Philosophies of Mana (Extended Edition), Thursday Per 3

[deathsmajesty]

Honestly, she should have expected it. It wouldn't be a semester in the Danger Shop if something hadn't gone awry. She thought she'd seen the worst of it when the Danger Shop had shoved them into a sim about green zombies that battled against plants, but she realized she was wrong as soon as the program started and the class found itself in the the center of Myra the Magnificent's Intergalactic Astrotorium of Fun. This impression wasn't lessened any when a pack of small children, each of them wearing a child-sized distinctive blue robe barreled through their group. And, when she turned around and saw that they were standing directly in front of Urza's Fun House, her temper snapped.

When she found who had programmed this damned theme park into the Danger Shop, she was going to floss her teeth with their tendons, she didn't give a damn who it was.

"I have absolutely no desire to try to yell over this cacophony more than I have to," she told the class through gritted teeth. "But I will be damned if I lose another class period to nonsense." Overhead, a 3D holographic billboard switched to an image of a wrestling match. Hard to figure out what the costumes were supposed to be, but if one squinted just right, the woman in purple was wearing something that sorta looked like your professor's headdress...How weird!

Liliana was ignoring it. Liliana was ignoring all of this so hard.

"So, blue/red! Blue is the mana of logic, forethought, and intellect, while red is the mana emotion, passion, impulse. They're an enemy pairing, which means that to find how they synthesize into one, you have to look at their central contradiction. For blue/red, there are any number of ways to word this inner tension: head versus heart, thinking versus feeling, the mind versus the gut, you get the idea. Thus, we realize that blue/red is the pairing that is best summed up as absolute creativity; embracing the tools of emotions to push forward thought and learning. Blue/red thinks, yes, but thinks passionately. It embraces intuitive leaps that pure logic can't explain, but their gut insists is right. They find connections where none would go looking for them, they find rationality in the heart of irrationality, they are Tony Stark mad scientists and brilliant artists and mathematicians feverishly working on a equations. They demand academic and artistic freedoms, refuse to be constrained by the stuffy rules of institutions. They prioritize knowledge and freedom, often by examining the knowledge that no one else will explore, thinking things that no one else would dare think, and searching for the knowledge that cannot rationally be discovered."

Shrieking from a ride off to their left set Liliana's teeth on edge, though the name of the ride (Ashiok's Totally Safe Ride for Babies and Children) juxtaposed with the screaming and sobbing did cause her to doubletake.

And, honestly, then she just gave up. There was no way she was going to be able to deliver a whole lecture in this din. Wearily, she closed her eyes and waved a hand.

"I've spent ten weeks thus far explaining the philosophies of mana and how to figure out how to find what color pairings have in common and how to discover their points of contention. So, go off and explore this godsforsaken theme park and, at some point, come back and tell me literally anything you can figure out about the pairing of blue and red. Something that points to their commonalities, their differences, something that makes you think that it somehow captures some element of that pairing. Make it at least semi-logically consistent is truly all I ask. I will be waiting in that restaurant over there, where it is slightly quieter." No, she wasn't pointing to the concession stand shaped like a giant, sloppy hamburger, but the more staid and expensive restaurant near it, with rich purple, gold, and black decor. The one called Grilliana's, yes. She would absolutely not be referring to it by name, thank you.

Comments

Sign In #10

[deathsmajesty]

Visiting a theme park in outer space!!!

Re: Sign In #10

[stykera]

Stark

Re: Sign In #10

[stringstothesoul]

Erasmus Boone

Re: Sign In #10

[gospel_of_oblivion]

Illyana Rasputina

Re: Sign In #10

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jonathan Sims

Re: Sign In #10

[sairis]

Sairis

Listen to the Lecture

[deathsmajesty]

Probably more like 'strain to hear the lecture.'

Explore the Astrotorium

[deathsmajesty]

You're in a giant theme park in outer space with the motto of "Safety Twelfth!" Go on rides, get concessions, marvel at why there are people going around cosplaying your teacher and potentially other familiar faces...

