Polar Opposites, Tuesday

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

As the students grouped into the classroom for the first time, those familiar with Alistair and Morrigan's general modus operandi would have made note of the familiar twin expressions of distaste on their faces.

For Alistair, that had kind of become rote - the scowl in question was getting to be about as familiar as his favorite pair of leather trousers. "Good morning, and welcome to... this class." Ugh, the name. Was that really necessary? "I'm Alistair, of the Grey Wardens, and this is Morrigan. We're glad to see you lot. It's going to be an excellent semester, I'm sure."

Someday, the hatesex between these two was going to be epic

"We are here to teach you the fine art of debating or disagreeing with someone, without resorting to a sword in the gut," Morrigan said smoothly. "For instance, there is no reason a templar should stab a mage first, and ask questions later."

"Nor," Alistair said, "Is there any reason for a mage to turn a templar into a toad just because she happens to disagree with his opinion." This came out... not so smoothly. More catty, in the fashion of a fourteen-year-old boy.

You just keep on being excellent examples, Alistair and Morrigan.

Well, he WAS barely out of boy's breeches, at least from Morrigan's oh-so-informed opinion of being about a year his elder.

....this is what happens when the school board lets teenagers teach teenagers, people.

"Introductions are boring," Morrigan continued, as if Alistair hadn't said a word. "One topic you're passionate about, and your argument for or against it in one minute, or something along those lines. You. Start."

"Everyone else is of course allowed to discuss along," Alistair interrupted. "I mean. You don't have to be as taciturn as good old Morrigan over here..." Was that an emphasis on the word 'old'? Wasn't it? Mystery!

Comments

Sign In!

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

Opposite one another.

Re: Sign In!

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

Percy Jackson

Re: Sign In!

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

Quinn Fabray

Listen to the Lecture

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

...slashing bickering session. If you've had a class from these two before, you know what you're in for.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

Quinn hadn't had a class from them since the summer, and still kind of thought they were hot and should just make out already.

Not a bad way to start her second class of her last semester, really.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

Gabrielle spent most of the lecture smothering a grin behind her hand and thinking something along the lines of how they should just make out already. (Paraphrased. Her actual thought was much, much, much more verbose.)

If this was hypocritical at all on her part, she certainly didn't realize it.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[secretheritage.livejournal.com]

Cassie was a bit taken aback by how much these two teachers seemed to dislike each other. It was going to make for an interesting semester, that was for sure.

Introductions!

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

You know how this goes. Your name, one topic you're passionate about, and your argument for or against it in one minute.

Other students, feel free to jump in!

Re: Introductions!

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Uh, Percy Jackson," he said, trying to say that about as slowly as he could to think of something he was passionate about it. It wasn't coming all that easy. It was like they told him to think and his mind went completely blank.

So, he went with the first thing that came to mind. "Uh, I really think minotaurs are jerks. Sure, sure, I'm sure they had a minotaur mom and a minotaur dad who cared for them and tried to raise them right but that didn't work so they had to just resort to kidnapping other people's mothers and taking them down to Hades and pretty much ruining my life from there."

Kind of personal. "Really, I think minotaurs are jerks because they're used as a weapon when someone else doesn't wanna do it on their own. Sure, send a big, giant monster after me while you hide away all safe and sound. That's not cowardly at all. And it's not gonna come back to screw you over either."

Yep.

Re: Introductions!

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

"So did you ever fight one?" Alistair asked. Because it sort of sounded like he'd fought one. "Did one poke you in the kidney? They don't sound like they'd put up a fair fight."

Re: Introductions!

[ofthe-wilds.livejournal.com]

"If their 'minotaur' is busy chasing you, cannot you send two after them?" Morrigan asked? "'Twould seem a sound strategy, if they are pesky."

Re: Introductions!

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"Hi, I'm Quinn Fabray," Quinn said. She could have argued about women's rights, but she decided to talk about something a little closer to home.

