Liliana Vess (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
deathsmajesty) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2024-06-20 02:50 am
deathsmajesty) wrote in fandomhigh2024-06-20 02:50 am
Entry tags:
Philosophy of Mana, Thursday, Period 2
Today, the class stepped into a forest that seemed like it might have been taken from the pages of a fairy tale. Sunshine like golden honey poured through the gaps in sprawling hardwood trees. Small animals skittered and played in the underbrush while birds sang in the trees and yet there was the slight hush that came with being deep in an old forest. A clear stream burbled beside them for awhile, filled with fish that had silver scales that glinted in the sun. The air smelled earthy and wild like rich loam and sharp sap and subtlest hint of scent of something like cedar but not quite.
The almost-cedar scent was stronger when they followed the small game trail at their feet into a clearing where Liliana already waited, regarding some kind of gnarled root in her hands with a contemplative expression. Both expression and root vanished as soon as the first person entered, replaced by a slight smile and a gesture towards the set up blankets and cushions. A JGOB box full of assorted pastries sat in the middle, and several large carafes of coffee (as well as hot water and tea bags) from the Perk were available for people to nibble at while she lectured. As always, the whiteboard was there, too, upon which was written the word
Acceptance
• What does green mana desire? What is its end goal?
• What means does green mana use to achieve these ends?
• What does green mana care about? What does it represent?
• What does green mana despise? What negatively drives it?
• What is green mana's greatest strength? Greatest weakness?
"Even though one would assume that the mana color I understand the motivations, desires, and methods of least is white, due to the generally false dichotomy of black and white being opposites, the true color I cannot truly understand is green," Liliana said, her finger stroking over a fern frond. "So, while I shall do my best, do realize that my biases will both be at their strongest and also most invisible to me during this lecture. You should always be listening for biases in your lessons as no one is truly objective, least of all the person who says they are. But I digress. The reason for my...consternation with green is that all four other colors look at the world and imagine how to change it for the better, even if they argue how they should proceed or in which ways it should be improved. Green does not. Green looks at the world and has already decided that it is already good and right and it is only the changes that we force upon the world that lead us to unhappiness, confusion, and strife. The natural order is a thing of beauty and has all the answers to life's problems. The key to life is to understand your place in it; by accepting your place within the natural rhythms and orders of things, green believes you will flourish as a person and encourage growth within others."
Already, Liliana looked like she had some terse commentary to offer, but she continued on with the determined expression that suggested she had accepted the only way out was through, but was still struggling with the execution. "Unlike blue, green believes that everything you are and everything you can be exists within you from the moment of your birth. It is, unsurprisingly, the nature of the 'nature versus nurture' divide; while it is not so ridiculous as to deny the possibility of improvement via learning and practice, it does believe that everything has a specific role to play within the wider world and if people would just accept that ideal and grow towards it, there would be peace. The secret to a happy life is to recognize the role you were born into and then embrace it. I'm sure if a green mana philosopher were here, they'd say something pithy about how 'a drone does not wish itself a queen' or 'an apple seed that tries to grow a pear is grows only dissatisfaction' or some other such--" She stopped herself from saying nonsense. "--sage aphorisms of a naturely bent."
"Green is a proponent of big picture thinking - seeing the whole forest, instead of the individual trees, as it were. Nature has a beautiful structure, it is made up of vast, interconnected webs of life, and, as a part life, you are vast and interconnected. You are not alone; you're part of a complex system full of interdependencies - but so many of us are blind to that fact. We see ourselves as an island, unaware of all the things that we are dependent upon the world for and all the ways the world is dependent upon us. We spend so much time getting caught up in the details of their lives that we don't bother to sit back and understand the bigger picture. Green truly believes that the rest of the colors are so busy trying to change and improve the world that they stop seeing the world as it truly is and therefore cannot appreciate its inherent perfection.
"Green is also, in general, non-confrontational. Green is often happiest just being left alone to grow and thrive at its own pace, in tune with the cycles and rhythms of the natural world. It does not seek to impose its values on others; it just wants to coexist as peacefully as possible. Which is not to say that green is a pacifist. Nature is known to be red of tooth and claw, after all. Green is incredibly lethal and has remarkably few qualms about killing individuals. Killing too many of one group can upset and unbalance nature, but poisoning this damn fool or giving that one a claw to the face? Completely reasonable. After all, 'survival of the fittest' is a maxim for a reason. To eat is to kill, at least for higher organisms. Green believes that to grow strong, the weak must be culled. The fawn with the broken leg, the tree that cannot reach the sunlight, the lone wolf without the protection of the pack - should they die, their loss might be sad, but they should not be mourned, their end was already written and in their passing, nature is strengthened. Death is not a thing to be feared, it is a natural part of the cycle and it serves a purpose." That part, at least, Liliana seemed to respect, even if the rest of it had her faintly contemptuous.
