[Meng Long]

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[Scenario] The Vytal Debate

[attr="class","ilikeyouheadsubtext"]History repeating itself

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14:16 PM, History Classroom [break] [break]

While it must feel somewhat weird to start the regular curriculum again after everything that happened, there had to be a moment that some form of normalcy returned to Haven again. While everything that has happened will most likely have its lasting effect on the student body at large, this was still an institution of learning. In how to become a Huntsman of Huntress, yes, but that involved more than just the ability to fight. While wielding a weapon, and knowing how to utilize it with skill, is always a necessary requirement to fight the creatures of destruction, there are more abilities that are just as vital. While everybody had particular strengths and weaknesses in their own repertoire, there is a basic understanding that every student before they are able to graduate need to have learned more than simply being able to hit something really hard, really well.[break] [break]

For some this is the leadership ability to lead other people besides yourself into battle and out of conflict.[break] [break]

For some it is the skill and knowledge in how to treat wounded people in the field and save people from the brink of death.[break] [break]

For some it is the mastery to show empathy towards people in a crisis situation, making sure that emotions are kept in check.[break] [break]

For some it is an advanced knowledge on dust, weapon systems, or another practical implementation of scientific knowledge.[break] [break]

At least, that was supposed to be one of the core principles of these academies at one point. Trying to nurture individual talents that could be of service to the people of Remnant besides combat. Trying to make it clear to youthful and impressionable individuals with extraordinary abilities that they are more than just a weapon to be pointed at the ever-present enemy that was besieging us at every moment. Give them the sense of self-respect that they are valued for the whole range of their abilities, and let the whole range of their talents flourish in a safe environment as children evolved into respectable adults who had an exemplary role in society. [break] [break]

Because of the tribulations that have transpired over the last year, this core principle of Haven has not been on the forefront of everyone’s mind. The Fall, now Rochdale and the Haven incident. Too busy with putting out fires and mending cracks, that developing secondary abilities that don’t seem to be directly useful in a fight have gotten a bit snowed under. Now that Vytal is creeping closer and closer on the agenda, the ability to win in the tournament will soon fill the student’s minds. Despite it being a celebration of peace, culture and the kingdoms coming together in harmony, most students simply saw it as the best place to get people to notice how great you are in an arena while the world is watching.[break] [break]

Mrs. Long had instituted the Vytal Debate as a semi-mandatory requirement to pass the History course, to ensure that the true message that the Vytal festival should represent was not forgotten. [break] [break]

Four students would be presenting arguments as if they were one of the participating kingdoms in the war. Can you understand and argue from a historic point of view? Mrs. Long had assigned every student a kingdom ‘at random’, but anyone perceptive enough to see a common thread had noticed that nobody was representing the kingdom they originated from before they had come to Haven. Maybe she even was clever enough to assign people to kingdoms who she thought would be extra difficult for some students to properly understand without proper research and a bit of soul searching. [break] [break]

The History Classroom had received a little makeover. Five table and chairs have been placed in the center, with four of the tables facing each other and having a little flag on it representing each of the four kingdoms. The fifth table was used by Mrs. Long as she led and oversaw the debates. Every table had small form on it that outlined the speaking-order for the first round of the debate, as well as a complimentary glass of water on it. Group 2 was due to have their debate next, and everything was ready to begin. The students had been instructed to wear their uniform, and leave their weapons outside of the classroom. This was a debate, not a cage match. [break] [break]

Mantle, would be represented by Carmim Clover.[break] [break]

Vacuo, would be represented by Colton Deraine.[break] [break]

Mistral, would be represented by Solomon Moon.[break] [break]

Vale, would be represented by Rin Hellebore. [break] [break]

Mrs. Long would greet all of the students from behind her table, a collection of forms and notes laying just out of reading distance that she would most likely fill out during the debate. The old teacher was wearing her customary robes, and in on her desk she had a nice thermos filled with tea for herself, as well as a digital clock that could be used as a timer. She would direct them all to take a seat at their proper table. After which, she would properly open the debate. Her voice wasn’t all that cheerful, and the old woman had heavy bags under her eyes from most likely being busy with work late into the nights. [break] [break]

“Good afternoon, everyone. I will now formally open this debate, and state that from this point onward your actions and words may be included in your final mark. We will start with the opening statements, in which each kingdom may introduce their reason for participating in the Great War, and why they shall be victorious in this conflict. This should be an independent statement that you have had to prepare beforehand. You have two minutes to speak, after which the next speaker will receive two minutes, etcetera, et cetera. I will only interrupt at the end of the full round of opening statements, or when someone disrupts the speaking time of another during this round. Doing so, as is described in the syllabus, will mean an automatic reduction in your total score.”[break] [break]

The students had two weeks of self-study to prepare for this debate. They had the freedom to develop their ow arguments. Mrs. Long had been mostly absent from this process. Mostly because she was still busy with putting out fires after everything that happened, but partly by design. Mrs. Long had held these debates for years. While there were few speeches and arguments that surprised her, there was always at least one every year that was either exceptionally brilliant, or just plain stupid.[break] [break]

Meng Long was hopefully wishing somewhere deep down on stupid, even though she didn’t want anyone to fail and have a resit. Mr. Long held hovered her hand above the timer, preparing to let the first round start by pressing the button.[break] [break]

“The form of your desk outlines who speaks first in this round. The first speaker may now start, your time is running.”[break] [break]

Two minutes. Make them count.[break] [break]

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[attr="class","ilikeyoufoottext"]WORDS: 1154
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Thread Total: 1154
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NOTES: Grandma cares that you stay hydrated!

✵

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[Colton Deraine]

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Bravery is believing in yourself, and that's one thing nobody can teach you.

Annoying.

Vacuo was perhaps the worst option to get selected, but Colton was here nevertheless because he needed to pass his classes to move up next year to second year status. He showed up as he normally did, with a freshly pressed and ironed Haven Academy uniform that was immaculate. He wore the same brown boots that he had swapped to after Rochdale, which looked the same outwardly as his own boots but was more reinforced on the inside with thicker metal plates in the case of an unexpected emergency.

He was first in line to give a speech according to the listing, so he started when directed by Professor Long. He had a small notecard in front of him with bullet points but chose to stand and ignore it in favor of looking to each of the people around him in turn. Rin, the new girl. Carmim, the loose cannon moron. Sol, the other loose cannon moron.

”We in Vacuo are a simple people. We live in tribes in temporarily constructed villages, set to move at any point due to the shifting sands, Grimm, or wandering bandits. We have decided, in our infinite wisdom, that the will and right of the individual to be at the forefront of all affairs is the most important aspect to life. After all, if you can’t act as you wish to in any given circumstances – are you really living at all?”

The way he talked was slower, enunciating each part of a word more than he usually did. His voice projected well, and it was clear that he wasn’t exactly a stranger to public speaking. He lifted up an empty piece of paper and held it in his hand as he got to the next part to emphasize his point.

”We have signed these scraps of paper that other parts of the world seem to have placed much importance on, but truth be told most of our society is illiterate and we just painted our hands to stamp them. Words like ‘nonaggression pact’, ‘treaty’, or ‘binding declaration’ mean nothing to us, because what matters the most is what is happening in the now and the present day. Just because things were agreed upon yesterday, or last week, or last month does not mean that they are agreed upon today because situations change.”

He ripped up the piece of paper, then, just like Vacuo ripped up all signed agreements when they betrayed Mistral in the war.

”Initially, once we pressed our ink covered hands to those ‘treaties’ and ‘nonagression’ pacts we made our way to a firm position of neutrality. We promised not to interfere in a war fought between the King of the Vale and the rest of the civilized world, because frankly we could make a lot more money by selling dust to countries in war. This worked well enough for a time, but just as the tide was turning and Vale was permanently on the back foot something changed. The situation changed, and stirred within us something primal that every human should share.”

The brunette slammed his fist to his chest, then, and looked towards the Vacuo flag in an exaggerated and most likely offensive show of mock patriotism.

”When we are talked to rudely, with these high and abstract concepts like ‘negotiations’ or ‘bias’, we revert to the true law of Vacuo – the law of the fist. If you speak big words I don’t understand, I will punch you in the face. The one true law of Vacuo, in the absence of any and all court system or formalized government, is the law of the fist. If you piss me off, I will attack you because I am angry. That is what happened to the delegations of Mantle and Mistral, who both start with ‘M’ so are unified as a matter principle. It was pointed out to me by the Vale ambassador after I punched the other ambassadors and threw rocks at them that both Vale and Vacuo start with a V, which in the common language means and I quote ‘punching pal’.”

Another prepared piece of papers was lifted, but this one was not empty. It had a large and bolded letter V along with an equal sign and two hands shaking. This was the stroke of genius that allowed Vale to win Vacuo over, or at least Colton’s interpretation of such. In truth, there was no records of that conversation so there was only speculation of what had truly happened. He spoke with passion, though, even if that was largely faked for effect. He was no stranger to debates, but also would also not take the most flattering interpretation of events to a kingdom that he himself hated. He instead chose to take a historical possibility not directly refutable but still on the more cynical side to make a farce out of the ‘freedom for all’ position of the Vacuoan… coalition of tribes.

”This logic seemed completely right to me, and so with zero obligation on the part of the Vale to help me out in any way I will throw my lot in with them. Both of our kingdoms start with a V, and the ambassador with the funky hat bowed and scraped to me so I would consider his argument. To call the banners to war, I will ink my royal hand to pieces of parchment and have my goons go outside and hit people with the banners to get a standing army. The one law of Vacuo is the law of the fist, and if you refuse to fight with our punching pals you will get punched until you comply. Victory through strength, compliance by force, and freedom for all to do as they please. We in Vacuo will show the world the power of the law of the fist, and show that any conflict can be solved by simply killing enough people to force others to respect our right to make our own decisions and to be as free as individuals can be.”

