How To Get By In A Hostile World, Wednesday

[suitably_heroic]

"All right," Atton said. He'd hopped up on his desk again, because who needed chairs anyway? "Today, introductions are over. Congratulations. None of you annoyed me so much that I wanted to boot you out of my class."

Though some of them came close. Evie.

"Now I'd like to think it doesn't come as a surprise to anyone that if you don't have the muscle - financial, physical, powers-wise, whatever - to push your way into a place of safety in life, well, your brain's going to have to do. The easiest way to use it is to look at the way other people see you and use that-- usually impressions are going to be your first line of defense."

He gestured at himself.

"Having taken a class from me twice and maybe heard about me on the radio, what's the impression I give you? What do you think I'm capable of? What do you think I'm not? What do you think my story is?"

He waited until everyone had taken their turn.

"Okay," he said, "So, that's what you think I am. Now pick another student. Tell them what your impression of them is, and vice-versa. Then talk about what that impression could do for you. Are there places you think you can enter more freely because you give off this vibe? Are there places that are harder to get into? People that are easier or harder to convince? Think about it."

Comments

Re: Impressions: Your Classmates

[giveherahand]

Mara smirked back. "Hit me with your best shot."

Re: Impressions: Your Classmates

[myownface]

Oooh, she looked like a challenge.

"Smug," he decided. "Competent. I probably wouldn't hate to keep your company for a while if something happened that needed a cool head. You're fit, which around here could make you anything from a cheerleader to a superhero, but I bet you could kick ass if you needed to."

Around here, 'kicking ass' was usually the more likely option than 'cheerleader.'

... Unless it was 'cheerleader who also kicked ass.'

Re: Impressions: Your Classmates

[giveherahand]

Mara smiled, giving away nothing. "You use your outfit and makeup as a defense system to divide out people who judge on appearances and people actually worth your time," she said. "You want to be noticed, but not actually interacted with unless it's on your terms. You're probably a lot more vulnerable than you want people to think, and somehow you've gotten under our teacher's own not-insignificant defenses because I think he'd put up with more from you than he'd allow from the rest of us." She grinned, resting her head in her hands. "How'd I do?"

Re: Impressions: Your Classmates

[myownface]

There was a long pause at that, while Sparkle stared at her.

He blinked.

"Either you're a telepath, or you're a freaking undercover detective. Shit, no, that can't even be right. I've met cops who aren't that observant. What the fuck?"

He was impressed. A little freaked out, but impressed.

Re: Impressions: Your Classmates

[giveherahand]

Mara's eyes went wide. Maybe she'd been a little too good at that, and it wasn't like "hi, I'm a highly trained assassin" would exactly be an icebreaker...

"Some of it was guessing?"

Re: Impressions: Your Classmates

[myownface]

Mmmmhmmm, Mara. Sparkle just raised his eyebrows and leaned forward, giving her a bright grin.

"You're also a showoff, and that's gonna get you into shit someday," he offered. "And you're worried."

The wide-eyes were something of a tip-off, there.

Re: Impressions: Your Classmates

[giveherahand]

"I don't really get worried," Mara said. Unless it was in disappointing the Emperor, then "worry" wasn't the half of it. His disappointment tended to be short-lived and fatal to those who displeased him. "That's a waste of energy."

Re: Impressions: Your Classmates

[myownface]

"No? Because you just had a face on you like you just stepped in a big steaming pile of something and you hadn't quite worked yourself up to looking down to see what it was," Sparkle reported.

He was helpful like that.

"What would you say it was, then?"

Re: Impressions: Your Classmates

[giveherahand]

"I was worried that you'd be mad that I'd seen through you," Mara said, which was close enough to the truth.

Re: Impressions: Your Classmates

[myownface]

"Yep, seething." Sparkle just sat back, still wearing a smirk. "Look, I won't push it, Sherlock, just so long as you don't go telling everyone what you just said about me. Seem fair?"

Re: Impressions: Your Classmates

[giveherahand]

"Very fair," Mara said, smiling back.