fandomhigh | Public Speaking, June 12th, Period 4

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public speaking

Public Speaking, June 12th, Period 4

There were no cookies this week.

And Glinda looked kind of upset.

"Since none of you gave me speech topics, I am very much looking forward to today," she said, not sounding ~~at all like Minsc, shush~~ impressed. "Since your rough drafts are due as of right now."

She clapped her hands. "Pair up among yourselves and read through them! Make sure you give honest critiques! Anyone goofing off can expect to speak to me in my office! Make it happen!"

[OCD ~~up shortly~~ is now up. Oh yes, you are all on Glinda's bad side. Ping me in the OOC thread if you're willing to have your character serve a detention with her. Also, SP after noon EST to be expected please, as my parents are visiting for the day.]

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Blair had a speech on the horrors of drug addiction when it happened to those still in their teens. Females still in their teens. Female blondes, even.

Liir had written up something for class, of course, specifically a discussion of the problems inherent in dehumanizing one's enemies. There were some bullet points on tik-toks and machines that mimic human beings, as well as the societal problems it causes, the continual universal blame-shifting it allows for.

It wasn't bad, really, but delivering it would probably be the hardest part.

"Care to team up?"

"Considering the options, sure," Blair replied.

He looked over at her pages.

"So... what do you have for today?"

"A sad and horrible tale based upon personal observation," Blair said, as she handed her pages over. "You?"

"Something not all that different, though perhaps on a larger scale."

He peered at his own paper.

"Do you think it's fair that I used a history text from five hundred years or so into my world's future for some of my ideas?"

"There's no rule against it," Blair said. Unless it made Liir's work look better than hers. Then it wouldn't do.

Better or worse was an interesting question. He shared a world with the professor, after all, which meant she'd either be more nitpicky with him, or connect with his material better.

Liir was very aware of this and had stayed away from more... incendiary topics.

"Well, it just supported my arguments and I'm not using anything written after my period, so hopefully she won't mind."

He sighed.

"Should we just switch papers?"

"May as well," Blair said. "Though it seems silly to write about things in a speaking workshop."

He held out his papers, which were in a neat, if small-lettered, hand. There was plenty of material, though some of the bullet points probably didn't translate well to a non-Ozian. He hadn't realized they'd be checking each other's work.

His general point seemed to be that the dehumanization of enemies created a laziness and ignorance of a society's own faults, which ultimately would lead to it's decay and downfall.

Blair read it over. "Are you trying to say that by dehumanizing our enemies we blind ourselves to their real weaknesses?"

Blair might have been putting her own spin on Liir's comments.

He nodded. That was it exactly.

"And more forgiving of our own sins. Ultimately, even if there was no real enemy, one is created."

"There are always enemies," Blair told him. This she was an expert in. "They make themselves when they see your success."

"Then I have a remarkable number of enemies for a failure," he noted to himself in a low mutter.

"Clearly you have something they want," Blair told him.

"Or I am something inconvenient to them. It was just a joke," he said with a shrug.

"Even still," Blair said, waving it off. "You existing in some way prevents them from having what they want. Success comes from destroying them before they destroy you."

He looked down at her paper, ducking his head a little as he read through her notes.

"It looks all right to me. Not that I'm an expert. Though..."

He glanced up through unruly hair to peer at her thoughtfully.

"Is this moralizing or preventative in nature?"

"I feel it can be both," Blair replied.

One eyebrow quirked.

"Shame's a terrible way to teach someone."

"Clearly you've never used it to your advantage," Blair said.

"No, I've just had it used on me. And I can tell you it's only effective for a limited amount of time."

"What would you recommend instead?" Blair asked.

He peered at her papers for a moment before quirking his lips.

...if she was expecting 'empathy' or 'sympathy', she was talking to the wrong person.

"Appeal to greed. Personal interest. Drugs are expensive, and so are all the things that they come with. Addicts don't live well, or long, and while such arguments wouldn't work on someone already addicted, it's a good enough motivation for someone who's not yet on the path. Hearth, home, and comfort. Anyone can get behind those."

Huh. Maybe Blair was correct in not entirely loathing Liir on sight. "At the moment I confess I hold no hopes for converting an addict. Merely... making sure they're viewed in the proper light."

In other words, making Serena look as bad as humanly possible.

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