"Though green is very passive and happy to let the rest of the world pass it by while it contemplates the inherent beauty of a fallen leaf's place in the natural order of things, in is not inherently lazy. In fact, green is likely the most industrious mana there is, because green is oriented around growth. Expansion, reproduction, increasing strength, resilience...Green mana is almost certainly the most industrious type of mana there is; in fact, green mana has a way of multiplying itself, so even the smallest trickle can, in a very short amount of time, turn into a raging river of power. Green is also in tune enough with the life force energy of the world to tap into the mana that living things can create without harm." As opposed to black mana, which was also able to tap into that mana, but usually by sacrifice.
"Green does not believe in change, but it is constantly evolving. Change comes from external pressures which impose their desires, evolution comes from internal pressures to better assist in survival. Change is artificial and green hates that which is artificial. Green dislikes much of civilization, because it separates people from the natural world, imposes unnatural order, and creates things that were 'never meant to exist.'" Heavily audible air quotes there. "Green sees most man-made things as usurping the natural forces of creation, especially those things which are made with magic, like artifacts. Civilization also hates when things are removed from nature inorganically. The ecosystem is so carefully balanced that the unnatural removal of a component can throw everything off. Kill a bunch of predators and, all of the sudden, the prey start growing in number. This can have devastating consequences if left unchecked. Basically, green feels a strong connection with the status quo, so any attempt to change it through artificial means makes green very angry.
"Green is instinct, old wisdom, traditions that remain in tune with the natural world. It understands and values community, it is wild and primal, relying on strength, stamina, and sheer numbers to overcome problems. A single elephant can kill, and so can a swarm of bees. Green makes judicious use of both, and often will increase the size of either, so you end up dealing with an elephant the size of a house or bees the size of rabbits. It tends to eschew overthinking; again, the answer can often be found in nature or the more primal instincts within ourselves if we only looked. As an extension of accepting its role in the world, Green is also strongly fatalistic, trusting in destiny to decide the right way for things to go. If you live, great; if you die, it's what was meant to be. At its worst, green can become hostile to the idea of free will and the right of individuals to do as they want instead of as they were 'born' to do - the role that they were given, either by genetics or their natural, determined destiny."
The almost-cedar scent was stronger when they followed the small game trail at their feet into a clearing where Liliana already waited, regarding some kind of gnarled root in her hands with a contemplative expression. Both expression and root vanished as soon as the first person entered, replaced by a slight smile and a gesture towards the set up blankets and cushions. A JGOB box full of assorted pastries sat in the middle, and several large carafes of coffee (as well as hot water and tea bags) from the Perk were available for people to nibble at while she lectured. As always, the whiteboard was there, too, upon which was written the word
• What does green mana desire? What is its end goal?
• What means does green mana use to achieve these ends?
• What does green mana care about? What does it represent?
• What does green mana despise? What negatively drives it?
• What is green mana's greatest strength? Greatest weakness?
"Even though one would assume that the mana color I understand the motivations, desires, and methods of least is white, due to the generally false dichotomy of black and white being opposites, the true color I cannot truly understand is green," Liliana said, her finger stroking over a fern frond. "So, while I shall do my best, do realize that my biases will both be at their strongest and also most invisible to me during this lecture. You should always be listening for biases in your lessons as no one is truly objective, least of all the person who says they are. But I digress. The reason for my...consternation with green is that all four other colors look at the world and imagine how to change it for the better, even if they argue how they should proceed or in which ways it should be improved. Green does not. Green looks at the world and has already decided that it is already good and right and it is only the changes that we force upon the world that lead us to unhappiness, confusion, and strife. The natural order is a thing of beauty and has all the answers to life's problems. The key to life is to understand your place in it; by accepting your place within the natural rhythms and orders of things, green believes you will flourish as a person and encourage growth within others."
