Heroes v Villains | Period 1 | Wednesday | July 7

[flipped-god-off.livejournal.com]

Loki was waiting for the students to file into the classroom, feet up on the desk and magazine opened on his lap. When they got there, they got there and he'd start class whenever he damn well pleased. They could wait and sit and stare at him for a bit. Eventually, he did get up and smiled at the familiar and unfamiliar places.

"Well, it looks like we're all here. Good. Welcome to Heroes v Villains. I'm Loki and I have a lot of fucking experience with both heroes and villains and all iterations you can think of. No, I'm not going to give you my fucking resume. You'll just have to trust me. I'm probably older than every single one of you and I've seen more in my lifetime than any of you have. It's just a thing. The purpose of this class, in case you hadn't guessed, isn't to talk about fairy fucking tales or movies or shit like that. If you think you know what a hero is, I'm here to fucking tell you you're wrong. If you think you know what a villain is, I'm here to tell you, once again, you're wrong. It's never that fucking clear cut. You never know all the facts and these fucking labels are often given willy fucking nilly without any thought to them."

He stopped for a minute and glanced out at the class, trying to predict who he thought would actually be able to think outside the box and who would have a more difficult time. "Oftentimes, these labels are given to people because of one fucking thing they do. One fucking thing. Someone might run into a fire, save a kid but then they go home and beat the shit out of their wife. A dictator, someone who took power by force, might send his military into a war they can't fucking win, killing thousands, but the fact that he's both made economic and social strides in his homeland is overlooked. It's never fucking clear cut and no one seems to think it needs to be. Time to flip that on its head."

He paused and hopped up on his desk, smile wide and dangerous. He knew way too much about this subject. Way too much. "So, we'll start easy today before getting into the class. Introductions, of course. I want to know who the hell I'm talking to. So, name, age and your definition of both a hero and a villain. If you give me a dictionary definition, I'm gonna call you on it. I want to hear what you think a hero is and what you think a villain is. It'll give me a nice outline of what I need to talk about and who believes what. So, come on, go."

He went to point someone out to start them off before saying, "Oh, and I'll be choosing one of you to be my TA during this. Just whoever I want. Being a teacher is fucking fun that way. Now, go."

Comments

Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[flipped-god-off.livejournal.com]

Loki wants to know your name, age and your definitions of a hero and a villain!

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

Azula stood, this would be the first of many introductions. "I am Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, seventeen. In my opinion heroes and villains depend on who is writing the story."

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[flipped-god-off.livejournal.com]

"You're the one writing the story right now," Loki said, furrowing his brow at the answer. "You're not getting away with vague answers. What's your definition if you're the author?"

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[not_tylerdurden]

"Calvin, I'm seventeen, and my definition of a hero?" Calvin remembered that weird weekend earlier in the year he thought he was someone else. "Heroes are more likely to have stress ulcers?"

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[flipped-god-off.livejournal.com]

Loki hadn't exactly expected an answer like that so he thought he could be forgiven for the short laugh that slipped out.

"Why do you think that is?" he asked. "I agree with you, definitely, but why?"

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[onlykindofdead.livejournal.com]

"I'm Madison Avery," she said when it was her turn. "I'm seventeen and I guess my definition of a hero is someone who is willing to make sacrifices for the greater good and my definition of a villain is someone who thinks of themself first and everyone else second."

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[flipped-god-off.livejournal.com]

Loki nodded, labeling those definitions as something a majority of society would believe. Something niggled him about this particular student but he didn't let anything show. It was just one of those feelings. An angelic thing.

"So, would I be a villain if I stole some food from a local market because I was poor and starving?" he wondered, going for an obvious situation there to see what she'd say.

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[give-areason.livejournal.com]

"Rosalind," she said crisply. "Sixteen. Heroes are the ones the press idolizes. Villains are the ones the press sacrifices in order to make the heroes look better."

That was, of course, only one of the definitions that popped to mind immediately. She had others.

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[flipped-god-off.livejournal.com]

Loki raised an eyebrow at that. He hadn't predicted that someone would think of heroes and villains in terms of their press and not their accomplishments, evil or not.

"So, their accomplishments are only a means to an end?" Loki asked curiously. "A hero is really just some poor schmuck who does something good in the hopes of being idolized, not for the greater good?"

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"I'm Luke Castellan, I'm sixteen. I think a hero is someone who works to achieve an admirable goal that's for the greater good--" And, yes, Luke thought tearing down Olympus was an admirable goal. "--and a villain is someone who hurts and destroys for the sake of hurting."

