up along the line," Anakin said, then waited for the students to comply before continuing. "There's a philosopher from this world named John Rawls who believes that most principles of justice are things everyone would accept and agree to from a fair position. In Fandom especially, we are coming from a variety of cultures and traditions to examine ethical dilemmas, and so the idea of a 'fair position' is a bit of a moving target. The choice that might be right for you might be completely contrary to my own life experiences, but that will not make your point of view less valid."

"And so, what is a fair position?" Obi-Wan said. "This philosopher held his own ideas: he believed in a 'veil of ignorance' we had to assume, to forget the privileges and the responsibilities of our place in history." He glanced towards Anakin. "We cannot - nor would it be ethical if we could - simply put this veil on you, but we can knock you all down to the same level, so to speak."

He gestured towards the line on the floor.

"This is our veil; it is where we all begin, before circumstance steps in. Whatever your position in life - wealth, knowledge, midichlorian levels..." Hi, Anakin, "On this line, you have none. And then we begin our count."

Anakin rolled his eyes at the midichlorians and added, "Or your age or Inner Rim accent. We'll ask ten questions, see where you end up ahead or behind the line, and then we'll discuss how your perception on the world affects your reactions to things."

Like how being a slave for almost a decade could leave you with a giant, giant chip on your shoulder, for instance.

Obi-Wan looked faintly amused. "Perhaps we should join them," he said.

Anakin arched up an eyebrow. "I'm up for it if you are."

"It would be setting a good example."

And with that, Obi-Wan strode forward until he was standing on the line.