Cultural Understanding, Monday

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

She had to do this again with the Warden? Really? Morrigan was, quite possibly, Not Best Pleased with Flemeth at the moment, but as she was a mostly-decent daughter she hadn't complained.

Too much.

"Greetings. This is your class on Cultural Understanding, and if you are here, 'tis probably because you need it," she said bluntly, surveying the young faces. "If at any point someone starts a fight over cultural understanding - or a lack of it - I will turn you in to a frog."

"She will," Alistair said, sounding less than impressed. He'd whined and whined and whined to Duncan in his letters, but no luck so far. Something about 'bonding with apostates' and 'realising that the Wardens stood for everyone, including those whose company we would not normally enjoy.' "Maker, look the wrong way and she'll probably do that." Beat. "My name is Alistair, I am a Grey Warden of Ferelden. It is my duty to stand against the Blight, which is what we're warding against, before anyone asks." Another beat. "A word to the wise: don't try to match her magic with magic when she gets cross. I can put an end to it if you try, and you won't enjoy it."

"I was not aware that students were supposed to enjoy their lessons at all," Morrigan quipped. "Learning is educational, not entertaining.

"But you. Give us your name, where you are from, and what it is like, and one thing from the opening banquet that was new to you."

"I'll go first," Alistair announced, "Just so you know how it's done. I am Alistair, I'm from Ferelden. It's a temperate country that was freed from its oppressors several decades ago. We have lush forests and great mountains. Our capital is the city of Denerim, which is crowded and a bit smelly, and then there's Ostagar to the south, which is less of a capital, and much more smelly. We don't have cars, and we really don't have as many buttons as you do. We are more tolerant of mages than some countries, and less so than others. One thing from the opening banquet that was new to me was all the skimpy clothes everyone seems to be wearing. Or not wearing." A beat. "Oh, and I noticed some really nice cheeses I'd never seen before." He grinned.

"And I am Morrigan of the Kokari Wilds, near Ostagar," Morrigan supplied. "We have lots of trees, barbarians, and witches that eat children." Yes, she thought she was funny. "I have found that Fandom is much more tolerant of magecraft than Ferelden -" Alistair "-and the first item that was new to me at the banquet was your fizzy drink, with the sugar."

Someone had developed a fondness for soda.

"But that's us," Alistair said, with a look that implied... something about Ferelden's mage-friendliness. There was a reason he hadn't said it was simply tolerant, after all. "Now it's your turn."

Comments

Introduce Yourself

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

As you will do many times over this week. Your name, where you are from, and what it is like, and one thing from the welcome picnic that was new to you when you arrived.

Re: Introduce Yourself

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

"Blysse Norwood," she introduced herself. "And Blind Seer," she added, for the one of the pair who couldn't. "We is from the Iron Mountains. Closest human kingdom would be Hawk Haven, to the east." As she tried to gather the words to describe the place she'd grown up, she realized just how long it had been since they'd been back there. "There is trees, and rivers, and it is the realm of the Royal Beasts. Humans try to build there cities there, but find the land is not theirs to take. Something new from the first picnic we go to was so many fruits, even when it was not the right season for such."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

Woooooah, wolf. Alistair opened his mouth to offer her an intelligent and insightful reply, and...

Fell to one knee. "Awwww who's an adorable puppy--"

So dignified, our Alistair.

Re: Introduce Yourself

[ofthe-wilds.livejournal.com]

Eventually Morrigan shook off the annoyance that is Alistair and turned her attention to girl and wolf. "Where is the rest of your pack?" she asked bluntly. "I have heard little wolfsong in my woods these past moons, and miss it sorely."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[wasthecuteone]

"I'm Petra West, and I'm from Rhode Island, the Ocean State!" Petra said in her best Teen Dream voice, accompanied by her best Teen Dream smile. The one with all the white teeth. "I mean, sorry," she said, turning back into a normal human being, if still a very pretty and tall one. "Force of habit. It's nice there. We have a lot of history, and Providence is a really creative city. We drink a lot of coffee milk, and it is not weird, it is delicious. Oh, and it's not really an island, that's just the name. Something new from the picnic was...okay, I know I hallucinated it, even though people keep telling me I didn't, but the talking pink pony was definitely new."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

"You said you weren't in this class, you liar," Alistair said, merrily. "Three rounds with a dragon for you now, there's no way around it." He'd get around to the point eventually!

... Probably. It was still Alistair.

Re: Introduce Yourself

[ofthe-wilds.livejournal.com]

"You did not hallucinate it," Morrigan replied dryly. "I have yet to find a hallucinogen to produce such a creation, and I have tested my food to be sure."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[forhisfriends.livejournal.com]

"Simon Bellamy," Simon said, after a brief hesitation – look, you could never be too sure it was actually his turn already. "I'm from London, England, which is... different, from Fandom. Less accepting of, of powers. And that was also what was new to me when I came here."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

"They've got issues with mages where you're from?" Alistair asked, sympathetically.

Re: Introduce Yourself

[momslilassassin]

"I'm Ben Skywalker," he said, speaking in a light British Coruscanti accent, "and I'm from Coruscant, which is a planet far, far away. It's the capital of my galaxy and is home to about a trillion different beings. The whole planet is pretty much covered with buildings at this point. This is my fourth year at school here, and running into relatives who were the wrong age at the picnic--my cousin was my age instead of almost twenty years older and my grandfather was, um, alive--that was a little confusing."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

"...That's possible?" Alistair asked, in a light British Ferelden accent because you're not the only one who gets to be inexplicably British, Ben. "How do you keep them all straight?"