He didn’t outright state that he was done, but he sat down back in his seat with about two seconds left of time remaining. He was done for now, and if he managed to get an outburst in the process to lower the grade of one of the others in the process... well, ever the better.

※ 1033 total words ✎ 1033 words ✉ C rank semblance, D rank martial arts, C rank durability, D rank weapon, D rank weapon enhancement, D rank agility, E rank stamina

MADE BY MIZO

[Solomon Moon]

Solomon

Sol was near to unrecognizable to anyone who would have known him prior to inclusion in this debate. Though the guidelines of the debate required students deposit their weapons at the door and wear their standard issue uniforms, it did not specify that they come as the normally would for class. To Sol there was something fitting about representing Mistral, and adhering to the spirit of a decree but not the letter. Striking a magnificent figure, six foot tall, even his uniform pressed freshly not more than an hour prior, was custom fitted to his powerful frame. Not a single seam was out of place, nor a single crease crooked. Black jackboots were polished to a mirrored obsidian surface, and white parade gloves freshly bleached and starched so that they practically shone in the room's dim light. But that was just how Solomon looked dressed for class, what set today apart was everything else.

Sol's craggy countenance was painted thickly with makeup that would not have looked out of place at a kabuki show. The majority of his flesh was painted a resplendent alabaster white, that caught the light and seemed to make him shine like a celestial being. The hard lines of his cheeks and jaw were enhanced with bold black strokes, shaded to exaggerate every detail of his facial structure. He had traded his characteristic black eye-patch for an ornately crafted block of carved redwood, and around each eye were painted broad circles of blood red that made his single golden eye stand out starkly like a beacon of light. His eyebrows were painted in caricature of pure fury and his flowing shoulder length black hair was drawn up into a tight and immaculately oiled top-knot. From the right side of his head, hanging on a rakish angle was a beautifully crafted and terribly realized Oni-mask, which gave the impression of a warlord fresh off the battlefield and having only recently removed his death-mask.

Sol stood before the class, looking both regal and ridiculous, and seeming not to care. He scanned the room without moving his head, radiating a nobleman's contempt for the lesser races that surrounded him. It was unclear just how much of that was act and how much was just Sol.

As the Vacuo representative finished his speech, such a speech that made Sol wonder how much of the content of which had just been an excuse to deride the nomad nation, blithely ignorant himself of the astounding hypocrisy of that thought as he stood before all like a painted geisha, Sol offered the honorable representative a slight bow of his head. Then he began on his own prepared speech.

"What is it that separates mankind from the animals, from the creatures of Grimm? What parts of our kind make us better than the slavering beast?" He asked, even his usually gruff gravelly voice making an attempt at regal and melodious as he spoke, "NOBILITY!" He stabbed the air with a gloved finger, "ORDER!", a second finger, "COOPERATION!", a third, "SELF-SACRIFICE!", and finally a fourth.

He paused to scan the room once more, exaggerating his expression of superiority to the degree that he seemed to be sucking on a lemon.

"These are the foundation upon which Mistral was founded! NOBILITY! For only those of the highest breeding, those who most exemplify the splendid human race may have the strength of will and character to govern it! ORDER! For without it the we are no better than the Faunus, or the Grimm living in chaos! COOPERATION! For we look to our honorable neighbors across the seas and we are MIGHTY together! SELF-SACRIFICE! For it is a noble thing to deny oneself of our vices so that were may be united!" His voice boomed, all drill instructor and emperor, "Without Nobility, we would be as the other kingdoms, scrubbing in the dirt, settling debates with our fists, unfit to govern ourselves! It is a kindness that we would step in to correct these cultures who are as children, but they are too arrogant to see it but anything other than aggression. Without Order, We would have been the treacherous Valenese, who fired the first shot of the war, despite the orders of their So-called-King to keep the peace! Without Cooperation, we would have had no allies when Vacuo so callously foreswore their oaths and drove us out of their company! Without Self-Sacrifice, we had war a war to end all wars, just so savages, "at this, Sol made a show of glaring at the Vacuo and Vale representatives, and even added a flourish of his own aura, which briefly produced a burst of blue and red flame from his eye, "Could cling to their superstitious dedication to self expression in arts which Mistral had already mastered centuries before."

Sol threw out his hands.

"You all had the choice. You've heard our words, but you were too dull to listen. You say we are tyrants, we say we are saviors. We say that our offer of rule is a kindness, but you are children, ignorant of your peril, unwilling to put aside your childish notions and grow up, and sometimes children must be punished. Now you will face our might on the field of battle!With our brothers in Mantle and their mastery of war, we shall show you your error! Prepare for war!"

Sol bowed, and then retired to his seat.

@tag

1097 words

notes

Velvet of WW

[Rin Hellebore]

WORD COUNT: 1004

TAGGED:

TAGGED: Fluffy

It was still troublesome to sleep properly at night. It was still troublesome to look some of the other students in the eyes, though, fortunately, none of said individuals were going to be partaking in this litlte debate debacle. Rin had done her homework, as best as she could. Enjoying reading, enjoying context, enjoying understanding how everything worked, this kind of assignment wasn't all too bad. The true difficulties came in getting together with the other students to debate these circumstances. To present before a gathering of individuals, while actively attempting to push her own opinion over a fellow classmate, was not something the petite redhead felt any comfort in doing. School was important. Fitting in was more important. Considering what had happened recently however, the whole fitting in thing may as well be dropped. It was simply not going to happen, with the burning man, the bullying gang queen and the violent brute. So the grades remained the only thing left that could show Alra how dedicated Rin was to the task she had been given. The only thing which Rin felt she could bite down hard into, to stay part of the Hellebore family instead of being disowned. The two others introduced themselves. Rin bit down into how both of them came off as arrogant. Infinite wisdom. As if such a thing existed. The other seemed to have gotten the wrong picture entirely. Cooperation. It was far closer to subjugation. While listening to them speak, Rin was adjusting her notes.


Many might not have noticed Rin as the discussion was ongoing, or have made assumptions that the girl was going to get rolled over. There was hardly a pressence to detect, hardly a person to notice. Unlike normally, where her clothes shifted from day to day, where she went into great detail with her outfits, where everything had a reason to be precisely where it was, today the girl simply looked ordinary. Like any of the students currently watching this debate unfold. As Rin stood up, she turned her back to the debate table and the teacher, stepping out to face the area that would've been the crowd overseeing the debate. Rin's voice was unlike the other contestants emotional. Almost as if she was currently reflection on the things that had come to pass. The reasonings and affairs that caused the development of the war to arrange itself in the manner that it had. "The Vale, although we had several disagreeances with the way Mistral was greedily expanding its borders, indoctrinating and suffocating free will and artistry from her citizens, allowing only the noble to prosper and grow, never initiated this conflict - and had no intention to. Foreign politics was something kept to trade and treaties. Until Mistral invaded our already settled shores."


Rin turned to look at the others gathered at the table. Utilizing several different layers of arguments. Appeal to emotion. Appeal to logical facts, as written in history. Appeal to her as a person, coming off as just a regular person, instead of an overly pompous pineapple like Solomon. "Records indicate several attempts from the Vale to de escalate the conflict, requesting armstices. Our people encouraging room to be made for the settlers on our soil. That we may expand in unity, blurring the lines between nations for the betterment of all. To no avail, as the bloodshed began, without response from Mistral." Rin, at this point, sat back down at the table with her papers, looking through them, seeming professional. Prepared, confident, yet still having that vibe of being just a regular person. Lacking the flair or arrogance of Solomon. Lacking the power or the knife's edge that Colton seemed to have. "It matters not which of the two settling sides attacked first. Ultimately, the conflict happened in our territory after an extended period of negotiations, meaning only the aggressor can be at fault; Mistral. The secondary aggressor quickly joined the fight, as Mantle, too, encroached upon our shores. They sided with old allies immediately, rather than even seek any prospect of negotiation or deliberation." 


At this point, Rin turned towards Colton. A gentle, supportive gaze from those purple eyes met with Colton's. "Believing in the same kind of freedom for their people as Vale, plus meeting increasingly difficult demands from the Mistral & Mantle delegations that had encroached on their lands many years prior, Vacuo entered the war. Once again, the aggressors being Mantle & Mistral. While one side fought to protect their way of life, the other side fought to subjugate and dominate, as evidenced by the attack on Vacuo's dust mining operations. A subjugation neither Vacuo nor Vale would tolerate."



Clearing her throat, she turned her gaze back towards the group. "All which this fighting achieved, for any of us, was utter decimation of the land. Destruction of natural resources, agitation of the Grimm, splitting of families and famine among loved ones. No one benefitted from this destruction, but the Grimm. Therefore, I would like to extend a peace offering. We at Vale will allow certain areas of our shores to be settled by Mistral and Mantle. In turn, we wish to settle on your shores. To learn from the culture of one another, without domination or subjugation. To avoid the misery that already occured once, to be better than our predecessors. If the suggestion of mutual cohabitation is unacceptable; I ask the representatives of Mantle & Mistral respectively, to disclose their presupposition. If you've come to this meeting with the attitude that war is inevitable, a debate cannot be held." Rin gave a short look to Ms. Long at this point. If there truly were presuppositions which made a debate impossible, wouldn't that make this whole discussion pointless, and thus the class lecture itself pointless? Turning back, she spoke in over the table, speaking to everyone at the same time.

