fandomhigh | Bringing Literature To Life--Through Violence! [Tuesday, Second Period]

Cindy was leaning on the desk when the class arrived, stirring a cup of coffee. More coffee and pastries were set off to the side for the class to partake if they were so inclined. “Morning class,” she greeted. “And welcome to those of you who are new. I’m Professor Cindy Perrault and this is Bringing Literature to Life--Through Violence.”

Max was standing at a loose sort of attention off to the side just a bit. Jeans and a slightly rumpled white button-down shirt were dressy enough for class, right? He grinned. "I'm Antillar Maximus. For this course you can call me Centurion." His grin broadened. "I suspect you can guess which part of the class is my forte."

Cindy raised an amused eyebrow at him, but didn’t argue. Not everyone needed to know about her weapon specialties, so Max’s statement could stand. “So, the way this class will work is pretty simple. The Centurion and I will be trading off classes; your classes with me will cover some famous battles in literature and then, in your classes with him, you’ll get to experience the way the actual battles and weaponry work.”

Hey, Max knew she could kick his butt, but that wasn’t part of her cover. And if he could help her build that up, he was happy to. “We’ll be doing some pretty physical stuff, so wear something you can move in. And let me know if there’s anything we should know about your physical condition.”

He grinned. “One of the things we’re hoping you can do is put together the two segments of these classes in your head. Understand how the reality of combat and the way it’s used in literature line up with each other. And how they don’t.”

“And we’ll get into all of that next week,” Cindy finished. “This week is for introductions and heaven forbid we skip tradition.”

Max nodded in agreement. “Yes. We’re very traditional in here, after all.”

Cindy snorted. “Damn right we are. So--introductions. First the basics: name, class, and where you’re from. Then the good stuff--tell us about how war is waged back home. Are armed clashed generally small battles, where everyone can see one another’s faces? Massive armies? Fleets of ships or tanks or what-have you? What kind of weapons are used? Or is warfare shunned entirely, and all problems are solved through diplomacy? Whatever you feel like sharing is fine.”

“At the same time, we want you to tell us a bit about how war is treated in stories. Is it a glorious example of individual prowess? Is it a warning against the horrors that people can inflict on one another? Are wars presented as glorious nationalistic narratives, or as a way of highlighting the evils of warmongering? Let’s all get a feel for how we think and talk about war.”

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Introductions again, aren’t you excited? You know the drill. Name and basic information (year, where you’re from, a brief description if you’re feeling fancy) can go in here.

Fighty stuff; and English credit. Good, she kind of needed both of those. Ha! "Kenzi, junior, Canadian, aspiring astronaut." Why not, right?

Edited 2011-08-30 15:37 (UTC)

Sooooo, they listened to one of the teachers talk about books, and then the other one helped them beat each other up?

Best. English class. Ever.

"I'm Sam Puckett," she said. "Junior, from Seattle. And totally way cuter than the other Seattle Sam running around."

Edited 2011-08-30 08:47 (UTC)

"Kate, I'm a junior from Savannah except it's 2032 not 2011, and there was a kind of apocalypse a decade or two ago." Fancy-ish, as intros went. This one was easier than yesterday's class.

"Ramona, senior, from New York," she said, tossing off a little wave and shrugging. She didn't have a lot more to contribute aside from that. It was eeeearly.

"Hi, I'm Marshall, and I'm a senior," he started. "I'm, uh, from five years in the past? From Canada. And this isn't the first time I've travelled in time."

"Sov Thade Tage em Ereb." Yes, the whole name. "And I'm a Freshman. And from Rer, in Karhide, on Gethen." No one here had heard of Gethen.

"Rinoa Heartilly," she said, standing up and waving her fingers at the class when it was her turn. "Senior. I grew up in Deling City, Galbadia, and then I moved to Timber."

The tired and more serious cast to Gabrielle's demeanor had been standard since her return from Panem, even though she did her best to try and shake it off.

"Gabrielle," she said, looking a little like she hadn't slept well. (She hadn't.) "Senior, from Poteidaia in Greece, a few thousand years ago."

She could have been more descriptive, and normally would, but . . .

"You're from ancient Greece?" Alex asked, sounding rather surprised.

"I am," Gabrielle answered, with a weak attempt at a smile. "That never seems to stop surprising people."

"No, it's just--" he hoped she would really not freak out later in the class. "Long story?"

"The best ones usually are," answered Gabrielle (who might stare a little, but not freak out). "And some of the not-so-good ones too. I did spend about an hour turning lights on and off just because I could, when I first got here."

"Alex Aaron, freshman, from New York by way of New Jersey," Alex said with a little wave.

He wanted some of that coffee badly but he had heard it stunted your growth.

Introductions. Yay.

"Squall Leonhart, Senior, from Balamb Garden," Squall stated flatly. "You've never heard of Balamb, but it's on an island near Galbadia." He pointed at Rinoa, in case people hadn't been paying attention to her introduction.

Bringing Literature To Life--Through Violence! [Tuesday, Second Period]

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