Cons & Confidence Men: How Not to Get Taken, Class 1

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

The Danger Shop had been turned into small bar, with couches and chairs around a few small coffee tables. Handouts with biographies of the confidence people mentioned during the class were there to be taken. Drinks were at the bar, and bowls of chips and plates of appetizers laid out for the students. Sophie might have been taking her cue from play practices, and the feeding of actors.

"Good afternoon, and welcome to Cons & Confidence, or How Not to Get Taken. For those of you who haven't met me before, I'm Sophie Devereaux. Feel free to call me Sophie or Ms. Devereaux. This class is directed at exploring the most common confidence games in this world, and how to avoid becoming a victim of a confidence game. Some games are so common that they’re legend-- selling the Brooklyn Bridge, for instance." Sophie smiled in amusement. "George Parker sold the Brooklyn Bridge multiple times over 90 years ago-- a game that would be impossible these days, because it is so well-known. Yet variations on con games all follow certain themes. There’s axioms on caveat emptor that go back as far as writing."

Sophie paused. "However, it’s not true you can’t cheat an honest man. Confidence games don’t depend on the victim’s greed, as you might have heard. They depend on people’s wish to believe. Believe in what, precisely? Well, Princess Caraboo, aka Mary Ann Baker, perpetrated a hoax whereby she was mistaken for royalty for several months-- even though she was not speaking any ‘known’ language to make that kind of claim-- based on a bored populace’s wish to believe that someone exotic and interesting was visiting their rather boring community. P.T. Barnum skillfully entertained and 'humbugged' audiences who were looking for new experiences, even as he debunked spiritualist frauds himself. And forensic scientist Arthur Conan Doyle wanted to believe in fairies-- enough to give his official support to some trick photography perpetrated by a 16-year-old and 10-year-old. The people involved gave their money, their time, and their trust to the endeavours of liars and thieves."

"We’ll also explore why people become con artists. Is it actually greed? There’s easier ways to get money. Why do you think? Is it laziness? Some cons are so elaborate that they require years of research to pull off. What’s the appeal?" She smiled. "Why would you perpetrate a con?"

"Now. Please introduce yourselves-- giving us a name we can call you, even if it’s not your own-- and explain who you would choose to con in this classroom, and why?"

"And last... what is it you want to believe? What would you be willing to spend money, time, and confidence on, to achieve? What dream could someone subvert? Think about it, even if you don’t feel comfortable sharing it with the class."

Class Roster & Syllabus [OCD up, and have at it.]

Comments

Sign in (7/9)

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

With your most trustworthy face.

Re: Sign in (7/9)

[exspeedydotcom]

Roy Harper

Re: Sign in (7/9)

[theotherpeter.livejournal.com]

Peter Bishop

Re: Sign in (7/9)

[icecoldfrost]

Emma Frost

Listen to the lecture

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

Have some caviar and shrimp puffs, consider what you could get conned for, chat a little, read the handout.

Re: Listen to the lecture

[icecoldfrost]

Emma was reflecting that it would be very, very hard to con her while enjoying the caviar. And how easy it would be for her to con other people, even without her powers.

Re: Listen to the lecture

[mathletenomore.livejournal.com]

Lindsay snagged a shrimp puff and then read over the handout. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was certain she could probably be easily conned.

Re: Listen to the lecture

[glacial_queen]

This class was not one that played to her strengths. On the one hand, Karla was a good actress, yes, and more than a little devious. On the other, however, she was also bitingly honest sometimes and the 'Dite debacle had shown just how unsuited to subterfuge she was.

Munching on the snacks, Karla settled in to ponder Sophie's questions.

Re: Listen to the lecture

[ostianbelle.livejournal.com]

The class had food! She was beginning to like this class even though she was a little confused about what the class was really about.

Introduce yourself!

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

Just be aware that Sophie will call you whatever name you choose for the rest of this session.

[And feel free to chat back-and-forth here, commenting on your con-victim choices. ]

Re: Introduce yourself!

[icecoldfrost]

"Why would I perpetrate a con? Out of necessity, I suppose, or boredom." With Emma, they were often the same thing. "And if I was bored, I might decide to try and con the whole class, simply out of spite."

No, she hadn't given a name, or what she wanted to believe. Emma had run enough cons to know you never gave a name unless directly asked, and she wasn't going to give her classmates free ammunition. They would have to work for it.

Re: Introduce yourself!

[glacial_queen]

Karla settled next to Emma and sighed. "Should I just give up now?" she teased.

Re: Introduce yourself!

[icecoldfrost]

Emma blinked at Karla, her wide blue eyes totally innocent. "Would I ever try to con you, darling?"

The answer was yes, Karla. In case you were unsure.

Re: Introduce yourself!

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"Financial necessity, or some other necessity?" Sophie questioned her, mouth curling in a smile at Emma's refusal to give a name. "And what kind of con would you run on the class?"

Re: Introduce yourself!

[icecoldfrost]

"Financial, or perhaps time sensitive," she mused aloud. "Or a potential business dealing of dubious legality, to which I ought not have my family name attached."

"As for what I would do to the class..." Emma tapped her chin in thought before lighting up. "I suppose I shall try and convince all of you that I'm utterly harmless. Oh. Wait."

Re: Introduce yourself!

[ostianbelle.livejournal.com]

"Hi, I'm Asuna Kagurazaka," she waved her hand a little and then looked thoughtful. "And I'd like to be called Asuna since 'Kagurazaka' is a little long to call me by but I'll still answer to it if you insist."

Asuna scratched her head, "I don't have much ambition, I would like to earn a lot of money though but that's only to pay back my debt to the people who helped me."

Re: Introduce yourself!

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"Welcome, Asuna. And repaying a debt is an admirable goal," Sophie said, tilting her head to consider the girl. "Do you have a particular area of expertise? Some uncommon or little-known hobby, something that the general public is ignorant of? That could be a way to start."

Re: Introduce yourself!

[ostianbelle.livejournal.com]

Asuna thought about it and thought about it and... "Does owning a magic card that turns into a weapon count?"

Re: Introduce yourself!

[exspeedydotcom]

"Hi, I'm Roy, and...if I tell you who I'd try to con, that ruins it, doesn't it?" he asked, flashing Sophie a grin.

He guessed he was sort of running a con on them all already, what with the secret identity. But he'd quit, so that totally didn't count, right?

Re: Introduce yourself!

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

"Excellent point," Sophie said, beaming back. "Having said that, what kind of confidence game would you feel confident running on someone?"

Why would you con?

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

How badly do you need money for the IRS? Or do you have other reasons?

[again, cross-chat is encouraged.]

Talk to the TA

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

She may not talk back, though.

Re: Talk to the TA

[abetterthief.livejournal.com]

Parker wasn't quite sure why Sophie had made her TA again -- she was really really bad at the con. She much preferred sneaking in, grabbing stuff and sneaking back out.

But...she wasn't about to turn down the position, not when Sophie offered the same terms as last time.

She just hoped no one expected her to be actually knowledgable about the subject.

Talk to Sophie

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

Who's looking glad to be back.

OOC

[magdaofslovenia.livejournal.com]

And as per usual, I'm back online very early in the AM, and then after 7PM EST.

Please feel free to discuss everything in each thread-- Sophie isn't a stickler for classroom protocol.