Magical Ethics: Week 3, Period 1

[justagalegirl.livejournal.com]

"Good to see you all didn't freeze to death" was the greeting from Alysha as the bell rang for the start of the class. She had spent the weekend being really freaking annoyed that charms couldn't get the stove working again, and she hadn't been able to bake.  The pies coming through from her aunties had been charmed up the wazoo, but she'd eaten 'em anyway and then gotten an enormous urge to call each and every auntie.  Too bad her phone didn't run out of charge.

"Today we're talking about restrictions on power usage," she said after checking who was there.  "Sometimes it seems stupid, you won't hurt anyone or use your powers for darkness, but maybe others will and suddenly there's a whole set of rules.  Sometimes they're imposed by the government if you're in the type of country that acknowledges power usage, sometimes you're forced to hide any extra abilities you have because other people might feel threatened.  It happens, and probably all of you have experienced some version of it."

"For instance, my family's rituals are always held in a particular part of the forest that is easily defensible by those not taking part in the circle.  It's a mild restriction, but one my aunties impose on the family because outsiders don't know how to channel the type of power that was raised in ritual and really really didn't know how to handle the side effects.  But also because too many outsiders come through and see parts of the ritual, they start to wonder what else might be going on."  After they got done screwing their brain out with anything that moved. "And people poking their noses in can cause problems.  On a heavier note, my family doesn't tolerate those who raise and hold power.  We believe power is meant to be channeled and holding it leads corruption and evil."  She shrugged.  "Again, a restriction but one we place on others and take responsibility for enforcing."

"So what I want you to discuss today is what restrictions have you experienced - or know about if you don't use magic or other powers -, if you feel they're valid, and what type of limits you think should be placed on people who can do 'extra' things whether it's magic, super abilities, telepathy, or anything else you can think of."

Comments

Sign in [1-19]

[justagalegirl.livejournal.com]

Like you don't have any boundaries at all.

Re: Sign in [1-19]

[trigons_child]

Raven

Listen to the Lecture [1-19]

[justagalegirl.livejournal.com]

Take notes, pass notes, chat. Just be aware that Alysha's totally paying attention to the last.

Re: Listen to the Lecture [1-19]

[trigons_child]

Restrictions on her gifts were something Raven was very familiar with, though she'd for the most part stopped wavering on whether she should experience emotions of her own or not. Mostly.

Re: Listen to the Lecture [1-19]

[glacial_queen]

Karla took notes, though more about her classmates' restrictions than anything else. It was just so weird listening to people coming from a world where people who used magic weren't the dominant group.

Re: Listen to the Lecture [1-19]

[puppy_fair]

If Zack had any restrictions on him at all, they were there because he had decided they ought to be, and so he spent the lecture listening thoughtfully and trying to think up examples that he'd seen with other people, instead.

Re: Listen to the Lecture [1-19]

[walks-two-paths.livejournal.com]

Savannah was talking notes on the lecture.

Re: Listen to the Lecture [1-19]

[life_inshadow]

Tara was interested and took notes as she listened. She knew she believed in more restricted use of magic than a lot of the others in the Reserves did.

She was also curious about what Professor Gale meant by "holding" power.

Re: Listen to the Lecture [1-19]

[anarchist-queen.livejournal.com]

Leda was wearing large dark glasses and a neutral expression. And the way she was sitting, she could have been asleep. She's not but you'd never know that to look at her.

Re: Listen to the Lecture [1-19]

[oops-mbad.livejournal.com]

Diana was pretty sure other people followed restrictions. She was still working on that.

Re: Listen to the Lecture [1-19]

[wantstodirect]

"The only restrictions I have are the ones I put on myself," Tony said. "There's no one back home to make rules for magic. There's a few people that'll step in if things get out of control, though."

Discussion [1-19]

[justagalegirl.livejournal.com]

"So what I want you to discuss today is what restrictions have you experienced - or know about if you don't use magic or other powers, if you feel they're valid, and what type of limits you think should be placed on people who can do 'extra' things whether it's magic, super abilities, telepathy, or anything else you can think of."

Any questions or clarifications go here. Do make the threads messy. Disagreement and discussion is how this one's going to work.

