fandomhigh | So You Say You Want a Revolution: Week 11, Period 3

This Wednesday much better than last Wednesday. Or at least the honesty spell had worn off and there wasn't going to be another fight in Aly's class so she was assuming this was a much better day. Also she had coffee, and no, she wasn't sharing.

"Morning, everyone," she said once the class was assembled. "I'm guessing you're probably all in better moods than last week? If not, sorry, we're not fighting anything today. Instead we're going to talk about conflict resolution."

She glanced around the class, just a bit amused by the topic. Teachers had to entertain themselves somehow, right? "We've talked about communication before - so many times that you almost might think it's one of the main topics in this class. And you almost might be right. Ninety percent of a revolution is information. Gathering information, disseminating information, figuring out what your new facts mean to your cause, arguing over whose interpretation is correct, making alliances with people who might hate you...but also could be on your side. That last one is what we're going to look at today."

"So here we go, how do you talk to someone who doesn't like you? Or how do you get someone you don't like to ally with you? Sure, saving them from a pit of poisonous snakes works really well in the stories. And if you don't have time for a nice heart-to-heart discussion, setting them up to be in danger and then swinging in to rescue them can work out too. Just don't let 'em know you set them up. Betrayal's never a fun thing to explain."

Aly flipped the whiteboard over to show the inevitable list. "Here we are," she said easily. "First off, remember everything we've talked about in past classes. Sometimes flirting can help, sometimes making friends can help, it's all interconnected."

She went through the list, explaining the points and giving examples.

Don't avoid discussing conflict.
Realise that emotions are going to be involved
Make sure to listen to what the other person wants as well as what he says
Control your anger
Focus on mutually beneficial outcomes
Look for solutions

Remain alert and calm. By staying calm, you can accurately read and interpret verbal and nonverbal communication.
Control your emotions and behavior. This is all about being able to react without flipping out.
Be aware of differences. Acknowledging differences can be the first step in naming the problem.

Listen for what is felt as well as said. When we listen we connect more deeply to our own needs and emotions, and to those of other people. Listening in this way also strengthens us, informs us, and makes it easier for others to hear us.
Make conflict resolution the priority rather than winning or "being Right". Maintaining and strengthening the relationship, rather than “winning” the argument, should always be your first priority.
Focus on the present. Rather than looking to the past and assigning blame, focus on what you can do in the here-and-now to solve the problem.
Pick your battles. If you're going to fight, make sure it's worth the time and resources.
Be willing to forgive. Punishing others doesn't compensate you for your losses.
Know when to let something go. There's nothing wrong with agreeing to disagree if the result isn't important.

Glancing around the class, Aly looked for confused or vacant faces. "Anyone have questions? Want to ask why we care? Why we don't just kick whoever's ass until they have to agree? Let's hear 'em." After any questions were answered, she gave the assignment. "You guys have two choices what you want to do today. Either talk about a time when you had an interpersonal conflict and didn't handle it well - and how you might've done it better. Or if you want to have a little more fun, let's go with it. Pick a VERBAL fight with someone in class - and then try to get 'em on your side."

"Oh yeah, and Nico and Percy ~~if they are there~~, I'd like to see you both after class."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Find a partner and either talk about a time when you could've done a better job handling a conflict OR pick a fight and then solve it.

Have fun with it zomg.

Ino glanced around alertly, wondering if anyone would dare to pick a fight with her.

... she, personally, thought most people who knew her wouldn't dare. Which was a shame, but well, she could talk about past examples too.

That was just less entertaining for her.

Most, but not all.

"I don't suppose you have any particular topic you'd like to disagree about?" Elphaba asked Ino, a little smirk on her face.

Oh, excellent!

Ino beamed sunnily at her. "We could fight over how much time of Zack's we each take--you're his wee sibling, I'm his girlfriend. It'd be plausible for real if we weren't friends already."

It was logical, truly. In her head.

"Are you jealous of the time we spend together?" Elphaba said, just jumping straight in. "Because that's foolish. You don't own him, after all, he's free to spend time with me if he chooses, and he does choose that."

"He probably just feels like he has to," she said snidely. "After all, you're kinda pathetic, aren't you? The way you follow him around like a little lost puppy. I was there first. Back off and show some consideration for that fact."

"Follow him around?" Elphaba said, raising both eyebrows. "Now you're just making things up. I don't follow him anywhere. I'd get exhausted if I tried that. He's got more than enough time and energy for both of us, so I don't see why you can't share."

She was trying really hard not to smirk.

Considering Percy had gotten into a fight last week, he wondered if he'd be excused from this activity. Probably not so he was there, waiting for a partner and readying some verbal insults.

What was that? An assignment where he was supposed to yell at Percy? It was almost too good to be true.

"Hey there troublemaker," he said, so very grateful that that title wasn't going to him. "How's it going?"

"It's fine," Percy said, raising an eyebrow at Jason but saying nothing else. "How's it going with you?"

"I'm...doing pretty well, actually," Jason said with a smirk. It had been a good week so far, thanks to Nico.

"Congratulations," Percy said, giving Jason a sarcastic and slow round of applause. "You want a cookie?"

They were supposed to be fighting, right?

"Well, if you're going to give me a cookie for being right, sure," Jason said, smirking even more.

"Yeah, you're not getting a cookie and how the heck do you get that you were right?" Percy wondered, raising an eyebrow. "It wasn't a right or wrong question, face stealer."

"Word is you don't hate Luke anymore," Jason said. "That you finally realized that maybe he's not such a bad guy." That might have been putting it mildly, but Jason so wasn't doing a great deal of thinking about what kind of things Luke and Percy might be up to.

"Are you seriously wanting to talk about this?" Percy asked, making a face. "That's not your business, one way or another. What I do with Luke is my business, hate or not."

"I thought it might piss you off to know that I know something's up between the two of you," Jason explained. "Or, I hoped it would, at least."

Luke would have been fine with participating in either part of the assignment. He could use the practice for fighting and he didn't really mind sharing about some mistakes he's made.

It's not like the scar on his face wasn't a big sign indicating that he had handled a conflict poorly before.

Cloud supposed that no matter who he ended up choosing would be better than him. So hey, why not the former roommate?

"Something tells me you are good at this kind of things." Scar and everything considered, really.

"Which things?" Luke asked. "Getting into fights or handling said fights poorly?"

Cloud blinked. "Handling fights? Not poorly, by the way. Although I'd suppose you can't learn to do something without making mistakes, too."

So You Say You Want a Revolution: Week 11, Period 3

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