Thinslayer

Star Trader

I think I'll go with the starship idea.

I estimate the next post to be big (or at least meaty), so I'll need another day or so to craft it. Had a rotten day at work, so no progress was made on it today. :(

Star Trader

I think for this class, the characters will engage in a team-building exercise - literally. They'll be picking crewmates. Trouble is, I'm having difficulty thinking up a scenario, and I could use some help.

A few of my ideas:

* Teacher has them doing team sports. The sales pitch is: "What do sports have to do with trading? They have a few things in common: a challenge to overcome, and working with others to overcome it. Today, we'll be playing [volleyball? basketball?]. Whoever wins gets a cash prize."

* We stick the kids on a [simulated?] starship and let them pick their roles. The teachers observe which kids pick which roles, and note that for future reference. Their goal is to [land? dock?] the ship. Whether they succeed or fail, they'll learn a lot about how starships work and how crews operate.

* Teacher assigns student pairs to come up with a menu for the cafeteria. By the way, this is canonically how the cafeteria is run - by students learning business. The food is very hit-or-miss. xD Anyway, Ed and Sofie get paired up. The students are given a small investment of capital to play with (taken from the tuition they paid into the school) and instructed to submit a report about their experiences at the end of the week.

Your thoughts?

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"It is a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Valentine. My name is Sofie Heichenback. I look forward to meeting you in Martial Arts!" Sofie shook his hand and smiled. The smile did not reach her eyes. She shrank back and adjusted her sweater.

"Same here! I shall strive to earn your...what's the word...looking-forward-ness? High regard! That's the term I was looking for. I shall strive to earn your high regard. Just getting here was interesting! Traffic was backed up a little ways along the I-9, so I took a shortcut, only to find traffic packed there too. Mostly college students, I later found. I understand you took a taxi, Ed?"

"Yeah. The driver was pretty quiet. Thankfully."

"Ha ha! I know what you mean. They're a chatty bunch around these parts. They just. Don't. Shut. Up! 'Where ya goin?' 'What's in the bag?' 'Like some music?' Seriously, just drive, man. If I want to talk, I'll talk. I know, they're trying to give good customer service, and I don't fault them for it. They just have to be more aware, you know? Don't be like those taxi drivers, Ed!"

"Yessir!" Ed saluted, grinning from ear to ear.

Fenix slapped him on the back. "That's the spirit. Where you guys headed, kiddo?"

Ed scratched his head. "Well, we initially came down here to greet you, but while we're out here, I'm thinking we should join the orientation and meet our classmates."

"Great idea. Is that it?" Fenix pointed to the gathering crowd by the main entrance.

"Probably! Come on, Sofie!"

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Sorry for the long delay. Trying to decide on whether/how to do the timeskip. Should we timeskip to the first class, or segue into the orientation instead? The former gets things moving, but the latter introduces us to the other characters earlier.

I'll post what I have written so far. It should help us work out how to move forward.

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I liked the post! The flashback made her father feel kinda scary, so it makes sense why Sofie would feel a little dirty after shaking hands with Ed's father. I'm still dying to learn whether my hunch is correct that she's Terran-born (don't spoil it for me), so we'll see if Ed or Fenix can pry that information out of her. :P

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Dangit, I went through three or four different short stories, but scrapped all of them because none were particularly bright or uplifting. So, still working on it. ^_^

Also getting lots of other story ideas in the bargain, though. :P

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Fenix Valentine

Fenix Valentine is the CEO of one of the largest industries on the planet, and married to its owner. Many years ago, he worked as a contracted assassin for the government. Together with Gwen Valentine, the Ambassador for the nascent Crescent Empire, they brought down countless Imperialist spies and crime syndicates with their combined skills. They were an unstoppable power-couple. When the Revolution ended, Gwen asked Fenix to marry him (yes, you read that right), and they settled down in an ordinary-looking house in the city.

As a former assassin, Fenix knows both how to swagger and how to lay low, and it shows in his poise. He holds his head high, yet hides everything else under his long brown coat. His eyes seem cold and stern at first, but there is a warmth in them, their hard gaze softened by a deep love for his family. While smiles didn't used to come easily for him, today, there is rarely a moment when the deep rumble of mirth cannot be heard in his belly.

He'd long dreamt of creating a world where people could live free and happy, unbound by the chains of fear or despair. He and his wife fought desperately, with every fiber of their being, to make that world a reality.

They succeeded.

It is now Ed's and Sofie's turn to take that dream and spread it where such dreams are little more than whispers on the wind.

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Decided to kill two birds with one stone. Having a father figure for the characters to rely on for relationship advice will be invaluable, and while we're at it, why not introduce Ed's actual father? I'm tired of characters' fathers always being absent, and figured now would be a great time to break that trope. Since he's got a lot of adventures and experience under his belt, he'll also give me an excuse to tell other stories in-character - thus giving me a reason to write you something more heartwarming or uplifting. ^_^

It's a tad cheesy, I know, but I really wanted to break that Absent Father trope. >_<

EDIT: Also writing a side-story for ya. Too tired to finish it tonight though.

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Aww. I know all too well how exhaustion really does a number on one's creativity. Sounds like someone needs an uplifting story to raise her spirits! ^_^

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Also...what do you think of Moglet?

He's got a head start in the race for her heart, it sounds like, so Ed will have to work his magic to take first place.

And I've also left the stone throwing at the window for you to determine. It could literally be anyone so I've opened up the idea for you to take wherever.

Ah, I didn't know that's what that was. I thought it was Moglet. I'll see what I can do with it.

Do you want to do a time skip after a couple of posts to when the classes actually start?

I think after they've had a chat with this guy throwing rocks at their window, sure. I'm torn between putting them in orientation and putting them in a classroom. Both have their merits. Ideally, I'd like to stick the characters in a starship and throw them in an asteroid belt, but I think we're a little ways off from that yet. We may need to change up the class structure to make things more exciting.

Ahhh...would it be okay if you could formulate a longer reply? I know it's a lot to ask but I'd like to speed up the current events and I don't think I'll be writing much today since I'm in a horrible mood.

Sure! It's no problem. Writing more is easy - it's making the hook for you to reply on that's hard. ;-)

What happened that soured your mood, though? Wanna talk about it over PM?