fandomhigh | Defying Expectations, Tuesday, Per 3

"Know thyself," Karla said as the students entered the classroom. "The full name of this class is Defying Expectations: Staying Yourself in Spite of Destiny, which is useful only if you know yourself. Whatever your destiny or lack thereof, you're going to have to deal with people who want you to do things that further their best interest. These things may have nothing in common with your aims, your morals, or your best interests, but that won't stop people from asking. Or telling. Or demanding. If you are in a position of authority, people may try to convince you around to their way of thinking, persuade you that their idea is the best, or lie and and connive to get what they want. Self-interest is a pretty strong motivator for damn near every human on the planet."

"But before you can plan around the people who are trying to convince you to do what they think is best, the first thing you have to do is figure out what you do. I'm not trying to say that your instincts are infallible--Mother Night, if you take anything from this class, please do not let it be that--but if you know what you believe, you can figure out how much of a deviation from your personal code someone else's suggestions are." Karla shrugged and gave the class a wry smile. "Whether or not that deviation is a good thing is a topic for another class--and it might be. Odds are good that in your lifetime, you're going to meet people who know more about a given situation than you do, have more experience than you have, or who are your moral superiors. Listening to them and adjusting your ideas may make a positive difference in a given scenario. However, to better assess what the people around you can offer, first you must know where you yourself may stand. Today, I've got a bunch of moral and ethical scenarios for you to ponder and decide what you would do. Most of these scenarios are morbid, but if they were easy questions, they likely wouldn't be moral ones."

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If she's here!

Kaylin was here and very unhappy about all of these scenarios. Very unhappy.

And did she mention unhappy?

"You look unhappy," Karla, mistress of the obvious, noted.

"I am," Kaylin said. Unhappily. "These decisions are way above my pay grade. Besides... in the class before this one I'm supposed to be learning about sex and it's terrible. How can I concentrate on anything when I'm trying to un-see and hear all of that? And I'm going to fail the class because I just can't do the things she says - I'm not touching anybody's anything, even if it's just pretending on some yellow fruit. And if I fail they probably won't let me be a Hawk and -"

She cut herself off, biting her lip. "Sorry. I talk too much, I know. But I'm not killing anybody, unless it's myself, in any of these and I don't know how to fix them otherwise, but I'll be -" and here there was some creative cursing in several languages alien to this world "- if I don't find some way to do it!"

"Calm down and breathe," Karla counseled with a smile. "Would you like a mug of tea? I have some hot herbal tea in my thermos. It might help you feel a little more centered."

Hell's fire and Mother Night. When had she turned into Lady Ghanima?

"When you're ready, we can talk. It helps to approach your issues one at a time, rather than all together and at once. It makes it easier to figure out how to get through them, remember? That was the point of last week's exercise."

"Evanton is always giving me tea, too," Kaylin said, looking both a bit calmer and a little homesick. "Not that he drinks it himself. And he always puts it in these cups without handles and serves it so hot that you practically burn yourself just picking up the cops."

It was aggravating, but she missed it anyway.

Defying Expectations, Tuesday, Per 3

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