"I humbly ask. Do not repeat history's most desperate hours. For Vale & Vacuo have already proven. We cannot and will not be broken."  

[Carmim Clover]

❝ AURA: 100% TAG: @debatepals NOTES: fuck u colton u waste-of-literacy piece of shit. smh WORDS: 3616 | TWC: 3616 HAVE YOU SEEN HER? HAVE YOU HEARD? THE WAY SHE MOVES, THERE ARE NO WORDS Carmim had put a considerable amount of thought and effort into her preparations for the Vytal Debate, in spite of all of the recent chaos and trauma, and stress. And why not? Mrs. Long had first mentioned it, offhandedly, weeks ago, back when Carmim first began taking weekly additional tutoring lessons with her. History had always been a subject that intrigued Carmim a great deal, and despite her complete and utter inability to read her textbooks, she had a good sense for oral history, as that was what she had been raised with. She remembered a lot of the things Mrs. Long talked about in class, as long as they were at least vaguely narrative, and she remembered many of the stories her uncle and her father had told her, long ago, about the Great War. And she remembered what Aegle had told her, the night before, about her homeland, and its culture. It was important if she wanted to take the debate seriously, and she definitely did. That was why, much like Colton, and to a lesser extent, like Solomon, Carmim arrived to the debate, looking her absolute best. Her hair was neatly brushed and combed, framing her face, which wore an expression of tempered, confident, excitement. Her uniform was ironed, and each and every button was polished and shined to a pearly finish. Draping over her shoulder was an elegant, semi-authentic, touch- she wore a thick, heavy, fur-lined coat, as if it were a cloak, in her best impression of what a proper Atlesian leader ought to wear. It was really cold up there, right? She had to dress the part. She even wore shoes, which was a truly rare and shocking sight- well-polished, glistening in the light of the classroom. Most noteworthy, though, was not what she had on, but what she didn't have. It had taken a lot of getting used to. A lot of getting used to, actually... And a lot of tripping, falling down, and running into things. But she could now walk boldly and confidently, decently balanced, from the classroom door, to her seat, without tripping up or stumbling once. It felt strange walking without her drum. And the physical difficulties of going without it weren't nearly the hardest part, but she was coping, and managing. Not yet thriving, but anyone could see that after two weeks of therapy, she was making significant headway. Also noteworthy was the stress ball in her left hand, which would normally rest on her drum, but was now dangling limply from her shoulder. It was one of Doc's stress balls, actually- built with monstrous strength in mind, far stronger than Carmim was. She was strong, of course, strong enough to rip through a lesser stress ball, but this one was far too resilient for that. It was perfect for her, and almost as necessary as the necklace she wore- the one thing that seemed unrelated to either her school uniform, or her Atlas-inspired attire. To anyone with a good eye, it was easily identifiable as one of the many black ropes that held her djembe together- she had quite a few spares, in the event that any of the ones on her drum ever broke in battle or something, so it wasn't hard grabbing one of those and making a simple rope necklace with it. It wasn't much, but it was as close as she was allowed to carry when not in a combat class or in the field, until her therapy was finished. She was the last to arrive, but not by very much, and when she did, she took her seat with a somewhat-wearier-than-usual smile to Mrs. Long and waited for the debate to begin. A glance around showed who her opponents were, and she was both excited and incredibly anxious, upon the realization. To her left was Rin Hellebore, a girl she didn't especially recognize, though she did note that she looked... Oddly similar to herself. Like a paler version. They seemed to be roughly the same height, with the same hair. The biggest difference was in their respective builds- Rin's body was lither than hers, and had a lot more... curves. Carmim glanced down, somewhat self-consciously, at her own figure- still fairly slim, compared to most, but with much more noticeable muscle, and none of the dainty, delicate, features of Rin. She was tough, calloused, and she was suddenly very aware that her chest was lacking considerably, in comparison to the other girl. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy atop the slight admiration for the Hellebore's doll-like beauty... It seemed that she was representing Vale, which was just fine. Carmim was glad she hadn't been assigned that one, as she knew significantly less about its role in the war than any of the other three. To her right was someone she was much more familiar with, which was a relief. And, more importantly, he was taking the role of Mistral in this debate, which was Atlas's ally. She was glad that he would have her back. Although... Solomon's outfit. Actually, his entire appearance. Was... Intense. And immaculate. She felt completely overshadowed now, upon looking at him. His entire face was... Solid white. Traced with thick, bold, lines of black, with red rings around his golden eye, and what looked like a wooden coaster that got stuck in his other. Is that why he always wore the eyepatch? Wild. And his demonic-looking mask... Was this what traditional Mistrallian leaders wore to war? If so, then Carmim was very glad she hadn't been alive for the Great War- seeing someone like that charging across the desert towards her would have been absolutely terrifying! Still, nothing was quite as terrifying as what she saw, directly in front of her. Looking like a polished poster-child for being bored as fuck, Colton Deraine sat there, his clear dismissal of this entire exercise written on his face. In front of a Vacuoan flag. Her flag. Concerned scarlet eyes flashed towards Mrs. Long, as if to ask, "Why is he sitting there?" but before she could express her alarm any further, the old professor began to speak. She returned her gaze to the desk in front of her, and the small handful of items she'd brought. Not notes, because she was about as skilled with writing as she was with reading. No, she had her entire speech memorized, and ready in her mind. Sitting on the table, instead, were a small handful of items relating to the cultural values of Atlas- a small deer antler, carved into a flute, representing the communal music of the Atlesian Highlands, which Aegle had told her much about, and also the sense of long-standing tradition in the colder kingdom. A small crystal of Water Dust- she'd asked Mrs. Long for special permission to bring this, and just to be on the safe side, it was in a transparent plastic case, just in case someone might have imagined that the redhead would want to... splash someone with it? If she did, she could just use the water that her professor was so kind to leave out. Not that she would, of course. The Dust represented the Atlesian interest in advancing technology, and in particular, the use of Dust to do so. It was a major factor in the Great War, after all, so she would be remiss not to include it in some way. And finally, chess pieces. A King, a Queen, a Knight, and a Rook. She wasn't nearly well-versed enough in chess to know what any of them did, specifically, but she thought of chess as a good representation for discipline, order, and academia, which were other values she associated with Atlas. She was thinking through her own speech, when Colton stood, first on the list. And suddenly, she couldn't think anymore. If she hadn't been crushing the life out of her stress ball, underneath the table, she was now. It helped. A lot. Even the way he began the speech pissed her off. A simple people. She knew what he really meant, even if the words he used to say it were true. She knew he thought she was stupid. That all of her people were stupid. He never made any attempt to hide his disdain for her before, and ever since her outburst in the Rochdale postmortem, he had been outright hateful whenever they'd crossed paths since. It was the same way he'd always treated Qiu'li. She squeezed the stress ball a little harder, as he drew the piece of paper. Her eyes were fixed on him in a fervent, crimson, glare. Illiterate? Painted hands? She was mad about those, because it was apparent that he'd never so much as cracked a fucking book on her kingdom. The people in the main cities weren't illiterate. And even if the majority of Vacuoans, in the rural villages, were, so what? So were rural villagers in Mistral. So were villagers in Vale, in Atlas. Vacuo wasn't uniquely uneducated. But when he started talking about the way her people ignored treaties? The way they were unreliable, and untrustworthy? When he ripped up his papers? She could feel her knuckles going white on the little rubber ball in her hand. She grit her teeth, and the look leveled on Colton wasn't one of anger, but of fury and disgust. He had no right to make a mockery of her people that way. And when he beat his chest, and put his dirty eyes on her flag? Nobody in the room would mistake her bared teeth and burning glare for anything else than what it was. She opened her mouth, to say something, and immediately closed it, biting her tongue hard enough that a pair of hot tears streamed down the left side of her face. No. He wanted her to get mad and yell at him. