http://bookworm-beauty.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] bookworm-beauty.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2011-09-08 02:38 pm
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Tropes and Scope [Class 2, Period Three]

"Hello, class!" Belle called cheerfully, as the students assembled in the Danger Shop. Today, they would find themselves not in last week's nondescript classroom, but in a possibly familiar set of cliffside ruins. Belle herself was perched on a crumbling bit of stone, a group of swords and some strips of cloth laying on the ground beside her. "Now, last week, we talked about what types of stories you all like to read, and one of the most popular answers was action and adventure -- which, to be perfectly honest, is my favorite, too. We're going to spend a couple of weeks running through some of the great patterns you find in each genre before moving onto the next, and I figured...well, what better way to kick off action than with action?"

She hopped off her sword, selecting two cloths -- one black, and one white. "How many of your favorite books, plays, or movies," she was still trying to act like that concept wasn't unfamiliar to her, but it was hard, "feature a great fight between two opposing forces? Sure, our favorite stories might deal with one man against many, or two armies running at each other at full force, but oftentimes, it comes down to one versus one. I borrowed this setting because from what I understand, there's a film with a famous swordfighting scene that takes place here, and while the color scheme is off -- black is usually signifying evil, while white stands for good -- I thought it might work for our purposes today."

She started to move through the class, alternating between passing out white and black cloths, along with a list for each student. "Tie these around your wrist or waist or into your hair -- I don't particularly care. Team White, you stand for the good, the right, the moral high ground. Team Black, you oppose them -- you stand for personal gain, for evil, for selfishness. Remember these things as you fight, because they should influence your choices. I want you to team up, and everyone grab a sword. While the ends are blunt and you won't hurt yourselves, I want you to reenact a classic swordfight using as many of the tropes on that list as possible. Afterwards, I want you to think about how many times in your life you've seen those actually used. It's probably more than you think."
glacial_queen: (Boggled)

Re: Team up and Swordfight! [Tropes 2]

[personal profile] glacial_queen 2011-09-09 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
"He got married?!" Yeah. Karla'd missed everything.

But she didn't miss that little hint of a sigh. "You okay?"

Re: Team up and Swordfight! [Tropes 2]

[identity profile] didntchewgrass.livejournal.com 2011-09-09 09:20 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's nothing," Elphaba said, deflecting a bit. "At least nothing I'll talk about in class. I'm very happy for Alexander, and I'm glad he was able to find his Cassima." And that was very true, too.
glacial_queen: (Understanding)

Re: Team up and Swordfight! [Tropes 2]

[personal profile] glacial_queen 2011-09-09 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Karla thought she understood. After all, she'd been very happy for Ben and Tahiri, even when she'd been crushing on Ben.

"If you want to come by my room and talk sometime, I could loan you some of those books, too," she offered. "Maybe have some chocolates and a good gossip-fest, too."

Re: Team up and Swordfight! [Tropes 2]

[identity profile] didntchewgrass.livejournal.com 2011-09-10 02:38 am (UTC)(link)
"I suppose that would be good," Elphaba said, though she didn't think she was one for gossip. Or most chocolates from this land. Bu then, she raised her sword again. "But I think first we should finish our assignment."
glacial_queen: (You can trust me)

Re: Team up and Swordfight! [Tropes 2]

[personal profile] glacial_queen 2011-09-10 08:08 am (UTC)(link)
Aha! But Karla's chocolates weren't from this land, so perhaps Elphaba would like those better.

"Just 'good'?" she teased. "I think we can do better than that. I have some chocolate-covered honey-pears that I think you're going to love."

Behind Elphaba, several rocks flew up into the air. She was just going to keep talking though, to keep her friend's attention.

Hey, she was evil, right? An attack from behind was totally in her idiom. Not that she would actually hit Elphaba with the rocks, mind. There were limits to just how far her school-assigned evil would go. "You've never had a honey-pear have you? They're amazing."
Edited 2011-09-10 16:51 (UTC)