Staff Meeting, Friday Afternoon (after classes)

[bigdamnprincipal]

The lounge was set up for another faculty meeting, with snacks and pastries and cold drinks and hot drinks and everything moddable between. It was important to cover all the culinary basics when you were dealing with so many different kinds of people.

Comments

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[carpe_demon]

"Nah, he just hooked me up with the Sorcerer to get myself turned human," Drake said. "He was pretty surprised I wanted to spend my last year teaching kids, but what better way to leave my mark on the world than enriching young minds about books and the power of love? I need to help him out before my time's up next year, but until then my time is my own."

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[sith_happened]

"The power of love?" Anakin repeated. "Really? Do they need that encouragement?"

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[carpe_demon]

Drake gave Anakin a Look. "You think these youngsters know about love? Real love? Hormones, sex, yeah. But real love? Epic love?"

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[sith_happened]

"I think it's very difficult to find that kind of love in stories, too," Anakin replied. "They tend to gloss over the hard realities."

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[carpe_demon]

"Not all of them," Drake said. "And I won't gloss over the ugly parts. Love can be tragic. Sometimes love can really suck. But better to have loved and lost than...yadda yadda yadda."

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[sith_happened]

Anakin's eyes grew shadowed. "I don't know. I could have saved everyone a lot of pain if I'd yadda yaddaed."

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[carpe_demon]

"Thought you said you were married?" Drake said, instantly intrigued. "Something happen before that?"

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[sith_happened]

"First marriage," Anakin said shortly. "She died."

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[carpe_demon]

"Did she love you?" Drake asked gently. "Did you love her? Because whatever happened, those moments would've brought light to the universe, even if it was for a short time. And that light never really dies."

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[sith_happened]

Anakin shrugged. "And when she died, it destabilized the entire galaxy."

If by galaxy, we meant "Anakin."

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[carpe_demon]

"But would that have happened even if you hadn't loved her?" Drake asked.

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[sith_happened]

"No," Anakin said firmly.

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[carpe_demon]

"You sound pretty sure about that," Drake said, "and I can't argue not knowing the full story. But whatever happened, without that loving and being love, you wouldn't be the man you are today. Maybe she wouldn't have died, maybe that galaxy wouldn't have been destabilized, but maybe a hell of a lot worse things could've happened -- like erasing the existence of that grandkid you mentioned. And you wouldn't be here, right now, teaching kids right from wrong and making an English major very happy."

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[sith_happened]

"But now we're entering into my issue area," Anakin said with a tiny smile. "Where do the ethics fall on this? My personal happiness shouldn't be measured against the fate of a galaxy."

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[carpe_demon]

Drake rubbed his chin and eyed Anakin. "You're a stubborn one, aren't you?" he said. "Does your wife have to throw things at your head if you get all 'oh, I don't deserve happiness, I don't deserve you'? Point is, love can make you crazy. It can sometimes even make people do very bad things. But without it, the universe is a cold and empty place. So when you find it, you've got to hold on to it with all your might and let it drag you back out of the darkness, kicking and screaming if it has to. Given time, love can heal any almost any wound, or at least ease the pain."

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[sith_happened]

And Anakin knew that for truth, not that he would admit it. "Make sure the students know about the idiocy, too," he recommended.

It's why his classes were such laugh riots.

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[carpe_demon]

"Oh, definitely," Drake grinned. "I'll probably even try to get them to admit the dumbest thing they've done for love."

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[sith_happened]

"Try second dumbest," Anakin replied. "That way the truly humiliating things stay secret and the other students don't get ideas."

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[carpe_demon]

"Good point," Drake said, nodding. "And maybe by then I'll have an example or two to give them myself."

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[sith_happened]

"I don't generally do that," Anakin admitted.

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[carpe_demon]

"Make good points or be a fool for love?" Drake asked.

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[sith_happened]

"Give examples of my screw-ups," Anakin replied.

Because they tended to be fairly epic.

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[carpe_demon]

"Well, if we're talking screw-ups in general, I've got a list a mile long," Drake said. "Like the crickets. Or when I got caught trying to put itching powder in the Brotherhood's robes. Or that time with the jello...."

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[sith_happened]

Don't ask, Anakin.

"...the time with the jello?"

Re: Before the Meeting [09/25]

[carpe_demon]

"Well," Drake said, so Very Glad he'd been asked! "I was pretty popular with the ladies even though I was the most undemony demon who ever demoned, so there was this one time I was having a little fun with a pair of succubi. I conjured up some jello just to make things interesting, but something went wrong and I couldn't make it stop. It ended up flooding the chamber and several others around it...including the one where some Darklighters were engaged in some pretty serious negotiations with the Manticores."