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. She looked to Mrs. Long again, indignation and rightful fury on her face, as she silently gestured at Colton. Why wasn't she stopping him? This wasn't a debate, not one in good faith, and everyone in the room knew it. She couldn't be the only one who thought this was wrong, could she? His "law of the fist" spiel turned her gaze back to him quickly. That was just patently not true! His prepared papers, everything... He was making a joke of this debate. And on so many levels, Carmim was angry with him. She hated him. She had thought she didn't like him, a long time ago. His jabs at Aegle, his rude comments, his arrogant demeanor, what he'd said to, and about, her after Qiu'li dragged her down with him... But she didn't dislike him. She hated him. More than she hated anyone else. More than she hated Qiu'li. More than she hated the people who murdered Van Sange. She hated him. Here he was, standing right in front of her, knowing damn well she could do nothing to stop him, and he was making a mockery of her, of her kingdom, and of the entire concept of a civilized debate. He was making a mockery of history. Of all the lives lost in the Great War. He didn't give a shit about any of that, because none of it made him look better. It was disgusting. Deep breaths. It had been her mantra for a long time. She needed it now more than ever. She thought back to what Lynn had been teaching her in their sessions. And so, as quietly as she could, she closed her eyes, and counted. "One... Two... T'ree... Four..." All the way up to ten. Deep breath. More quiet counting, careful not to speak loud enough to disrupt the debate. Colton sat down, and Carmim's eyes never left his wretched, stupid, face. She crinkled her nose at him, as Solomon stood to speak. Although she would have liked to have used the opportunity to regain her own thoughts enough to speak, it would have been rude to ignore his turn, especially with as much effort as he'd put into it. She regretted it. As much as she liked Solomon, as a person, and a classmate, she was not too pleased to see him refer to her homeland as a kingdom of savages. To his credit, though, Colton had certainly smeared their reputation through the slime and the mud. It wasn't surprising that he would riff off of that. Still. It hurt, just a little, hearing her only friend at the table, even just as a part of playing the role, side with that asshole. She made sure to give him a disappointed expression as he said that bit, though she doubted he'd seen her, given how into his presentation he was. Still, when he sat down, Carmim offered him a smile and a nod of approval- not agreement, make no mistake. At least he was taking this seriously. History was important, perhaps even more important than being mean to people who weren't as strong as you, and posturing like some kind of metal-clad clown. Bit of hypocrisy from the faux-Vacuoan representative, she thought to herself. Rin stood now, and Carmim watched as she moved to face the audience, which the darker-skinned redhead had forgotten was even there. Thankfully, she too was taking this debate seriously, unlike Colton. Her speech was powerful, moving, and frankly, Carmim agreed with, and appreciated, it so much more than the other two thus far. She had to stop herself from physically applauding at its conclusion, though she gave Rin a much more cheery smile than the one paid to Solomon beforehand. It was really good- maybe she was biased, believing that Vacuo had, in fact, been wronged significantly, and with it, Vale, but she also really appreciated the idea of peaceful resolution. So much so, that, she was already trying to figure out how to work it into her own speech. She couldn't exactly just agree to Rin's (incredibly reasonable, fair) terms, though- this was a debate, after all, and she had no intention of losing it. Thus, she would present the other redhead with negotiations. But first, she had to settle something with Colton, and more importantly, she had to introduce her own side of the debate. She stood, a bit shakily, and took a sip of water, before addressing the other debate participants with her eyes. Slowly, carefully, she reached for the first item before her; the fistful of chess pieces. "In order to explain t'e position of my kingdom, Atlas, in t'e war, I would first like to show you, as ot'ers have done, what we stand for." Her voice was slow, metered, and though tinged by nerves, nevertheless the voice of a great storyteller- a skill handed down to her in tandem with her drumming. Loud enough to be heard, but soft enough not to overpower, a distinct difference from her usual manner of speaking, but one that was more relatable than Colton or Solomon's bold words and jingoistic shouting. She held the chess pieces high, for everyone in the room to see them. "Like in chess, Atlas values laws and order. We value discipline, and strategy. We value learning and culture. T'at is why we had to, wit' a heavy heart, set aside t'ings like art and music. Not because t'ey are not important to us, because t'ey are, very much so, but because t'e Grimm were attacking, and in t'e capital, artistic differences were pulling us apart, rat'er t'an bringing us toget'er. We needed time to come up wit' a solution. Was it a perfect temporary solution? No, I do not t'ink so, but we were trying. We were experimenting, and it was a failure t'at we have learned from." She held up the bone flute next, gently, after setting the chess pieces down. She took a brief pause to breathe, before continuing. "T'is flute, made from Atlesian deer antlers, represents many t'ings. You all t'ink of Atlas, and see military might and discipline, but you do not realize t'at t'ere is more to Atlas t'an t'is. In t'e far Nort', in Solitas, t'e Atlesian Highlands are a place of community, a united front against t'e darkness. But it is a part of Atlas, and an important one, for all of t'ose values are shared across our kingdom. We Atlesians believe in ourselves, and our nation, and we strive for greatness in all t'at we do! In music, as in war, as in debate." She paid Solomon another glance of respect and approval. That was important to her. Respect. She didn't agree with Atlas's role in the Great War, but that didn't mean she was going to speak poorly of it, least of all with one of its people in front of her. That would be the highest form of insult, and she was better than that. Unlike some people she knew. Finally, the dust, in its case. She held it high as well. "And Dust. Humanity's greatest ally. We Atlesians pay special respect to our allies, and Dust is no exception. It is what all of our technology is made out of, and how we have fended off t'e Grimm, and t'e tundra alike. Dust speaks to two Atlesian values: tradition, as the oldest tool and weapon of humanity, and progress, as we use it to move forward." She set the case down again, and stepped over to stand by Solomon, placing a hand on the Atlesian's shoulder, before gazing at the other two debaters. "We also never forget our human allies. We had made an agreement with Mistral, and even as talk of war approached, we would honor it, because t'at is our way. Not because our 'names start with M.'" She was careful not to sound openly mocking, but the cold vitriol as she glared at Colton was tangible. "But," she began again, a bit more hesitantly, as she was thinking on her feet. "While we have much respect for our allies, make no mistake t'at we will show our enemies t'at same respect. Any less would make t'is not a war, but a conquest, which it is not. T'e King of Vale is a noble warrior, and a valiant defender of his people," she bowed slightly to Rin, putting on a slight air of formality that looked a little wrong on the tiny desert girl (who was burning up in her heavy coat; how did people wear these?) "And," she stared coolly at Colton, though her seething hatred was demonstrated fully through the intense grip she had on her stress ball. "Contrary to popular opinion, we, t'e leaders of Atlas, know fully t'e incredible strengt' and perseverance of t'e Vacuoan people. Proud warriors, like Ocha Obara, Djun Buluu, General Gale Feldspar. Jabari Clover." She couldn't help but enunciate her uncle's name with a little more weight than the others. "Only a fool would underestimate t'e tenacity and heart of Vacuo. A stupid, ignorant, fool. T'e kind of fool who wouldn't realize t'at a real Vacuoan leader would not come to an important meeting wit'out his mbaggu, or at t'e least, a djembe. T'e kind of fool who dismisses his enemy, rat'er t'an learning about t'em. We were t'at fool once; we've learned our lesson." Another pointed glare at Colton, if the message wasn't clear enough through only her words. She then directed her attention back to the entire group, returning to her spot at the circle of desks. "We must not underestimate our enemies, because we are not gods, but men. What we, in Atlas, and in Mistral, are fighting for is important, and while we recognize t'at what you fight for is important as well, it is not as simple as agreeing to be peaceful and putting down our weapons. Not when t'ere are people who still want, and need, to fight for what is important. And we believe t'at we are doing what is best for all of humanity. Remember; community. And order. We need to um." Oh no. She'd gotten this far pretty well, and pretty easily, but she was suddenly not entirely sure what angle to press- that was the hard part about trying to argue a side that she completely disagreed with. And she was bombing it entirely. She had lost her train of thought the second she went to present a counter-offer to Rin, and now, she was stuck, with an awkward pause that she swiftly filled with a long sip of water. "We um. Do not wish to go to war, if it is avoidable, but um. We do not have room for you to settle on our shores! A-and what if your settlements bring t'e Grimm wit' t'em? Your people do not like ours, and t'at bad energy will surely make t'e Grimm attack all of us more! If you are to do t'at, you will have to agree to our laws and rules, for t'e safety of us all." She sat down before she had to think too much more about what those rules and laws were. An uneasy glance to Solomon betrayed her lack of any idea what she was leading up to, and she really hoped he had something prepared that would be better than what she'd left off with. She was so damn focused on correcting Colton's jabs, that she had forgotten she'd actually needed a more cohesive conclusion. Hopefully she wouldn't lose too many points for botching that aspect...