Re: Introduce Yourself

[trigons_child]

"My name is Raven," Raven said when her turn came. "I am from a place called Azarath. It no longer exists, but when it did, it was a place of great peace and beauty. When I first arrived, the strong emotions of those around me were entirely new to me."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

"You're an... emotion-sensing mage?"

Now that was one Alistair had never heard before. "Is that-- was that common, where you are from? I'm... sorry for your losses."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[glacial_queen]

"I'm Karla, from the Territory Glacia in the Realm Kaeleer," Karla said with a small wave. Mostly to buy time to figure out just what to even say anymore. "Kaeleer is a different world entirely. It's home to all sorts of races, including dragons, unicorns, and talking animals. It's a Realm of magic and our society stretches back millions of years. Glacia itself is far to the north, cold and mountainous, with lochs and thick forests and fields of wheat."

All right, she was getting a little wistful here. Time for a redirect. "One thing that was new to me? The shuttle. We're uh...preindustrial, I think is the word? Everything we have runs on Craft, so machines of all sorts were very strange."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

There was a brief bit of squinting on Alistair's part.

"But dragons and all are normal," he pointed out, "So not so different, then."

Well, maybe for crazy fantasy people.

Re: Introduce Yourself

[knowsnokungfu.livejournal.com]

"I'm Chuck, from Encino, California," he shared, offering a small wave. "It's... pretty nice, warmer than here, and there's LA right nearby so lots to go do."

"And this welcome picnic? Um, there was a girl with about twenty feet of hair." Which was new.

Re: Introduce Yourself

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

"Did she keep it all up in a bun?" Alistair wondered. "Because that sounds like it could get a bit awkward."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[sedlexduralex.livejournal.com]

"I'm Jocelyn Fairchild," she said slowly, still not sure with how much or what she should say when it came to this. "I'm from Idris - it's in Europe by Germany and Switzerland. It's gorgeous there, all mountains and crystal lakes." Her tone was homesick though she tried to mask it. "The strangest thing at the picnic were vampires and werewolves and other downworlders wandering around like they were real people."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

"Vampires?" Alistair asked. He frowned. "Like demons, you mean?"

Re: Introduce Yourself

[wwiii]

"I'm Warren," said the Worthington in question, his too-brightly-colored-dammit wings rustling softly behind him as he tried not to fidget. "From New York. Or, a version of New York that's a couple of steps to the side of whatever reality that Causeway leads across to. It's a city with a population in the millions, buildings made of glass and steel that reach to the clouds. And there's always something happening there. New York is pretty proud to call itself the city that never sleeps."

Even from his vantage point, staring down from the condo that he'd more or less been sequestered to since his manifestation, there had always been three constants. Light, noise, traffic.

"So Fandom was a bit surprising, with how quiet it is. It gets dark enough here at night to actually see the stars. In comparison, it's kind of like someone hit a switch and turned off civilization."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

"Doesn't that get a bit... overwhelming?" Alistair asked, after a short silence. "Maker knows, I think Denerim is busy, and it sounds like your York is much bigger."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"Elphaba Thropp," she introduced, happy to again be in a class taught by Morrigan. Sorry, Alistair. "I'm from Oz, a land in a world far away. Specifically, I'm from Munchkinland, though I am not a Munchkin. It's a rather nice place, if you like farmland and farmers, for the most part. It is very lush and green when the weather is good. Probably the biggest difference is that there are Animals in Oz who have just as much mind as you or I, and are able to speak it. Cows, Pigs, Owls, you name it. When I arrived at the school, there was all this tik-tockery, or technology that I've come to know it as. None of it was familiar at all."

Re: Introduce Yourself

[perilless.livejournal.com]

"Princess Rosella," Rosella dipped into a regal curtsey to go along with her introduction, and then straightened, hands folded politely in front of her as she'd been taught to do when speaking during her lectures and lessons back home. She was a perfect image of a proper princess, imagining her mother's proud stamp of approval. "Of Daventry. Daventry is a rather small, but lovely country, filled with magic and mirth, pride and honor. The wildflowers bloom with abandon every spring, and the winters are glorious and mild. Many of the nations turn to Daventry's budding prosperity for help in their own dark times. I consider myself incredibly blessed to rule the kingdom one day."

It was the sort of speech that ran the risk of sounding rehearsed, if it weren't for the clear passion, determination, and love in Rosella's heart.

"As for what surprised me most at the welcome picnic," she started, needing a moment to consider, "I would have to say it was the fact that my roommate is none other than the same person my brother was rooming with while he attended this school! Can you imagine the likelihood of such a pairing? Oh! And I suppose the fact that there are some who keep dragons as pet here, as well. I have heard of such things, of course, but I never imagined I'd see it. That was a little surprising; dragons in Daventry would never stand to be kept as pets..."

She felt that was a much more culturally understanding way of saying that no one in Daventry would be foolish enough to try....

Re: Introduce Yourself

[walkswithcoyote]

"My name is Mercy Thompson. I'm from Aspen Creek, Montana and it's just an ordinary place." except, you know for the werewolves, "It's pretty isolated and I'm from about 16 years in the past, so the advances in computers and phones is really incredible. And this time around at the welcome picnic there were dragons. I wasn't expecting that."

Mercy was still a bit stunned over Morrigan shifting into a wolf. She'd seen her become a spider before, but hadn't realized she could change into different shapes. And she couldn't help wondering if there was some way Morrigan could tell that she was a shifter and if so, if she would please not announce it to the class.

Re: Introduce Yourself

[selfhelphero]

"I'm Billy Kaplan, and I'm from New York City. It's freezing in the winter and it smells in the summer, but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, because you can never be bored there. There's always something new to do or see every day," he said proudly. "And something new from the picnic was a person who didn't get freaked out at the mention of some of the kinds of people who teach here. Not you guys, I mean. The pink variety."