Diplomacy, Tuesday, September 2, 2025 [2nd period]

[sith_happened]

Anakin was wearing a fabulous gray hat while trying his best to pretend that he wasn't. "Hello, everyone."

Ahsoka was not wearing a hat, instead she had a garland of flowers draped around one montral. "Welcome to diplomacy, a subject we are both highly familiar with." Because that was something people needed to worry about when the moose was involved.

"We are also very good at it," Anakin added, which was a more debatable statement. "And because it's the first part of the semester, we're going to go with the more obvious first class assignment: small talk. Meet everyone in this class-it's not difficult--and come away with their name and something they think is interesting about them." He shrugged. "You don't have to agree that it's interesting, but you can't show that on your face or in your mannerisms. While you're learning this about others, you must also impart your name and something incredibly uninteresting to the other people. Faking being enthusiastic is also an important part of diplomacy."

"You will be quizzed on this next class," Ahsoka added, because it was the start of the semester and they got one warning. "Because another part of diplomacy is that you don't have to care about those little details, but you do need to remember them."

Anakin nodded. "Ahsoka and I will also be participating," he said. And no one could even curse about that today!

And it could have been worse, they could have had class tomorrow led by two Padawans.

Comments

Re: Mingle!

[mustbeawitch]

"I believe that would be London in my universe," Lydia said like a true Englishwoman.

Re: Mingle!

[mostnonheinous]

"Maybe! Hopefully you never have to find out for sure. It was most harrowing."

Not that you'd be able to tell by Billie's response to it or anything.

Re: Mingle!

[mustbeawitch]

Lydia hadn't the faintest idea why finding out where the center of the universe was would be harrowing, never mind most so, but she would take Billie's word for it. "I am sorry to hear that. London is splendid, or so I am told. I have not seen the best parts of it. But I was most fond of Brighton, the summer I spent there."

Re: Mingle!

[mostnonheinous]

"Excellent! I was there back when my dad's band was touring -- but I was extremely young. I don't remember most of it. But it sounds like a good time!"

Re: Mingle!

[mustbeawitch]

"Your father was a musician, then?" Lydia guessed. 'Band' could mean so many things in her time.

Re: Mingle!

[mostnonheinous]

"That's right, with my uncle Bill. They're the leaders of the band that saved all of reality."

Brag much, Billie?

"What do your folks do?"

Re: Mingle!

[mustbeawitch]

'Do'? "My father is a gentleman," Lydia explained. "He is the master of Longbourn, outside of the village of Meryton." And obviously her mother was its mistress.

Re: Mingle!

[mostnonheinous]

". . . Okay." Billie nodded slowly. There was a mismatch of communication here, somewhere, because it definitely sounded a bit like he didn't do anything. "Does he have any hobbies?"

Re: Mingle!

[mustbeawitch]

Some gentlemen did quite a lot, as it happened, in terms of managing the estate and the people that lived on it. Lydia's father? Well...

"He reads quite a lot."

Re: Mingle!

[mostnonheinous]

"Reading is good." It wasn't Billie's primary occupation, but then, few people engaged in 'bumming around listening to music' as their primary occupation, so. "Are you also a most enthusiastic reader?"

Re: Mingle!

[mustbeawitch]

"Me? No, oh, no," Lydia said. "I have never been particularly fond of the pastime." She had a very short attention span, you see. "Some of my sisters do love to read, though. Do you like to read? Or do you play, like your father?"

Re: Mingle!

[mostnonheinous]

“Oh! Neither,” Billie admitted. “I’m more of a music listener. A curator, if you will. If you ever want recommendations, I’m your girl!”

Re: Mingle!

[mustbeawitch]

"Perhaps," Lydia said. "I have made some effort to familiarize myself with the music of this time, but it is so different from what I am accustomed to from home. I am quite fond of the oeuvre of Miss Swift."

Re: Mingle!

[mostnonheinous]

"She has a most popular discography!" Billie agreed. "Who are your favorites from your time? I have a lot of knowledge about historical music as well as modern music." She leaned in a little. "For instance, did you know that Beethoven loved to mess around with Mozart's compositions when he was just hanging out somewhere?"

Billie hadn't met Beethoven personally, but she'd heard from the dads that it turned out the guy mostly played Mozart when he was at the San Dimas mall.