LAIKA OF GS!

[Meng Long]

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[Scenario] The Vytal Debate

[attr="class","ilikeyouheadsubtext"]History repeating itself

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14:29 PM, History Classroom [break] [break]

When two of the students had entered with their assorted collection of props, Mrs. Long would be certain that this would be an interesting enough debate. Not automatically good, but at least interesting. When Colton continued his speech in full, she was unsure if it also was going to be a violent one. Mrs. Long would keep her eyes on Colton, but her eyes would dart across the room to keep a close eye on the other participant and how they would react. Especially Carmim. While trying to remain neutral in her disposition, it was clear that the woman shakes her head slightly a few times. While Colton was teetering on the edge of what Mrs. Long was willing to allow as ‘arguments’, she didn’t stop the student from speaking.[break] [break]
While it didn’t start of stellar by any stretch of the imagination, the moment when Colton had said that he was representing an illiterate nation that liked to body paint themselves, he could be called ignorant of a rich and vibrant culture that has complexities and nuisances. When Colton had said that they did not consider themselves a part of the civilised world, that they would only enter the war because Vacuo had been talked rudely towards, and that they only joined the war properly because of alphabetical reasons… Meng Long was honestly considering for a moment to give Colton a failing grade no matter what he did for the rest of the debate.[break] [break]
For one, the portrayal honestly lacked any historical depth and nuisance. Vacuo was once a vibrant kingdom in the past that was quite literally blessed with natural resources and geographical protection. While this made the people complacent in one way, Vacuo’s earliest recorded history did not began as bands of roaming savages who only believed in power and nothing else. Only after the natural bounty of the land had been claimed by the more technological advanced kingdom, did the kingdom as it is known today take shape. There was no mention of this, nor was there even a far simpler appeal to the sovereignty of a kingdom when Mistral and Mantle tried to influence Vacuo into the war. Vacuo wasn’t stupid, and they knew well enough that if Vale had lost the war, Vacuo would not remain an independent kingdom. [break] [break]
But beyond those shortcomings, the introduction lacked any form of true empathy towards a large part of Remnant’s population. Vacuo was often the butt of many jokes, and while Meng had her own opinions about the country, the point of representing a country is that you take their position serious. Even if you completely fake it and say it without conviction, you are at least trying to make the attempt. Colton’s superiority complex, not helped by the disaster that was Rochdale, wasn’t doing him any favours in this moment. He would not be the winner of this round, not by a long shot.[break] [break]
Next came Solomon Moon, whose appearance was honestly rather amusing after Colton’s lack of cultural understanding. The make-up seemed authentic enough, and the type of mask that Solomon used was a prop that was certainly used in her kingdom. Meng Long had seen them a couple of times in plays, though mostly worn by actors playing villains. Perhaps it was a little bit too much? [break] [break]Outwardly, and certainly in its relations with Mantle, such a display would honestly not be appreciated. While everybody knew that Mistral didn’t truly kept to the suppression of the arts, towards the outside world this information was not a point of pride to try and appease Mantle. Still, the dedication of the performance outweighed this slightly nuance, and Mrs. Long seemed to be visibly amused as she looked with some interest at a potential future drama student. She did want to hold a play if possible.[break] [break]
The actual argumentation was given with a lot of passion and flair. Solomon hit all of the points that she knew from personal experience were given as reasons to enter that conflict all those years ago. A sense of superiority, a sense of righteousness, reverberated in both Solomon’s voice and his theatrics. One could feel the conviction radiating from the performance. The inner fury about the shortcomings of other cultures and the rightness of one’s own. Racial and cultural superiority was addressed and celebrated, and the notion of Mistral’s long standing culture and history were touched upon. Was it objectively right? That was hardly the point of the assignment, or of the introduction. A solid and maybe victorious performance. Either Solomon was a gifted actor, or he had prepared this entire introduction for a long time. Mrs. Long hadn’t thought such a display was possible of the student, and she was pleasantly surprised. Mrs. Long noted down some remarks on her piece of paper, and awaited the next response.[break] [break]
Next came Rin Hellebore, the wildcard. Mrs. Long hadn’t had much time to have a proper introduction with the girl for any length of time. They had spoken briefly, Mrs. Long had explained the assignment, and she had given a few pointers and suggestions. Rin had seemed rather… well I guess that proper would be the right word. Not the most outspoken student on first glance, so it was interesting what she would bring to the table. [break] [break]
It was an interesting approach, though not an uncommon one. Most who had argued in the position of Vale in the past had done so with similar arguments. We tried to sue for peace, we tried to avoid the conflict in whichever way we can, we are not the aggressor but the victim who defended itself from a foreign aggressor that wished to impose its will upon us. The delivery of these arguments was decent, though not as spectacular as Solomon’s theatrics, or as self-imposed as Colton’s had been. There was certainly a degree of research into what was said, and Rin showed that she had at least the capacity for public speaking. It was honestly a fairly regular performance, the kind that Mrs. Long had seen for many years being attempted. It would have been a passing grade if this level could be kept up.[break] [break]
But right before Mrs. Long had made up her mind, the ending argument was somewhat extraordinary. [break] [break]
Most students would have ended why Vale would win the war. They would reference their great-warrior king, or the strength of their convictions in sighting to remain free from coercion. The power of liberty manifested in a shield. That the innocent had the right to be defended with force, and that foreign invaders harmed the sovereignty of the kingdom and its citizens unlawfully. That wasn’t what Mrs. Long received from Miss Hellebore. There was a passing mention that the encroachment of Vacuo was unjust and wouldn’t be tolerated, but the overall message was not one of war, but of peace. It was a different approach. One that said that war should not be fought for its own sake, that even in the face of imminent hostilities, it was not a worthy endeavour. Mrs. Long would have looked rather pleased when Rin had looked in her direction, and she could see the old crone writing some things down. Very interesting.[break] [break]
Last but not least, and was the turn of her favourite trouble student. Carmim Clover. By the Gods, hopefully she would not make the mistake.[break] [break]
There was perhaps some bias. [break] [break]
While Mrs. Long would never reflect it in a better grade, she did have a soft spot for the girl from Vacuo. Not only because she had managed to keep her calm relatively splendidly during Colton’s belittlement of her people. During Carmim’s silent pleas to end this sham of a performance from Colton, Mrs. Long would look at Carmim with an understanding gaze. She knew that this was wrong. Factually wrong, and also disrespectful. Mr. Deraine would see this reflected in his grade soon enough. And not only in his grades, but also in the wonderful opportunity for everyone to refute his horrible attempt at argumentation. He would be the easiest target to attack in this next round on argumentation. The weakest link, at least if Carmim could make somewhat of a case. While the man might think himself as the champion of the school in the physical aspects of being a Huntsman, this was the kind of arena where other students did not only make a chance of beating him, with his poor excuse of an introduction it would not have been hard to solidify Colton’s failing grade. Was this bias as well? Perhaps a little bit. Overconfidence never lead to much good later down the line. Nobody should feel untouchable for their own good. [break] [break]
The contents of Carmim’s introduction was, even more that Solomon’s, focused on visual story-telling. Not only to impress the others, but also to exemplify words with objects. It was why Meng Long had allowed Carmim to bring a container of dust into this room. It fitted Carmim to do it this way. She managed to give a sense of respect to the nation she represented by showing history alongside telling it. [break] [break]
Her actual argumentation, though, was a bit wobbly. For one, the poor girl had made the mistake. Atlas instead of Mantle. Nobody else had made the error in this group. To also say that the suppression of artistic expression was a failure is also not that great of an argument if you wanted to justify your actions. It was one of the major driving forces of the war, at least in the public consciousness. Fighting a war over the very idea of expression itself was also a more pleasant reality than boiling things down to power or Human-Faunus relations. Ensuring that tensions were growing because of this experiment, but also admitting in the same breath that it was a failure, was not a very convincing strategy. The believe in music as an element of community was also not that stellar for the same reason. Even flute music could be seen as self-expression in the prelude to the war. [break] [break]
The fact that Carmim placed a lot of time, and even slightly went beyond her allotted time to speak, on showing respect for her enemies was honestly not doing her grade many favours. Mrs. Long almost wanted to correct Carmim as she was speaking, but the old woman reminded herself before she opened her mouth that this was not some private tutoring session between the two. While it must have felt personally satisfying to tell Colton off and restore some of her own pride, it wasn’t a common attitude in Atlas at the time. Learning about a culture means that you learn about the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’. There was little true respect for Vacuo that wasn’t a blatant lie. Both Mantle and Mistral did saw the war as a conquest, even if you do not wish to admit it. They wanted to conquer territory, to expand their point of view. Because they believed that their way of life was the right way of life. If this respect was shown towards an ally, this would have been less of an issue…but showing your enemies this amount of respect was not doing the girl’s grade any favour. The argumentation fizzled out at the end, which seemed to be mostly the result of the girl’s emotions still playing somewhat on the mind. Somewhat understandable looking at everything that has happened in the past month, and while Carmim had fared better than Meng had thought would be the worst case scenario, she had expected better of one of her favourite students. [break] [break]
When every student was done, Mrs. Long said that she needed a minute to finalize some notes and to give the students an ever so small break before the next round start. She herself took a long swig from her tea, as well. When the old crone was done writing, she would look at them all again, seeming to be somewhat more awake now that she had been at the start. Without addressing her opinion on the debate, she would continue. “This concludes the first round of the debate. In the second round of debate, Solomon Moon may start with offering a rebuttal to the argument and position of one other kingdom of his choosing. He is free to pick any of the other speakers, and remember that you are graded on the quality of your argumentation. Why are the points that they just brought up wrong, and why is your position better? If you are able, rebuke the arguments while staying to the mindset of your assigned kingdom. You have around 5 minutes total, Mr. Moon. Afterwards, the Kingdom that you have picked may give their counter-arguments for another kingdom’s position, but it may not be the direct previous speaker. Someone may not directly refute Mr. Moon if they are the second speaker, for example. If everything is clear, you may start your second round, Mr. Moon.”[break] [break]
Mrs. Long would give a nod towards the artistic candidate, indicating that he was both the best at his opening argument, as well as telling him that he could begin whenever he was ready.

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[attr="class","ilikeyoufoottext"]WORDS: 2193
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Thread Total: 3347
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NOTES: Grandma wants to give Carmim a hug, but cannot!

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[Solomon Moon]

Solomon

Sol projected an air of cultivated disinterest as the other delegates took the floor, but in actuality he was paying them close attention. Given the rules of the debate, unless he was declared the victor of the first round, his place in the second would depend entirely on who chose to rebut his points, and his potential list of targets would depend on that as well. He needed to be able to respond to any of the delegates, and couldn't rely upon targeting the weakest argument.

In terms of his opinion of his fellows and their positions, it was hard to say which was the weakest argument thus far. Except for Colton Deraine, who seemed to have remained as intentionally ignorant of his assignment as possible, and instead used the platform to deride Vacuo. It had seemed like a bizarrely incompetent strategy until it came time for Carmin Clover to deliver her points, and proceeded to devote much of her address to countering inaccuracies from Colton, and even ran over her allotted time as a result. So that was his game. At least Carmin had shown a modicum of respect for Mantle, despite her misgivings, but it didn't change that she had taken the bait, hook, line and sinker. Rin Hellbore, on the other hand delivered a distinctly dispassionate speech that perfectly emulated the supposed virtues of Vale. Predictably she painted Mistral and Mantle as the villains, a solid argument with the benefit of the revisionist history of the victor to back it up.

That more or less decided it for Sol.

