Hello, class

[jareth-the-king.livejournal.com]

[OOC: Class will be Mondays, Wednesdays, and possibly Fridays, all day. As long as people post that day, they are considered present. However, for your character's scheduling purposes, consider it magic time. Jareth has a busy schedule. He holds class whenever it suits him, and you can just get snatched over to the class when it starts and sent back at the same time when it's over--even when you're sleeping!]

CLASS IN SESSION

"Good afternoon, class. Welcome to Manipulation, Myth, and Magic. I am, of course, Jareth. The Goblin King. My teaching assistant this year is darkchylde_. I hope you all checked in with her when she gathered the class roster.

"Let's start with my expectations, shall we?

"Defy me, and I will send you to the Bog of Eternal Stench. Most other things--for instance, not completing your assignments--are negotiable, but are not without their price.


"The purpose of this class is to explore how manipulation, mythology, and magic interact together and with people, throughout history and the present. There will be practical demonstrations.

"Occasionally we will have a lab class where I will present several specimens for your further study. I will also give pop quizzes at my whim.

Today's Lecture


"All of the themes in this class relate and apply to sentient beings. This is convenient, since presumably all of you are sentient beings. Take manipulation, for example. Everyone in this room has used manipulation at one point or another. It is the act of doing one thing in order to trick someone else into doing what you--" Jareth pauses and gets a distant look in his eyes.

"I'll be back in a moment." He walks out of room (through the door, this time), is gone for precisely two seconds, and strolls back in, wearing a different outfit, and carrying a child. He snaps his fingers and four goblins scurry in with a throne. He directs them to put it down, kicks one out of the way, and collapses with the baby.



"Now, as I was saying, each of you has used manipulation many times in your life, starting from when you were small children," he jiggles the baby. "You would cry to get what you wanted. Granted, you could not outright ask for what you wanted, but that does not make your actions less manipulative.

"Your assignment for today is to write about at least one time in your life where you have consciously manipulated another person. It need not be the length of a grimoire, but the more thorough and succinct you are, the higher you will be graded.

"They will be due [in this post] by tomorrow morning. darkchylde_ will count them to make sure everyone has turned theirs in. And now I open the floor to your questions and...concerns." Jareth shifts the baby to the side of his lap and looks out at the class.

Comments

[jareth-the-king.livejournal.com]

Then you have larger problems than just passing this class. Manipulation is second nature. You simply need to learn how to see it.

[sunny-skyes.livejournal.com]

The young boy looks down at the desk thoughtfully and nods. "I'll do my best. Do you want this tomorrow or the next class period?"

[sunny-skyes.livejournal.com]

Starts to write, looking thoughtful and as if all the cheerfulness was gone from his demeanor.

The word 'manipulation' has a rather bad context connected with it; when you manipulate someone you are tricking them into doing something that they don't want to do. I was taught from a very young age that you do not force others into doing what they don't wish; it was ground into my head just as I was taught not to steal, to treat others as you would have them treat you, etc., etc. Since coming here and seeing and hearing some of the responses of the other students, my way of looking at the world may look positively idyllic and naive, but I've felt and thought this way for so long that it's hard to look at it differently.

This has made me look at myself in ways that I have been trying to avoid for a long time now; you could even say that I've been manipulating myself into thinking that things aren't as bad as they really are and that there really is a happy ending for everyone if they work hard enough for it.

As Professor Jareth said; I've got bigger problems than just the assignment.

But the assignment was to give a specific instance and so I will.

I had a best friend; I'd known him my entire life and looked up to him like no one else in the world. I followed him everywhere and did everything he did, hoping that I could be better than him one day and have him look up to me for once instead of the other way around. I watched him closely and knew his movements almost as well as my own, I knew what he would get angry at and how he'd react, what would make him laugh, etc.

I wanted to have him admit that I was better than he was at something, anything. I traveled across the worlds, saving people from creatures called the 'Heartless' and destroying them, knowing that when I saw him again he would have to tell me that I was better, that I'd done what he couldn't...

When I met up with him again... He had no choice but to admit that I was greater than him and I had done things that he could never even dream of. But it cost him his heart, and me my best friend.

As he finishes the last few words, the brightness returns to his eyes and he smiles brightly ready to hand the paper in.