Ethics Class [Thursday, January 6, 1st period]

[sith_happened]

Anakin stalked through the classroom doorway precisely on time, his cloak swooping overdramatically in his wake. "I am Master Anakin Skywalker," he said as his eyes made contact with every student in the room, "and this is Ethics. Most teachers are spending this week making introductions. I do things slightly differently."

He began passing out a short story. "There's a very famous story on this world of the lady or the tiger. For those of you not from here, the short version is that there was a fictional king with his own sense of justice: instead of a court system, he had an arena with two doors. Behind one door was a beautiful woman, handpicked by the king. Behind the other was a tiger. If you chose the tiger, you were eaten and declared guilty. If you chose the lady, you were considered innocent and immediately married to the lady. The king didn't care about your previous marital status or sexual orientation, apparently."

He leaned back against his desk, though the posture of his back showed that he wasn't very comfortable with the idea of relaxing. "One day the king discovered that his daughter had been having an affair with someone far below her station, so the man was arrested and tossed into the arena. Now the princess knew which door had what behind it, and her lover looked up to her for advice. She had two choices: watch her love die, or watch him marry another woman. The story ends with the princess telling him which door to open, but leaves us hanging as to what waited behind it."

Anakin smiled. "Your task today is two-fold. First, pair up with a classmate--pick someone you haven't met yet--and decide what the princess did. Then tell me what you would have done in the princess's place."

He glanced around the room. "And I am looking for a teacher's aid or two if any of you are interested."

Comments

Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[sith_happened]

Especially if you want to be a TA.

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[likes_scoundrels]

Leia didn't want to be TA, but she hadn't seen Anakin since last year, so she stopped by as the class was finishing. "Happy New Year," she greeted him.

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[sith_happened]

"And to you," Anakin said, grinning. "How did you spend your break?"

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[likes_scoundrels]

"Quietly," Leia said. "I got caught up on Senate business, at least, so I made good use of the time. But it was a little boring without anyone around."

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[sith_happened]

Anakin looked a little guilty. "Next time I'll invite you to Stars Hollow," he promised. "You can meet Rory's mother and grandparents."

And make Emily Gilmore's head explode, always a bonus.

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[likes_scoundrels]

"Wouldn't that be a little weird?" Leia said. More than a little, probably. "It's all right, I didn't mind. I had a lot of work to do, though of course most of it was all talk and no action from the Senate." She heaved an exasperated sigh.

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[sith_happened]

"I was just talking about that with one of your fellow students," Anakin said. "Today's class was about the lady or the tiger, which isn't a much more effective system and one I'm frankly glad never occurred to Palpatine."

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[likes_scoundrels]

"He enjoys keeping the Senate tied up with unimportant bureaucracy," Leia bitched. "Letting us think we have a voice when it really doesn't matter what we say at all. It is the lady or the tiger. Pretend all is well and do what you're told, and you live. Speak up and fight, and you die."

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[sith_happened]

Anakin made a face. "True enough. Does that make Vader the tiger?"

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[likes_scoundrels]

"Apparently so," Leia said with an indelicate snort. "But I'll face that tiger before I walk off passively with the lady."

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[sith_happened]

"Good," Anakin said. "Palpatine looks terrible in a dress."

Get that mental image out of your head, Leia. He dares you.

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

Katniss wanted few things less than to be TA, but she did think that after his help, Anakin deserved to hear what had happened at home. Especially since she had failed. So she waited for the rest of the class to file out, before offering a quiet, "Hello. How was your holiday?"

She would ease into it. Eeeease.

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[sith_happened]

Anakin's brows knit together as he looked at her. "Quiet," he said, waving his hand toward a desk for her to sit in or lean against. "And yours?"

Though he could guess.

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"We don't really celebrate in Panem," she said softly, shrugging. "I was on the Tour, anyway."

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[sith_happened]

"Did he buy it?" he asked quietly.

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"No," she said softly, glancing up and folding her hands. "He didn't. It didn't work."

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[sith_happened]

"Shit," Anakin cursed. "Is your family all right?" He tilted his head to look at her intently. "Are you?"

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"I don't know how they are," Katniss said, shaking her head. "I don't get to communicate with anyone at home until they call me for the reaping." She paused, and added, "I'm kind of relieved, honestly."

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[sith_happened]

"Oh?" Anakin asked. "Why?"

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"Because it's done," Katniss said simply. "I can live my life, and not worry whether I've crawled into Peeta's lap enough on television to stop a revolution."

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[hotmugofstfu.livejournal.com]

After a freakishly long wait waiting the rest of the class to leave, Blackagar offered over another helpful little note:

Are you still in need of an assistant?

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[sith_happened]

Anakin nodded. "I am. Are you interested?"

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[hotmugofstfu.livejournal.com]

Blackagar nodded before jotting down another note. I believe I would be able to learn something from this class.

Like why humans will just end up trying to kill him.

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[sith_happened]

Anakin's lips quirked up. "That's generally what I hope for," he agreed. "I don't generally ask the impossible from my TAs, so welcome to the job."

Re: Talk to Anakin [1/6]

[hotmugofstfu.livejournal.com]

No, that would be asking him to talk, Anakin. Soooo different. And explodey.

Instead of a note, Blackagar simply assumed his smile was response enough.