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[flipped-god-off.livejournal.com]

That was another interesting definition. He'd detailed his definitions a little more clearer and thus, it made arguing with him a little more difficult. Still, Loki would try.

"Luke," he said, nodding at the boy. "What constitutes an admirable goal?"

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[icecoldfrost]

"Emma Frost, darlings, seventeen, and the hero is the one that feels the need for validation that what they're doing is right, while the people that get called the villains are the ones that just do what needs doing."

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[flipped-god-off.livejournal.com]

"Really?" Loki asked, raising an eyebrow at that cynical definition. Cynics were a favorite of his. "So, the people in the military, they're out there fighting wars for validation? They're considered heroes in some circles."

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

"Jacob Black, sixteen. A hero's someone who keeps people safe, a villain hurts them," he possibly had a simplistic view there. Whatever, it worked for him.

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[flipped-god-off.livejournal.com]

Loki raised an eyebrow at that simplistic and quaint view of people. "And a hero can never hurt people? What about hurting the villain? The villain has a family and they might not be evil people."

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[glacial_queen]

"Karla, I'm sixteen, and normally I'd just say that it's a matter of perception. One witch's hero is easily another witch's villain." Hobart, for example. She pretty much considered him the scum of the earth and felt bad about insulting scum so, but she knew there were people in Glacia who were thrilled with his changes. And the same went for Uncle Saetan--there were those people who used him name to frighten their children into going to bed or eating their vegetables.

"Or that a hero honors the ways of the Darkness and a villain doesn't, but that won't mean anything to anyone here." Sorry, Loki. Karla was slowly working toward a workable answer.

"I guess I'd have to say that someone who exploits the people, animals, or land under his control or protection is a villain, and someone who defends and protects the same is a hero. The male who saved a child may be a hero to that child and family, but is a villain to his wife and his own family. And since that villainy goes on much longer, I'd say he was a villain, even if most everyone else sees a hero."

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[flipped-god-off.livejournal.com]

Loki was just making a habit of raising eyebrows at people in this class. This was a definition he hadn't expected even if it'd taken Karla awhile to get there.

"We'll get into this in later classes but what about religion?" Loki asked, curious about her answer. "Religion divides even the most harmonious races. What if I, as a leader of the land, decided to rule that there was one true religion? Some people would love me, say I was protecting their beliefs but others would hate me. What would I be?"

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[furnaceface]

On the list of other things that Jono was too tired to care about? What people thought of him when it was his turn to introduce himself. Let them gawk at the naffin' telepath, today. He'd give them dirty looks right on back.

//Jonothon Starsmore, eighteen years old. And I've never really stopped to separate the heroes from the villains, honestly. There are people who do good things, and people who do bad things, and sometimes they do one or the other for all of the right or wrong reasons. People choose their heroes based on who looks good, it doesn't matter who th'hell is actually out there doing good. And now and again, they'll even get it right when they point a finger and call somebody else th'bad guy.//

Was somebody a little irritated after being attacked by Batman? Yes, yes he was. But his answer would have been the same if he'd been irritated by pretty much anything else, too.

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[flipped-god-off.livejournal.com]

"So, you're another guy that thinks society makes the heroes and villains and not those actually performing the tasks?" Loki asked, peering at Jono.

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[heromaniac]

Momoko smiled at the teacher. Maybe he was just having a bad eternity day?

"Momoko Akatsutsumi, 18! And a hero is someone who fights for Justice and Love and Peace, but especially someone who does their best to fight for and save the people they care about!"

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[flipped-god-off.livejournal.com]

"And that's it?" Loki asked, raising an eyebrow (again) at that definition. "They have to be fighters?"

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[dontvotemeout]

"I'm Jason Todd, I'm fifteen, and I think heroes are the ones who save people, and villains are the ones who hurt them." When you came from a place with superheroes, it was kind of cut and dry.

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[flipped-god-off.livejournal.com]

And Loki, of course, was going to try and make it not so cut and dry. "What if a heroes hurts someone? That automatically make them a villain?"

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"Squall Leonhart. Seventeen."

Squall shrugged. "There aren't any heroes or villains, just ordinary people. If you care about the things they do, talk about that instead of giving the people pointless labels."

Re: Class Activity | Introductions and Defintiions [HvV 07/07]

[flipped-god-off.livejournal.com]

"A very cynical viewpoint." But, Loki liked it. "Do you think we'll ever be able to stop the labels entirely?"