sith_happened: (Anakin: pondering)
Anakin Skywalker ([personal profile] sith_happened) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2011-11-08 09:53 am
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Ethics class [Tuesday, November 8, 2011, first period]

When Anakin came into the classroom today, he was not alone. He was wheeling in more than a half dozen droid babies in their own strollers. "It's that time of year again," he said, not even trying not to look amused. "Droid babies. You make fifty different decisions a day when faced with a child--what will you feed them, how strictly you enforce bedtimes, how often you interact with them, how much leeway you grant them in exploring their environments--and as every parenting booklet will tell you, each decision you make is fraught with peril about causing lasting damage to the child's delicate psyche."

He rolled his eyes. "If you think about it too hard, you'll get paralyzed by the responsibility. These droid babies have been programmed to be about six months old--they can crawl, but slowly, and are putting absolutely everything into their mouths. They eat formula about once every four hours, are exploring the wonders of solid food and are generally sleeping through the night."

If you didn't annoy Anakin, of course, in which case, the baby would cry alllll the time. He gestured at the back of the classroom, which had been filled with baby food, diapers, clothing, baby-proofing equipment, cribs, toys, and various other baby stuff.

"As you can see, six month-old babies do not travel light," he added. "The average cost of a baby's first year is rough ten thousand dollars in modern money," he continued, "and adding an element of budgeting will often bring moral debates into relief as, for instance, the cost of a babysitter is weighed against a night out and trying to balance the mental health of the parents against the child's ever-demanding needs. Each pair has been given 200 fake dollars to budget out for your week, and before you ask, no, this will not pay for childcare at the center in town, and no, you cannot supplement with your own incomes. It will, however, be needed to pay for baby's various...things. I provide the baby, ten diapers, a day's supply of formula, a pack 'n play that can be used both as a bed and a containment unit for when the baby is getting into too many things, and two changes of clothes for each of them. You must work with your partner to decide on the name of your child, and then what you will be buying from the store in the back of the room to prepare for a week with a baby."

He grinned. "May the Force be with you." His expression turned a little more steely as he focused on the engineers in the class. "And no trying to modify the droids. It'll set off an alarm that only I can turn off."
walkswithcoyote: (Default)

Re: Mercy Thompson & Peter Wiggin

[personal profile] walkswithcoyote 2011-11-09 04:16 am (UTC)(link)
She gave him a Look. "Of course it matters, fake baby or not, it needs a name."

Oh, this was going to be fun. Not.
lockestheway: (peter: adooorable little psychopath)

Re: Mercy Thompson & Peter Wiggin

[personal profile] lockestheway 2011-11-09 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
"Give me one good reason for it," Peter argued. "I mean, personally, I find it a little demeaning to actual children, pretending like this is one. Not that I'm not all for 'let's keep the robot healthy so the teacher doesn't kill us', but..."
walkswithcoyote: (Default)

Re: Mercy Thompson & Peter Wiggin

[personal profile] walkswithcoyote 2011-11-09 04:28 am (UTC)(link)
"Because it's part of the assignment," Mercy said cooly. "And because I'd rather call it by a name than 'that robot baby thing'."
lockestheway: (val-peter: the devil on her shoulder)

Re: Mercy Thompson & Peter Wiggin

[personal profile] lockestheway 2011-11-09 04:30 am (UTC)(link)
"Then we'll just call it 'Robot', and we'll both be happy," Peter suggested.
walkswithcoyote: (Default)

Re: Mercy Thompson & Peter Wiggin

[personal profile] walkswithcoyote 2011-11-09 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
"Or not," Mercy said. "I counter with Bryan R. Bryan after my foster dad and R for Robot. Best offer."
lockestheway: (peter: one day hegemon)

Re: Mercy Thompson & Peter Wiggin

[personal profile] lockestheway 2011-11-09 04:34 am (UTC)(link)
Peter opened his mouth to protest that it was a stupid name, but then realised in time that he didn't actually care, and calling the baby 'R' at least saved him a few syllables. "Sure," he said instead, "If that stops you glaring at me."

He didn't really care whether she glared at him, either.
walkswithcoyote: (Default)

Re: Mercy Thompson & Peter Wiggin

[personal profile] walkswithcoyote 2011-11-09 04:38 am (UTC)(link)
She laughed. "If you think that's a glare, you clearly didn't grow up with were- Where I did. My guardian's something else."

Stupid, Mercy. Stupid, stupid.

"So. Bryan R. Now, what do we need to buy with our $200?"
lockestheway: (Default)

Re: Mercy Thompson & Peter Wiggin

[personal profile] lockestheway 2011-11-09 04:42 am (UTC)(link)
"Kid food and more diapers," Peter suggested. This was going to be such a waste of time - he had the spin of a horrible no-good public spectacle to manage. How was he going to do that with a crying kid?
walkswithcoyote: (Default)

Re: Mercy Thompson & Peter Wiggin

[personal profile] walkswithcoyote 2011-11-09 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
"And wipes and cloths and stuff. And maybe another change of clothes in case the washers are still being difficult."

She could smell his annoyance. "I'm guessing you'd like me to take him first."
lockestheway: (peter: one day hegemon)

Re: Mercy Thompson & Peter Wiggin

[personal profile] lockestheway 2011-11-09 05:11 am (UTC)(link)
"If you'd be so kind," Peter agreed. "I can grab the night shift, if you want."

He contemplated trying to duck and run this for about five seconds, but she didn't look like the kind of person that'd be easy to pull on. He wasn't Topher, and had no particular love for black eyes.
walkswithcoyote: (Default)

Re: Mercy Thompson & Peter Wiggin

[personal profile] walkswithcoyote 2011-11-09 05:16 am (UTC)(link)
She nodded. "I don't mind. That sounds like it will work. And we can switch off so that you're not always stuck being up nights with him."

He was right about that. She was a coyote so she could track him down - and dealing with difficult werewolves had left her with lots of ways to politely make people's lives difficult. Very difficult.

And yes, there was always the punching of she had to, though it wasn't really her style.