atreideslioness: (Beautiful Princess)
Ghanima Atreides ([personal profile] atreideslioness) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2011-08-31 09:18 am
Entry tags:

The Art (s) of War and Peace (ATREIDES/KYŌRAKU) / Wednesday / Period 2

Another semester, another batch of bright and shining students.

Each desk had a copy of the syllabus ready and waiting, and Ghanima sat on her desk, hiding her smile behind her tea as they filed in; mentally cataloging the new and familiar faces. Apparently, a few of them were gluttons for punishment. And Shunsui, for what it was worth, was behind the desk, testing the limits of gravity as he tilted it back and put his feet up on the desk. He passed on the tea, but at least he wasn't hitting the bottle, though it was certainly there.

The moment the bell rang, her eyes snapped from the door to the children seated around the room. "Good afternoon and welcome," she said in a clear voice that carried effortlessly. "This is the Art of War and Peace, and I am Lady Ghanima Atreides. You may address me as Miss Atreides, Lady Ghanima, Miss Ghanima, or some variation thereof. If you are in the wrong class, please feel free to leave at this time. For those of you whom I have had in class before," she smiled suddenly, looking far less severe. "Welcome back."

"And while the formidable Lady Ghanima may represent the deadly beauty of the Art of War," said Shunsui, still from behind the desk, since he had no intention of giving up the excellent view he was guanteed once his co-teacher moved from her perch. He did give his arm a grand sweep, though, by way of a wave. "I, Captain Shunsui Kyōraku, or Kyōraku-san if you must, will be representing for you the simple beauty of the Art of Peace. The lovers, not the fighters, though there is certainly no rule that one cannot be both ♥. War and Peace is a delicate dance, like love, like lovers, of two forces that are compelled to move with each other, sometimes in opposition, sometimes together, where one can be thrilling on its own but whose true beauty cannot be fully revealed without the tug and pull and ceaseless taunting of the other ♥."

"Very true," she agreed. "Luckily, however, we have a text for The Art of War." Scooping up her two piles of handouts off her desk, Ghanima began wandering up and down the rows of chairs as she talked. "A Chinese military treatise that was written during the 6th century BC by Sun Tzu. Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare, it has long been praised as the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time. It is divided into 13 chapters, or P'ien, and the collection is referred to as being one Ch'üan, or chronicle."

"I would supply you with a counterpoint treatise on the Art of Peace," said Shunsui with a chuckle, his eyes shining sympathetically on the poor children and their having to read things, "but no one has bothered to write one ♥. Nothing as definitive as Sun Tzu, anyway. We are simply too busy just enjoying life, but there are a few. Still, the interesting thing about the Art of War is that so much of it can be applied to a more peaceful nature, as well; it just takes a bit more creativity. We shall get to that..." He waved his hand. "Eventually ♥."

"Sun Tzu himself is a bit of a mystery, and historians debate whether or not Sun Tzu was a real historical figure. Which, really, is par for the course with anyone truly interesting." Ghanima smiled at the class brilliantly. "If you're larger than life, they'll never believe you were real."

"I have that problem all the time ♥," Shunsui added with a very put-upon sigh, and another careless wave of his hand.

"I can tell," Ghanima replied, amusement glinting in her eyes as she moved to the front of the room, picking up her chalk to write quickly. "Now, for our first lesson:"
So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will fight without danger in battles.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.


"Know thy enemy, know thyself. We'll cover it more in-depth later, but for today I would like you to go around the room and introduce yourselves. Give us your name, class, and some random fact about yourself. Pay attention to what your classmates have to say, you never know when such information could come in handy."

"And whether you use that information for war or peace," Shunsui added with a grin from behind the shadow of his wide-brimmed hat, "we'll leave that entirely up to you ♥."


[OOC: OCD ARRIVED.]