[Possibly helpful links:
* Our Spring Break Trip
* Card list for the Unfinity set
* The wiki page]

Re: Explore the Astrotorium

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Nope. Jon was just going to follow Lili into the restaurant.

"I think blue and red together are probably explosive, but in the name of science. Or magic, I suppose."

There. Now he was getting tea.

Re: Explore the Astrotorium

[deathsmajesty]

"Support your thesis, darling," Liliana said, practically on autopilot.

Re: Explore the Astrotorium

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Cutting-edge often means dangerous. And nearly always means enthusiastic. Enthusiasm and danger tend to get explosive. Whether they intend to or not. Mind you, I suppose it might just be explosions of paint or light, but someone had to invent fireworks. And nuclear bombs. And this place, I suppose." He scrunched up his face.

Re: Explore the Astrotorium

[deathsmajesty]

"Does this place strike you as being blue/red?" Liliana asked, far more interested in this line of thinking. "Why?"

Re: Explore the Astrotorium

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"I'm honestly not sure how to categorize this place," Jon said. "It mostly strikes me as loud." In several meanings of the word. "But it is definitely enthusiastic. And explosive. And...well, I suppose it requires quite a bit of science to keep it working."

Re: Explore the Astrotorium

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana looked around - though the more staid interior of Gr--of the restaurant - was a deep contrast to the rest of the Astrotorium proper. "I would agree," she said. "There's a kind of...frenetic energy that seems very red/blue. And a slightly different variety than red/black."

She hadn't really thought about it, but that was in no small part because she did her best to not think of the Astrotorium at all.

Re: Explore the Astrotorium

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"I suppose it's better than a...a green/white place would be," Jon said. That sounded like a nightmare.

Like several of his nightmares, actually.

Re: Explore the Astrotorium

[deathsmajesty]

"And why is that, darling?" You're doing a great job of distracting her, Jon!

Re: Explore the Astrotorium

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Well, um. Let's just...let's say locking people into destiny for their supposed own good doesn't sound like a great time." He had Opinions.

"E-even if you want to be charitable, honestly 'responsibility and morality' don't exactly sound like a fun idea for a theme park. Not that they're bad in their own right, but places like this are meant to be for letting go and enjoying yourself, whatever that may look like, although granted this place seems to be more along the lines of the barkers enjoying themselves at our expense and it brings up...well, um. Some...some less fun memories, although that...that might just be me. But, um. Anyway, green and white seem to not be very into 'fun' for anybody, particularly if you like making choices for yourself."

He cleared his throat. "Sorry."

Re: Explore the Astrotorium

[sairis]

Sairis had no idea what was going on. But it was very loud and very colorful. And most of the names of places seemed dubious at best.

He'd be exploring, but cautiously.

Class Assignment

[deathsmajesty]

Figure out literally any aspect you can get away with saying is probably part of the philosophy of blue/red and talk to Liliana about it. Honestly, make it sound even halfway plausible and she'll probably give it to you.

Re: Class Assignment

[gospel_of_oblivion]

"This whole thing screams 'magic user too smart for anyone's good with zero attention span and easily bored,'" Illyana drawled.

She was absolutely thinking about Tony Stark(s), yes.

"As a red user, I want to chafe at the implication that my passion and impulse leads to tacky, but..." Yana shrugged. "I've seen some of the weirder summons I've accidentally creating when having a magical breakthrough."

Re: Class Assignment

[deathsmajesty]

Oh, look, Illyana! You managed to make Liliana laugh! Softly, and just the once, but that was better than anyone had a right to expect here.

"In your defense, darling," she said, "Prismari, one of the Colleges of Strixhaven, is devoted to red and blue and that is the College of artistic expression: dancing, painting, sculpture, design, music...All of that falls under blue/red's purview. And while some of it is certainly tacky, there's plenty that's truly beautiful there as well."

Talk to Liliana

[deathsmajesty]

She looks to be in a very personable mood right now!

OOC

[deathsmajesty]

Sometimes you just gotta go with the weird ideas, you know?

Ral Zarek, the ultimate red/blue MTG character, guildmaster of the Izzet League turns into an otter when he travels to Bloomburrow and that's probably the funniest joke they could make.