Colton's strategy seemed to revolve around provocation. Stolicus, legendary Atlesian general and the author of "The Way of War", once said that one should "Be wary when engaging a foe on ground of their own choosing.", and Sol knew better than to waste his advantage against a foe who seemingly was leaving himself intentionally open to rebuttal. Carmin represented Mantle, and therefore was an ally in this debate. While there could be only one winner of the debate, it would be a peculiar decision to squander an advantage against a party unlikely to engage oneself directly. Besides, she might very easily spend the rest of the debate butting heads with Colton, and would probably use her turn to call him out, if he didn't call her out first, and it was a solid plan to play them off of each other. That left Rin. She had some strong arguments, and the advantage of history of her side, but offense was always the best defense, and by targeting her, Sol could effectively prevent the redhead from engaging him in return.

Sol rose from his seat, and bowed respectfully to Professor Long.

"Thank you, honorable adjudicator." He said, emphasizing the noble Mistralan accent, and filling his face with a parody of overjoyed good-will, an expression he swept elaborately from his visage in favor of an alarmingly contemptuous sneer, as he turned towards his target and stabbed out with a gloved finger, striking a pose that would not have seemed out of place on a classic wood-print.

"I address the "Honorable" representative of Vale!" He declared, voice rising in theatrical pitch, booming through the hall, "They who argue from the position of their supposed moral superiority."

He swept past his podium and took up position in the center of the hall, addressing the entire congregation instead of just his opponent. Debate was not simply an art of argumentation, it was theater, of winning over not just one's opponents but the audience as well. He flashed a beaming grin to those in attendance and coated each word in a thick layer of saccharine syrup.

"Honorable delegates! You have been mislead!" He declared, pointing a long thick finger towards the roof as he spun in a slow circle, his flowing strides as much a dance as his words were an operatic song, "Vale would have you believed that Mistral and our most noble Mantlian brothers are vilians, but this is simply not true! MISTRAL WAS A VICTIM!"

He turned to glare at Rin, his face contorted in a parody of amused contempt, as if he were seeing through some great charade, and he maintained that haunting rictus grin as he continued to address everyone but Vale directly.

"OF VALE AND THEIR LIES! There has been much talk about Mistral's so called, "Invasion" of the Vale!" He countered, zeal growing by the instant, "But consider the response of Vale. Is it not strange? That if this were an invasion as they so claim, that there was no armed resistance. Is it not strange how their King urged his "Loyal" citizens to make no war on the "invaders". Is it not strange how in spite of their utter certainty of these facts that Vale claims, they cannot say for certain who drew first blood? Is it not strange that Vale claims the war to have been over human rights, when by all appearances it was a land dispute?"

He snapped away, a flourish that sent a gust of wind across the floor. As before he held up four fingers, one for each argument.

"Mistral maintains that our settlement of the eastern shores were lawful! By right of our nobility, or navy, our mighty allies, and our visionary solution to the threat of Grimm." He lowered one finger, "Mistral maintains that the lands in question were unsettled, at the time of our arrival, and that our occupation of said lands went uncontested long enough to maintain a foothold all along the eastern shores. This is why there was no armed resistance to the arrival of our glorious people! BECAUSE VALE WAS NOT YET THERE!" He lowered his middle finger, leaving ring and little finger sticky up, "Mistral maintains that the Valenese king urged non-violence, not because of some nebulous moral consideration, but because he knew that Vale's claims to the disputed land was illegitimate and that any violent response would be an obvious act of WAR upon a sovereign people!" he lowered his ring finger, leaving only his pinky, "Mistral maintains that it was Vale who struck first. Seeing a strategically advantageous position, where they could resupply a persecuted land war with unchallenged line of supply, while the Mistralan peoples would need to seek aid from across the a, Vale sought to steal our lawfully settled lands by force of arms. Vale sought to paint Mistal as the aggressors, to legitimize their unlawful seizure of well-settled lands." He lowered the last finger, making from them a fist, "Mistral maintains that Vale is the true villain of this war. Their cries of freedom are but a thin veil over an iron fist. Mistral and Mantle prospered beneath these supposedly inhumane measures, allowing us not only the stability and security to fully settle out own continents, but to look across the seas as well! It birthed the strongest alliance of the early world. It brought technological marvels and great advancements in the sciences."

He showed his fist to the gathering, face falling until it was a parody of deep sadness and regret, emphasized by his elaborate makeup.

"So you see. Vale left Mistral no choice. Vale left our loyal allies no choice. Vale threatened our way of life, with their dangerous and volatile individuality. It was not until our careful measures were disrupted along the shore that the Grimm emerge and wrought ruin. It was not until Vale sought to take our rightfully settled lands by force that Mantle joined the war." He said, head bowed, but somehow not interfering with his ability to project his voice, "They claimed our measures were inhumane, violent. But we maintain that all power is violence. We maintain that politics itself is violence. We maintain that violence is the supreme authority from which all authority is derived, and it was Vale who forced Mistal and Mantle towards that extreme. We are not vilians. We did what had to be done to protect ourselves!"

Sol grinned and strode back to his chair, before pausing a moment as if something had just occurred to him.

"You are skeptical. You are wise men, and wise to be skeptical. You think that if Mistral won the war, then all would need to live beneath their rule, would need to adhere to our notions of self-sacrafice in service of safety and order..." He said, seemingly privately, though his voice conintued to carry far and wide, ",but consider this. If Vale won the war? Their supposed war of liberation. Who do you think Vale would place in charge? Vacuo? Mistral? Mantle? Who would be allowed to determine the courses of their own cultures? Would Vale respect Mistral and Mantle their methods of security?"

Sol could use history to his advantage too. Satisfied, he returned to his seat, once more affecting that utterly disinterested air.

"I turn the floor over to the representative of Vale."

@tag

1097 words

notes

Velvet of WW

[Rin Hellebore]

WORD COUNT: 1071

Total: 2075

TAGGED: Fluffy

Solomon was continuing making the same claims, ignoring the statements of those that came prior to himself. At least that's the way it sounded to the redhead. Every singular plea of moving the debate forward had been thwarted as he continued to prance around acting like he was superior to the remaining people at the table. Supposedly, that was quite akin to what Mistral did in the war in the past. Yet, that was not the intention of this here class. This was a debate hall, not a history re-enactment. By refusing to answer, the debate had fallen flat from his side. Worst of all was, that due to the constraints of this little meeting, due to the imposing rules placed by Miss Long, Rin would not be able to floor his arguments. At least not directly. Though the little hint of aggression when Solomon had called Rin an honorable representative hadn't been missed. The purple eyes simply looked at him, before a small hint of sadness was given. Disappointment. Remaining quiet for a moment, Rin was thinking. The cogs of the clockwork attaching and formulating a plan. Colton hadn't been overly impressive in the last round. Frankly, Rin wasn't quite sure what to do with him in an attempt to ascertain damage control. Somehow, by addressing Mantle, the redhead needed to accomplish three agendas. One, slam the argument of Solomon into the ground. Two, keep grinding Carmim's personality so that they'd be moving closer and more willing to settle on an agreement. Three, damage control Colton. Specifically, Rin needed to somehow have him turn his whole attention onto Solomon. Normally, this could be achieved by simply picking Mantle next in the order, then having Mantle be forced to pick Colton, then Colton be forced to pick Solomon. However, with the tensions rising, Rin could not be certain that Colton or Carmim would stick to the rules. In fact, Rin was, herself, very close to politely telling miss Long that the rules weren't sound for a healthy debate. Decisions, decisions... Though Rin was pretty sure that she had an angle that could work.


"I shall be addressing the representative of Mantle."  


Rin's tone of voice was calm, musical, like how you would speak to a friend you hadn't seen in ages. Pleasant, ringing, unlike the confrontative and demeaning voice of Solomon. 


"Mantle wished to protect her citizens from the onslaught of the grimm. That is why her leaders attempted to curb the emotions of her citizens. To protect those that are important."


Rin was still speaking calm, slow, looking at Carmim as if to make the girl agree with her statements. Make the statements sound reasonable and constructive. Like something that she would agree with, both in context of the debate but also in context of the historical data that was available to the students to read beforehand. Rin could've addressed a lot of negative things that Mantle had done; Yet that was not her interest. For the moment, she was trying to win over another ally.


"Now Mantle has another concern. To protect her citizens from the onslaught of another great war. A war none of us wish to see unfurl."

..Though, this was where Rin needed to begin addressing all the things simultaneously. First, it was to let the other two know that she had heard their arguments. Heard what they had problems with. For Colton, it ought to be something speaking to his pride, probably. To let him feel high and mighty, so he would automatically turn on the person who looked like a pompous peacock - Solomon. Still speaking directly to


"Vacuo believes in the freedom of her people. That we may not chain the people, nor stand above them. We are all to be equal in our freedom. Whether that is out on the Vacuoan plains or in the cities of Mantle." 


Rin held a short break, offering Colton a singular gaze, before returning to speak to Carmim. This was getting more and more difficult to keep track of in Rin's mind, yet she needed to cross out all the boxes. Otherwise it would come to a horrible end as all her ideas would crash and burn. 


"Mistral believes in the expression of her people. Artistry and culture. This naturally under some responsibility to avoid the Grimm."


Unlike with Colton, Rin didn't bother looking at Solomon. That boy was focussing entirely on flair, rather than the discussion. Chances are that inviting him to the debate table would only cause her own arguments more harm than good. Still, Rin wanted to make it clear that she was attempting to cooperate with everyone equally.


"The Vale believes in the individuality of her people. That we choose our own desitinies. That as long as we respect one another, we can live together."


Rin, smiled warmly to Carmim and Colton, making sure she was angled just enough that both of them were affected by her lack of charisma. 


