Ghanima Atreides (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
atreideslioness) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2012-11-26 09:30 am
atreideslioness) wrote in fandomhigh2012-11-26 09:30 am
Entry tags:
A Tale of Two Lions, Monday, Period 2
Lady Ghanima was at the front of the class today, serene and composed as if she'd never been gone.
"I hope you'll forgive my absence," she began once everyone had been seated. "An unfortunate side-effect of controlling a throne is that sometimes you are required to do other than you would when left to your own devices. For instance, I much prefer teaching to politics."
She especially preferred teaching to the amorous advances of Farad'n, but you couldn't be Empress and not have to deal with a few drawbacks.
"I control no throne at all, and I also prefer teaching to politics," Tyrion said, clearly pleased to have his co-teacher back. "No one gets killed for teaching poorly, for one. Well -- almost no one."
He continued, "We are into our last several weeks of classes, and this week our topic is charm."
"Humans on this world have a saying," Ghanima said, picking up from Tyrion and giving him a bright smile. "I believe that it is all little girls are made of 'sugar and spice and everything nice.' Which, if you have passed basic biology, you know to be a lie. I have also heard that 'you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.'"
"I would be lying if I said I had never used my charm and smile when dealing with the other Great Houses to get my way, before resorting to more blunt-force measures, like embargos and taxes and legalities."
"There's a saying in my world," Tyrion added, "That courtesy is a lady's armor. Courtesy is not the same thing as charm, of course, but it's all a piece of the same cloth. Smiling, saying polite things, complementing people's clothing and possessions … they're all what you do when you know you can't win a physical fight. I myself can be very charming when I choose to."
The class was welcome to doubt this.
"I don't doubt it," Ghanima replied wryly. "Charm is the feint of the intelligent, before the knives come out."
"Although you should never mistake a battle of charms are easier or less-deadly than one with swords. The edges simply cut differently."
[OOC: OCD is up, go forth.]
"I hope you'll forgive my absence," she began once everyone had been seated. "An unfortunate side-effect of controlling a throne is that sometimes you are required to do other than you would when left to your own devices. For instance, I much prefer teaching to politics."
She especially preferred teaching to the amorous advances of Farad'n, but you couldn't be Empress and not have to deal with a few drawbacks.
"I control no throne at all, and I also prefer teaching to politics," Tyrion said, clearly pleased to have his co-teacher back. "No one gets killed for teaching poorly, for one. Well -- almost no one."
He continued, "We are into our last several weeks of classes, and this week our topic is charm."
"Humans on this world have a saying," Ghanima said, picking up from Tyrion and giving him a bright smile. "I believe that it is all little girls are made of 'sugar and spice and everything nice.' Which, if you have passed basic biology, you know to be a lie. I have also heard that 'you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.'"
"I would be lying if I said I had never used my charm and smile when dealing with the other Great Houses to get my way, before resorting to more blunt-force measures, like embargos and taxes and legalities."
"There's a saying in my world," Tyrion added, "That courtesy is a lady's armor. Courtesy is not the same thing as charm, of course, but it's all a piece of the same cloth. Smiling, saying polite things, complementing people's clothing and possessions … they're all what you do when you know you can't win a physical fight. I myself can be very charming when I choose to."
The class was welcome to doubt this.
"I don't doubt it," Ghanima replied wryly. "Charm is the feint of the intelligent, before the knives come out."
"Although you should never mistake a battle of charms are easier or less-deadly than one with swords. The edges simply cut differently."
[OOC: OCD is up, go forth.]
Discussion!
Re: Discussion!
Been beaten, acknowledged having been beaten -- they were more or less the same thing, right?
"Going up against me in a battle of wits is like you've got no arms!" he continued. "You just sit there while I claw your face all to shreds because you can't handle the cat."