Already, Liliana looked like she had some terse commentary to offer, but she continued on with the determined expression that suggested she had accepted the only way out was through, but was still struggling with the execution. "Unlike blue, green believes that everything you are and everything you can be exists within you from the moment of your birth. It is, unsurprisingly, the nature of the 'nature versus nurture' divide; while it is not so ridiculous as to deny the possibility of improvement via learning and practice, it does believe that everything has a specific role to play within the wider world and if people would just accept that ideal and grow towards it, there would be peace. The secret to a happy life is to recognize the role you were born into and then embrace it. I'm sure if a green mana philosopher were here, they'd say something pithy about how 'a drone does not wish itself a queen' or 'an apple seed that tries to grow a pear is grows only dissatisfaction' or some other such--" She stopped herself from saying nonsense. "--sage aphorisms of a naturely bent."
"Green is a proponent of big picture thinking - seeing the whole forest, instead of the individual trees, as it were. Nature has a beautiful structure, it is made up of vast, interconnected webs of life, and, as a part life, you are vast and interconnected. You are not alone; you're part of a complex system full of interdependencies - but so many of us are blind to that fact. We see ourselves as an island, unaware of all the things that we are dependent upon the world for and all the ways the world is dependent upon us. We spend so much time getting caught up in the details of their lives that we don't bother to sit back and understand the bigger picture. Green truly believes that the rest of the colors are so busy trying to change and improve the world that they stop seeing the world as it truly is and therefore cannot appreciate its inherent perfection.
"Green is also, in general, non-confrontational. Green is often happiest just being left alone to grow and thrive at its own pace, in tune with the cycles and rhythms of the natural world. It does not seek to impose its values on others; it just wants to coexist as peacefully as possible. Which is not to say that green is a pacifist. Nature is known to be red of tooth and claw, after all. Green is incredibly lethal and has remarkably few qualms about killing individuals. Killing too many of one group can upset and unbalance nature, but poisoning this damn fool or giving that one a claw to the face? Completely reasonable. After all, 'survival of the fittest' is a maxim for a reason. To eat is to kill, at least for higher organisms. Green believes that to grow strong, the weak must be culled. The fawn with the broken leg, the tree that cannot reach the sunlight, the lone wolf without the protection of the pack - should they die, their loss might be sad, but they should not be mourned, their end was already written and in their passing, nature is strengthened. Death is not a thing to be feared, it is a natural part of the cycle and it serves a purpose." That part, at least, Liliana seemed to respect, even if the rest of it had her faintly contemptuous.
"Though green is very passive and happy to let the rest of the world pass it by while it contemplates the inherent beauty of a fallen leaf's place in the natural order of things, in is not inherently lazy. In fact, green is likely the most industrious mana there is, because green is oriented around growth. Expansion, reproduction, increasing strength, resilience...Green mana is almost certainly the most industrious type of mana there is; in fact, green mana has a way of multiplying itself, so even the smallest trickle can, in a very short amount of time, turn into a raging river of power. Green is also in tune enough with the life force energy of the world to tap into the mana that living things can create without harm." As opposed to black mana, which was also able to tap into that mana, but usually by sacrifice.
"Green does not believe in change, but it is constantly evolving. Change comes from external pressures which impose their desires, evolution comes from internal pressures to better assist in survival. Change is artificial and green hates that which is artificial. Green dislikes much of civilization, because it separates people from the natural world, imposes unnatural order, and creates things that were 'never meant to exist.'" Heavily audible air quotes there. "Green sees most man-made things as usurping the natural forces of creation, especially those things which are made with magic, like artifacts. Civilization also hates when things are removed from nature inorganically. The ecosystem is so carefully balanced that the unnatural removal of a component can throw everything off. Kill a bunch of predators and, all of the sudden, the prey start growing in number. This can have devastating consequences if left unchecked. Basically, green feels a strong connection with the status quo, so any attempt to change it through artificial means makes green very angry.
"Green is instinct, old wisdom, traditions that remain in tune with the natural world. It understands and values community, it is wild and primal, relying on strength, stamina, and sheer numbers to overcome problems. A single elephant can kill, and so can a swarm of bees. Green makes judicious use of both, and often will increase the size of either, so you end up dealing with an elephant the size of a house or bees the size of rabbits. It tends to eschew overthinking; again, the answer can often be found in nature or the more primal instincts within ourselves if we only looked. As an extension of accepting its role in the world, Green is also strongly fatalistic, trusting in destiny to decide the right way for things to go. If you live, great; if you die, it's what was meant to be. At its worst, green can become hostile to the idea of free will and the right of individuals to do as they want instead of as they were 'born' to do - the role that they were given, either by genetics or their natural, determined destiny."
OOC