Re: Discussion [1-19]

[trigons_child]

"I was taught to deny my emotions all my life," Raven said softly. "But to be an empath and to feel the emotions of those around me but not be allowed to experience those of my own was almost like torture. Since coming to Fandom I have thrown off that restriction and begun to allow myself to have my own feelings. It had been feared that my emotions would somehow twist my gifts and cause me to misuse them, and while I have made mistakes, I do not think it is entirely a bad thing for me to express my emotions."

Re: Discussion [1-19]

[glacial_queen]

Karla just shook her head. "I've never had restrictions placed on my Craft, not like the kind you're talking about. There are things I should not do out of moral reasons, but it's not things I shouldn't do with Craft, it's just things I shouldn't do. Murdering an infant, for example, whether I do it with or without Craft isn't really an issue. But that's because, in my world, the Blood are the rulers and the caretakers of the land. So there's no real reason to hide it or to limit our usage, because everyone knows that it exists."

She drummed her fingers on her desk. "If I had to come up with something, it's the restriction against going inside someone's inner barriers without their permission. Consent in a huge deal for us, whether we're talking Craft or simply day-to-day living."

Re: Discussion [1-19]

[life_inshadow]

"Magic at home is secret," Tara ventured. "So I was never allowed to practice in front of anybody. That, uh ... didn't really last here."

"I guess one restriction I think should exist is not using magic in a way that could hurt other people unless you have no other choice. Like -- say you can teleport people. It's okay to teleport them out of the path of a train, but it's another to teleport them out of your way at the supermarket, right?"

Re: Discussion [1-19]

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"There's restrictions in Tortall on some kinds of magic or magic items that can't be used unless the magistrate approves it," Beka said. "If they could cause harm without the supervision. You're not supposed to put magic on anyone else without their permission, but like all rules that does get broken."

Re: Discussion [1-19]

[intraspective]

Ino was just going to frown thoughtfully.

"It... really depends on where you are in my world--in some places just being born with them is a death sentence. In other places they're allowed to flourish--it ain't a difference of what those powers are, either. Being born with a bloodline that let's you heal is treated same as one that can kill."

Re: Discussion [1-19]

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"I've always placed my own restrictions on myself," Sookie said softly. "I'm telepathic, and I don't usually want to know what's inside anyone else's head. I've heard way too many secrets as it is, and not a one of them's done me a bit of good. So nine out of ten times, I've got mental shields up. But I know y'all have to take my word for it that I'm not reading everyone's minds right now, and if there was another way to restrict me, I'd welcome it. As far as telepaths and psychics and all go, really, you have to trust that we're not playing in your heads the whole time we're talking to you or looking at you. I don't know how else to restrict us."

Re: Discussion [1-19]

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

"There's no reason why magic users shouldn't be held to the same standard as non-magic users when it comes to their abilities," Edmund said, trying to word his response carefully. "Your surroundings, whether it's the shared environment or the people in it, should be treated with respect."

Re: Discussion [1-19]

[anarchist-queen.livejournal.com]

"Last semester my parents had a geas on me so I could only use magic to defend myself or others. Or in practice for that sort of thing." Leda said. With those dark glasses on she still looked like she could be sleeping. "And in Bordertown there's the general restriction that the more complicated a spell is, the less likely it is to work properly. Or predictably."

Re: Discussion [1-19]

[oops-mbad.livejournal.com]

"Well, my powers are very balance based. So for every rule I break, the Other Side gets to break a rule. And that's Bad." Yes, you can hear the capitalization. "Plus, I'm not supposed to torment the fire fighters any more."

Re: Discussion [1-19]

[elephantgadget.livejournal.com]

"No one ever placed any restrictions on me," Helen said. "But I do feel that one should be careful how one uses them if they will affect other people."

Talk to the TAs [1-19]

[justagalegirl.livejournal.com]

If they're there and ping in.

Re: Talk to the TAs [1-19]

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

Edmund was present and accounted for, though his metaphorical feathers became increasingly ruffled as the class discussion went on.

Talk to Alysha [1-19]

[justagalegirl.livejournal.com]

Who is there before and after class.

Also she has pie which will probably be shared.

OOC [1-19]

[justagalegirl.livejournal.com]

No ending of the world before I get to go to Vancouver!

Re: OOC [1-19]

[trigons_child]

Can we end it while you're in Vancouver then?