Re: Talk to Ghanima and/or Shunsui

[identity profile] sake-shinigami.livejournal.com 2011-08-31 02:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Briefly, Shunsui wondered if now would be a good time to take a nip from his bottle, but he figured there'd be plenty of time for that after class. It wasn't as if he had any other plans, so, at the time being, he was mostly just available for the students should they need him for anything.
trigons_child: (Comic Scan: Sideways glance)

Re: Sign-In

[personal profile] trigons_child 2011-08-31 03:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Raven

Re: Sign-In

[identity profile] ancientbschamp.livejournal.com 2011-08-31 03:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Gabrielle
trigons_child: (Looking to the side)

Re: Introductions!

[personal profile] trigons_child 2011-08-31 03:02 pm (UTC)(link)
"I am Raven, and I am a senior," Raven said. She was still having a hard time grasping that. "I am from a place called Azarath and was raised a pacifist, though I have learned since I have come to Fandom that sometimes violence is necessary. I prefer to avoid it, however."

Re: Sign-In

[identity profile] showmetheproof.livejournal.com 2011-08-31 03:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Dana Scully

Re: Introductions!

[identity profile] showmetheproof.livejournal.com 2011-08-31 03:05 pm (UTC)(link)
"Dana Scully, junior, and I'm going to be a doctor." Scully cocked her head. "Which would be an art of peace, but I'm also going to work for the FBI. Which tends to go in the other direction."
endsthegame: (to cause pain)

Re: Sign-In

[personal profile] endsthegame 2011-08-31 03:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Ender Wiggin
endsthegame: (sideways smile)

Re: Introductions!

[personal profile] endsthegame 2011-08-31 03:20 pm (UTC)(link)
"Andrew Wiggin, senior," Ender said, mouth twitching a little in amusement. "And I grew up in a school where we didn't wear socks."

Nobody said it had to be a very relevant fact.

Re: Sign-In

[identity profile] wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com 2011-08-31 04:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
glacial_queen: (Formidable Stare Grayscale)

Re: Sign-In

[personal profile] glacial_queen 2011-08-31 04:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Karla

Re: Introductions!

[identity profile] wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com 2011-08-31 04:33 pm (UTC)(link)
It was a very tired Wesley who gave his introduction. "I'm Wesley Wyndam-Pryce," he introduced himself, though he was fairy certain that he knew most of his classmates already. "I'm a senior. And while I recognize the need for war, I also understand the... destruction that it entails."

Re: Sign-In

[identity profile] thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com 2011-08-31 06:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Faramir

Re: Introductions!

[identity profile] thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com 2011-08-31 06:53 pm (UTC)(link)
"I am Faramir and I am a senior," Faramir introduced himself. He had listened to the other students and decided to keep his fact in line with theirs. "I am of Gondor and am the son of the Steward and it would seem that war is inevitable ."

Re: Sign-In

[identity profile] notlikejack.livejournal.com 2011-08-31 07:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Bobby McCallister

Re: Introductions!

[identity profile] notlikejack.livejournal.com 2011-08-31 07:15 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm Bobby McCallister, and I'm a sophomore," Bobby said, perfectly happy to no longer be a freshman. "I ...don't have any real experience with war or peace. Other than going to anti-war protests at home. But I've, never, you know, been in one. I think there are usually better options that should be explored first."

Re: Sign-In

[identity profile] inaskinnyway.livejournal.com 2011-08-31 07:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Susan Sto Helit

Re: During the Lecture

[identity profile] inaskinnyway.livejournal.com 2011-08-31 07:27 pm (UTC)(link)
This was two classes now that Susan thought might actually be worth paying attention to. True, she probably wouldn't find this useful, at least not in a practical sense, but still, it sounded interesting.

Re: Introductions!

[identity profile] inaskinnyway.livejournal.com 2011-08-31 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
"Susan Sto Helit, and I'm a junior, I think." It wasn't as if she'd had that sort of designation before. And in fact, "And my last school never would have covered this."

Which yes, was a point in Fandom's favor.
godofxbox: ([comic] grasscutter - truly red)

Re: Sign-In

[personal profile] godofxbox 2011-08-31 08:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Alex Aaron

Page 1 of 5