"I think it's bogus that some people think cheerleading isn't a sport," she said. "I did it on a nationally competitive squad for two years and we worked way harder than some of the other sports teams in terms of practicing. Cheer includes elements of high-end dance and gymnastics. You have to smile when you're doing it even if it hurts like a bitch. It teaches dedication and perseverance. If it's not a sport just because girls do it and there isn't a ball involved, that's just crazy sexist. Real cheering is way more than bouncing around in a short skirt." She twirled her pen. "Not that the short skirts are bad."

Re: Introductions!

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

Beat.

"What is cheerleading?" Alistair asked.

Beat.

"Besides the leading of cheer. A bit of cheer can't be too bad. I'm actually distantly fond of cheer..."

Re: Introductions!

[ofthe-wilds.livejournal.com]

"I do not understand half of what you said, but you said it well," Morrigan replied approvingly. "Confidence in your words will get you far in a debate."

Re: Introductions!

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

"I'm Gabrielle," she spoke up, quieter and more sober than she would have been before the break. She'd taken her time while the previous students were speaking, to think about -- how was she supposed to narrow down the topics she was passionate about to just one? In the end she went with her most recent cause.

"The Way of Love is something I've been learning about recently and it's become really important to me. I've always believed that we're trapped in this . . . this cycle of violence and hatred --" seriously, someone should be getting paid royalties for that phrase as often as she used it -- "and that it's important that we learn to break free of it. And the Way of Love teaches that: never to react to any violence in kind. Even if someone's knocking you down repeatedly. I know it's not the path for everyone; it's definitely not for my best friend. But if we're going to make progress toward breaking free of that cycle someday, it has to begin somewhere. With me, if I can help it."

[OOC: If you want to tell her she's being utterly stupid or hopelessly naive or whatever, have at.]

Re: Introductions!

[glacial_queen]

"But what about protecting others?" Karla asked. She had this same conversation with Raven a lot. "It's one thing to accept violence towards yourself, but can you allow it to happen to someone else?"

Re: Introductions!

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

"...Not even if someone's coming at you with a sword?" Alistair asked. He was a templar; they got beaten around the head kind of a lot, and he was generally interested in the cause of getting beaten around the head as little as he could possibly manage. "Not everything trying to kill you has a sane mind of its own. Darkspawn, for one, are not particularly chatty."

Re: Introductions!

[ofthe-wilds.livejournal.com]

"Tell me, girl, how often were you dropped on your head as a child?" Morrigan asked bluntly. "There is no shame in hitting someone over the head who would have you dead."

Re: Introductions!

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

"Toby Logan," he introduced himself. "And I guess, well. I feel pretty strongly that the foster care system needs some overhauling. It's obviously built on good intentions- I mean, taking care of kids that don't have families and stuff. But some of us- them- end up with people who don't really care about kids, they just want the government paycheque or the free help around the house, or-" he broke off abruptly, looking down at his desk, because he wasn't going to go there, not on the first day of class in front of people he had varying degrees of familiarity with. "Anyway. I think there needs to be stronger background checks or criteria or something to keep crappy people from being given kids to look after."

Re: Introductions!

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

"You mean orphanages?" Alistair said, translating that in his head. "That... sounds like a problem of any world. Though I think it's better than children being made to join the Chantry."

Re: Introductions!

[ofthe-wilds.livejournal.com]

"You are not fostered with a family that is chosen by your parents?" Morrigan asked, puzzled. "It is not for learning a trade, or an education? They let just anyone rear children?"

Now she was considering the idea of her mother taking on a dozen fosterages and...no. Flemeth ought never raise anyone that was not of her own blood.

Re: Introductions!

[showmetheproof.livejournal.com]

"Dana Scully, the advancement of science-- which not only improves the quality and standard of living for people all over the world, but allows us to learn how to preserve what we have, find out how the universe works, and define out place in it. Or transcend our current place in it," she added calmly.

Talk to the Teachers

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

Plead for a TA position. Or don't. Either way, they're not looking too agreeable about teaching with one another AGAIN.

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

Ugh, Morrigan. Ugh.

Alistair: scowly.

OOC

[badnewsandwit.livejournal.com]

And welcome to another new semester!