"I believe we can, united, defend all of those things at once. I believe, that if the four nations cooperated, we could defend all of those values. Individuality, expression, protection and freedom. I believe we could come together, without a singular leader, and function as a council, with a singular purpose. Protecting humanity."


Rin, quietly, lifted her hand and held it out towards Carmim in a singular gesture, offering the representative of Mantle to take her hand and join her side.


"I wish to impart an idea. Instead of the Vytal festival, we could combine our efforts and create the Vytal kingdom. A place where we could have a permanent council to settle disputes between the nations. A place from which we can contact any corner of our continents. Built on the agreements and settlements from the past; That we may be reminded how tragic of a war it was, and how fruitful our nations became hence. I implore; Let us increase communications and collaborations between our kingdoms.

Let us protect everyone - regardless of their origin. With our heads held high, bowing to noone. With no king to rule it all."


Rin remained in position, with a hand stretched out towards Carmim, applying a little pressure. Metaphorically passing the torch to the next debateur, while simultaneously offering collaboration. Having decided to apply the most pressure to precisely the one that seemed most willing to listen. Most conflicted with the way things were.

[Carmim Clover]

❝ AURA: 100% TAG: @stinccismelleshitheadmark NOTES: fuck you, and your pristine, well-oiled, abs WORDS: 1946 | TWC: 5562 HAVE YOU SEEN HER? HAVE YOU HEARD? THE WAY SHE MOVES, THERE ARE NO WORDS There was a break between the first and second round of the debate, and Carmim used that bit of time to glare down Colton. She doubted it would have any effect; she was well aware of his perception of her. But she needed him to know that she was coming for him. That he couldn't get away with saying what he'd said, without consequence. She just didn't know how exactly to counterattack him yet. Her previous swings were more for the benefit of her pride, and the education of those around her, than anything to do with Colton; people like him, who thought so lowly of her people, did nothing but smear Vacuo's reputation through the mud. Because other people, with no knowledge of the desert kingdom, would blindly agree with the lies and slander, not knowing any better. Vacuo didn't have a rich culture; it had hundreds. Every village was its own little piece of the grander puzzle that made up the entire kingdom. Every tribe, a brush stroke on a beautiful painting. Not just a bunch of shit-slinging illiterate savages. After a few moments, Mrs. Long interrupted her train of thought by announcing the victor of the first round of debating. Carmim smiled and gave Solomon a very approving head nod; being her ally in this great debate. She sat attentively as he spoke, shuffling a bit uncomfortably in her thick, heavy, coat- while it was very symbolic of the frosty tundras of Atlas, it was hardly something she was used to wearing, and wasn't exactly the best idea, in retrospect. Still, even an unwieldy cloak was not nearly enough to distract her from Solomon's bombastic display of raw patriotism and political aggression. Carmim was pretty sure he was going to win the whole debate, honestly, and she wouldn't even be upset about it. Fortunately, he was playing the role of Mistral, so she wouldn't need to argue against him, ideally; she just had to beat Rin. Which was going to be an uphill battle. Solomon concluded his rebuke with a bold and difficult truth- if Vale were to write up the treaties and end the war on their terms, they would obviously want to lead. It made sense; although, she didn't understand why all the kingdoms couldn't just stick to themselves and mind their own business, tend their own fields, and all that. Vacuo managed it just fine, for the most part- hell, her home village didn't even deal with other settlements more than once or twice a month, let alone other kingdoms. Her eyes turned curiously to Rin, as her fellow redhead stood to take the floor. No doubt, she was going to address Carmim, as the Atlesian representative. She would have to be ready for whatever slings and arrows Rin threw her- Nope. Not slings and arrows. Why couldn't it be slings and arrows? She would have been much better able to deal with those. Instead, Rin addressed her smoothly, with a calm, gentle, tone. Cordial, friendly, even. Carmim blinked once in surprise, unsure as to how to react entirely. She began by making pretty agreeable statements about Mantle; not attacks, but observations, taken from Carmim's own introduction. And then went on to talk about the values of each kingdom. Frankly, Carmim was on board with her when she got to Vacuo and didn't say they valued eating glue and punching goats. And it didn't help any that her evaluation of Vale was basically the same as Vacuo, but with different words. But no! Carmim wasn't representing Vacuo (unfortunately.) She was representing Atlas. And Atlas didn't value freedom a whole lot. At least, not more than tradition. But just as she thought about this fact, Rin went ahead and made a bold-ass declaration of her own, rivaling Solomon's by forcing Carmim to make a choice. She stared at the hand extended to her, and contemplated it for the entirety of Rin's closing arguments. It didn't seem like she was going to rescind it any time soon. Carmim glanced first to Solomon, who seemed to be affecting an air of supremacy, then to Mrs. Long, who she already knew would hold no answers. Then, hesitantly, she stared back at Rin, meeting the girl's violet eyes with vibrant crimson. Debates were hard. Carmim wanted to agree with Rin, because she was right, and Carmim agreed with what she said, but they weren't students at Haven right then. They were representatives of Atlas and Vale. And the Atlesians were not going to ally themselves with the Valeians so easily. And she knew that, by accepting the offered hand, she would be seen as giving up ground. She wanted to take this debate seriously, and to do that, she wouldn't be able to be her normal, friendly, self. Maybe it was for the best that she was still riding the wave of Rochdale and the wall incident. It made it easier to do this, if only because she was a lot more used to hardening up her walls and accepting that not everyone was going to like her, no matter how hard she tried to force that to be the case. Still, she hoped Rin wouldn't harbor any ill feelings towards her; it was only a debate, after all, and she was forced to play a character, even though up to that point, she hadn't exactly done the best job- hell, moments ago, she had just talked about the value of peace herself, until Rin had managed to turn that against her. It had been a poor choice then, and to continue along that train of thought would only dig her deeper; best to rip the band-aid now. She offered Rin a quiet, apologetic, look for a brief moment, before taking on a more serious expression, as she reached out to take the other redhead's hand... ...And gently, but firmly, lowered it back down to the table. She felt even worse as she did it; Rin's hand felt so fragile and doll-like, especially in her rough, calloused, grasp. And she was so much stronger than Rin, that even if the other girl did try to resist the clear refusal of her olive branch, she would hardly be able to stop her. She gave a slight shake of her head, before standing, as Rin presumably sat. She swallowed hard. That was a difficult thing to do- she had really wanted to agree... She'd be certain to tell Rin that after this was all over. Her debate skills were phenomenal, significantly better than Carmim's. But the Vacuoan's competitive side was being inspired by Solomon's grand antics. She was going to place second in this debate. Hopefully. Unfortunately, this round left her with exactly one person to address. Well, that wasn't exactly true. Because like it or not, going up against Solomon was a sure way to lose the debate completely. Plus, he was her ally in the fictional war, and it would be a blunder trying to force her way through that argument anyways- she wasn't nearly as well-versed on Atlesian-Mistrallian relations as she would have liked to have been, and the last thing she wanted was his fiery debate style turned onto her. She had to admire him for it, though- everything was explosive, with that man, from his semblance, to his dedication to international political discourse. Still, he was unfortunately out, and she couldn't address Rin after being passed the torch by her. Didn't work that way. Which meant she had nobody to choose for rebuttal. "To t'e so-called "Vacuoan" representative." It was with an unpleasant sigh that she managed to force the words out of her mouth, punctuating the word "Vacuoan" with literal, physical, air quotes. She was absolutely not going to pretend that this was anything but a steaming pile of bullshit, and she frankly dreaded the fact that by the rules of this debate, it would be his turn next. She didn't really bother to maintain eye contact, or really even the slightest modicum of respect, as she spoke to Colton directly. She hated him. Which should be painfully obvious to anyone listening to her speak. "From what you have said so far today, I know t'at you, for one, will never come to t'e terms t'at t'e honorable representative of Vale suggests. T'at is why we of Atlas also cannot agree wit' t'em. Because for us to act as a council of equal peers, with no true leader, t'at requires us to all cooperate and work toget'er." Another deep sigh. At least he made this part easy- she didn't have much trouble separating Colton from Vacuo in her mind; he was representing a fictional country, and she was going to reply to him as such. "Like you said, you and your fairy tale "Vacuo" painted your hands to sign t'e treaties, t'at you t'en t'rew away." She paused, taking a sip of her water. This time, not out of discomfort, but to let those words sink in, for the people who actually cared about this debate. She knew she hadn't done well before, but now was her chance to bounce back. She looked to Rin, with full eye contact and the respect that an equal peer deserved. "Atlas wants nothing more t'an to make peace. War does not benefit us, any more t'an it benefits you two." She looked to Solomon, making it clear exactly which two she was referring to, before casting her gaze back in the general direction of Colton's chair. She had a decent amount of respect for the chair, after all, even if the person sitting there was an asshole. "I do not t'ink you care about peace or war, one way or t'e ot'er. If you were really t'e leader of t'e kingdom of Vacuo, t'en I would of course beat you in war, because like you said, t'e only t'ing you care about is t'e "law of t'e fist."" She made sure to mock his stupid, annoying voice, along with the air quotes, as she said that. "In conclusion, you are stupid, and terrible, and disrespectful, and I do not like you. Your fairy tale "Vacuo" is impossible to reason wit', and t'erefore, we in Atlas cannot make any peace wit' you, because we cannot trust you to do what is agreed upon. Your fairy tale "Vacuo" is made of treaty-breakers, and is lead by an arrogant fool who would never be allowed to lead t'e real kingdom of Vacuo." She took another, shorter sip of water, before turning to address Solomon and Rin,as best as she could, before speaking to them. "As it stands now, Atlas still finds the safety of her people to be t'e most important t'ing. And no peace treaty can guarantee t'at as long as that," she gestured to Colton without bothering to look over at him, "is out of t'e war room. Since we cannot make peace t'at we can trust, we will wage war t'at we can win. Wit' t'e strengt' of Atlas and Mistral toget'er, we can quickly overwhelm Vale wit' few casualties, while magic fairy tale "Vacuo" leads his armies off a cliff or somet'ing." She looked specifically to Rin now, who she considered her only real opponent in this debate. "I am sorry, but I must ask t'at you surrender now, if you wish to see peace. We will guarantee t'at your kingdom will be safe." She turned lastly to Colton. "Again, you are stupid and horrible. I have said all t'at I had to say to you. Your turn, "honorable" representative of fairy land "Vacuo.""

LAIKA OF GS!

[Colton Deraine]

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Bravery is believing in yourself, and that's one thing nobody can teach you.

Neat. A giant outburst from Atlas, and Vale holding up their part of the debate. Colton would sit there staring into nothing until it was his turn, and then he would get up and lean back into his regular public speaking voice. He wasn’t outwardly bothered by any of the mudslinging that Carmim threw his way, and frankly he was counting on it to happen to offer a nice contrast.

”Contrary to the belief of the Mantle representative, Vacuo is indeed a kingdom in its own right with the ability to make its own decisions. It is clear through the stream of insults after falsely claiming to respect our culture that Mantle is not able to be reasoned with, so I turn to Mistral instead.”

Turning towards Solomon, the Argus native continued on without missing a beat.

”The way I see it, the initial start of the war is in dispute. Mistral sailed over to our continent of Sanus after finding their home region of Anima lacking, and set up some joint villages with the settlers of Vale who were also in the area. I don’t know who started it, and frankly I don’t really care.”

There was a slight pause, then, before he continued.

”The fact of the matter is that both Atlas and the Vale have called for neutrality on the part of Vacuo. A neutrality that would leave both of your kingdoms against the Kingdom of the Vale. First of all, frankly, that’s pretty dishonorable to so openly seek an arrangement where both of you team up against one opponent. Second of all, frankly, Vacuo has zero reason to trust any of you. We opened you with open arms in the beginning, believing that trade would help our economy and security in the long term by opening us up to the world…”

Another pause, then, this time about three seconds.

”But that was proven to be false. We expected to be treated as equals, but instead were treated as a colony. So called ‘technologists’ came through and extracted our natural resources, contaminated our water, and ravaged the environment perhaps the point of no return. Where there was once many small refuges in the desert, now there is but one – and everyone knows it. Once the war with the Vale is done, who is to say that the very same kingdoms who refuse to leave the lands of Vacuo today citing ‘material interests’ will not just invade our capital next?”

The cadence was starting to pick up, then. He let some passion seep into his voice, then, because this was the crux of the argument that Vacuo made historically.

”As your erstwhile ally in Mantle said so plainly, you seem to believe we are subhuman. That we are not worthy of respect, compassion, and consideration like you view your own people. If you truly do believe, as your fellow does, that peace can only be made without the input of one of the Four Great Kingdoms of Remnant… well, I suppose war is our only option. If you seek to both colonize and expel us from the table at Great Power meetings, then there is no other option for us than to side with the Vale and hope that they are more amenable to compromise than you. If you believe that peace can only be made with two aggressors overpowering one defender and forcing them to surrender away from the sight of the ‘stupid, terrible, horrible, and disrespectful’ Vacuoans… well, it wouldn’t be hard for Vale to make the case that allying with them are in the best interests of the Kingdom of Vacuo, which has as much a right to a seat at this table than any of the other three.”

Another pause, then.

”The first step towards diplomacy is being able to come to a common ground. We can make an agreement that allows us to avoid a war that I certainly don’t want, and I know that Mistral does not want. That cannot be done, however, if there are representatives here that use their platform to promote discrimination based on nationality and race to the point of advocating blanket exclusion at other representatives who came here in good faith. Mistral, you did not falsely claim to respect our traditions and then spit on them. Mistral, I realize that you just want what is best for your people and the right for your villagers to live in safety. That’s what Vacuo wants, too. That’s also what Vale wants. Don’t let Mantle drag you into a conflict that’s not in any of our best interests. I’ve laid out Vacuo’s grievances, and you have the power to address those grievances – should you choose to. Calling each other nasty names and ordering them out of a negotiation is not the way to do this, and I trust that the representative of Mistral is more reasonable than their counterpart and willing to deal with the Vacuoan people not as subhumans who need to be thrown out before the real kingdoms can talk like Mantle is declaring us, but as people just like yours who want safety and stability as well.”

With that, Colton bowed and sat back down in his seat.

※ 1914 total words ✎ 871 words ✉ C rank semblance, C rank martial arts, C rank durability, C rank weapon, D rank weapon enhancement, D rank agility, E rank stamina

MADE BY MIZO

[Carmim Clover]

❝ AURA: 100% TAG: @fuckyoucotton NOTES: fuckin fite me WORDS: 453 | TWC: 6015 HAVE YOU SEEN HER? HAVE YOU HEARD? THE WAY SHE MOVES, THERE ARE NO WORDS She had felt pretty good about passing the torch to Colton, after so harshly dismantling his arguments. She figured he would have nothing to say, after being brought down a peg, and frankly, she was proud of how she'd handled the situation, all things considered. Until he opened his fucking mouth again. And revealed that he'd pulled her right into his insidious, sneaky, dirty, trap. And he wanted to be a Huntsman? Huntsmen didn't engage in cheap tricks and deceitfulness. At least, none of the ones Carmim could think of, except for maybe Shadecloak. Even then, Shadecloak was at least making a point that, although callous and cruel, Carmim could see some validity to. It didn't change the fact that she hated the woman for it, among many other reasons. But it did show that she had even more reason to despise Colton than she'd thought already, somehow. She let him have his say, not wanting to disrupt the debate, but the more he spoke, the more the rage inside her boiled and festered. The second he moved to sit down, she burst up from her seat, taking care not to slam her hands on the table hard enough to break it (having learned her mistake once) but definitely enough to express her anger and indignation. "You cannot do t'at!! You said all of t'ose t'ings about Vacuo, and t'en changed your mind t'e second I tried to rebuttal what you said!! T'at is not fair!!!" She turned to Mrs Long, as if expecting help from her teacher. "He cannot do t'at!! He-" "-is not taking t'is seriously, and he is impossible to debate if he keeps changing his mind!" Was what she would have said, but for Mrs. Long cutting her off before she got that far. And with a firm, brief, admonishment, she was silenced by the grey-haired adjudicator. She slumped back down in her seat, without another word, but it was incredibly clear to everyone present that she was still very much outraged, baring her teeth as she glared at the pompous asshole seated opposite her. She knew it was wrong, but in that moment, she silently wished that he had died in Rochdale instead of Qiu'li. It was a thought that she quickly dismissed as being angry and irrational, but it lingered there in her brain for the rest of the debate, and would linger until her next appointment with Lynn, or at least until she had the opportunity to vent to Aegle about the debate. It was irrational and horrible to think that about someone, even someone as loathsome and uncaring as Colton. But at that moment? She would rather be debating a murderer than Colton Deraine.

LAIKA OF GS!

[Meng Long]

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[Scenario] The Vytal Debate

[attr="class","ilikeyouheadsubtext"]History repeating itself

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Mrs. Long interupted the Vacuo native the moment she actually looked at Mrs. Long for any assistance at rule-breaking. With a sharp voice, she simply snapped at Carmim. "That is well enough. Silence, Miss. Clover." Some say that there are no rules in war, but there will ever remain rules in a debate. A debate without strict rules is merely a discussion. There is no civility and respect. What sealed the deal in Meng Long throwing her favourite worry child under the bus was the fact that she couldn't handle this on her own. Sure, Carmim was still under close watch for her 'anger management issues' and aftercare, but Meng Long would have allowed Carmim's mistake to be only a slight infraction on her score if she just called out Colton and left it at that. The teacher was able to give Carmim that. But when she tried to direct Meng Long and say how somebody else could or could not do something in her debate, she couldn't let that stand. [break] [break]

Ugh, she hadn't had enough sleep to deal with this in a better way than pulling out ol' faithful. [break] [break]

Meng Long stood up, placing her hands on the table. Standing tall for her age, and with her robe giving her enough bulk to look authoritative enough, she now spoke to the group. "We will take a ten-minute break before the next round start. Everyone, take a moment to think about what is said, and what you are going to say. I hope that we will allow cooler heads to prevail afterwards and that we can continue in an orderly fashion afterwards. Carmim, we will speak after this all is done." [break] [break]

Sitting back in her chair, Long massaged her temples for a moment. Of course, she had aspirin in her robe, and she was going to take some to get through this debate. This was always going to be an interesting one, but she was too cranky to deal with it as best as she could. [break] [break]

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[attr="class","ilikeyoufoottext"]WORDS: 335
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Thread Total: 3682
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NOTES: Grandma has trouble sleeping with all of these nagging parents and officals.

✵

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[Jay]

XP Distribution:

Solomon Moon: 24 - 5% (No TWC) = 23
191 + 23 = 214

Rin Hellebore: 20 XP
124 + 20 = 144

Colton Deraine: 19 XP

Goes to Wolfe. 577 + 19 = 596 XP new total

Carmim Clover: 60 XP
62 + 60 = 122

Meng Long: 36 XP
61 + 36 = 97