Random Questions Thread

Ah, fair enough. Well, I have a few pages on locally-based sites that might provide leads, so we'll see how it goes!

Nevertheless, thank you for the aid and information! ^_^

Edited by ArsThaumaturgis on Jun 7th 2021 at 6:41:54 PM

@ Titan Jump:

I think I recall what you're talking about there; it's been a bit since I've directly watched that anime and even longer since I read the original manga.

The thing with the car is more like muscle memory; you're right. Unlike the other stolen memories he has floating around in his head, there is no explicit scenario or image associated with his victim driving. Just the complete understanding of what to do even if his conscious mind is reeling in confusion while he automatically does what is needed.

What's a thing that the world could need saving from that matches the running theme of "moving on from the past and facing the future?"

Clock Roaches

Ghosts?

Climate change.

Zombies.

I kinda like ghosts, thanks

So I plan to also ask this question to my father who worked in education, but I figured I'd try to get some thoughts from people here as well.

If the spouse of a teacher angrily threatens students, what sort of effect does this have on the teacher's career? Will he be reprimanded, or otherwise punished or even dismissed?

To elaborate, the situation is thus: there is a character in my story who is one of those teachers. He's young, handsome and has a charismatic intensity to him. It draws the amorous attention of a good deal of female students, which he doesn't reciprocate. However they find excuses to hang around him, as is prone to happen.

During one of these occasions, his wife comes to pick him up from the school and sees this. She immediately understands what is going on and flies into a jealous fury, which she verbally unleashes on the unfortunate teenagers. I just wonder what the repercussions would be to his career.

None.

It's just hysterical ramblings from someone who isn't even part of the education system, with zero "proof" to back it up.

It's the teacher's word against hers and in this case, the teacher always wins.

@ Titan Jump:

So if I understand correctly, you're saying that the teacher's wife yelling and cursing at the students out of jealousy won't affect the teacher's career in any way? I was a little confused from the way you phrased it, since it just seemed lie you were talking about allegations of misconduct from a student vs a teacher.

Uhm, that would depend on the specific place where that happens, as different rules will be applied in different countries or even in different regions of the same country.

Officially, in most countries nothing could happen to him as he did nothing wrong, and he cant get the blame for other people´s acts, even if it´s a member of his family.

Unofficially, the school board or principal can try to force the teacher to apologise or even fire him if they believe things can get worse due to parent´s complaints and rumors spreading, but it´s possible they lack even the power to do that.

It´s also possible that nothing happens if none of the girls wants to attract public attention to the case.

Edited by Oculto on Jun 8th 2021 at 2:19:46 PM

Yes, it means that nothing is going to happen to him.

Why even would it?

You should still ask your dad for his opinion in this question of yours anyway.

Edited by TitanJump on Jun 8th 2021 at 3:10:57 PM

It depends on two factors: first, will the spouse realize that they overreacted and apologize, or will they keep the accusations? second, is the teacher's behavior well known to both the parents and the other teachers, or were there in the past ambiguous situations, gossips and the like?

Best case scenario, the teacher will have an awkward conversation with the principal, a lot of awkward conversations with the parents, and a shitload of awkward fights at home, before the spouse apologizes and things will slowly go back to normal, although the gossips will never stop and the teacher will be in the future very, very cautious to avoid too close a familiarity with the students.

If the spouse continues with the accusations, things in their marriage will go downhill very quickly. The effect in their career will depend on how well the teacher can control the damage and how much they will be believed. If there are no other allegations or no legal actions by the parents, then it will be possible no official steps are taken against the teacher, but the atmosphere at the school could still be unfriendly for them.

If one of the parents sues the spouse (which can happen, if the spouse really "threatened" the teenagers), then things will become very difficult for the teacher, and I would expect at least unofficial 'advices' to resign.

Worst case scenario, official accusations are made either by another teacher, by a parent or (absolute worst case) by a student. In this case an official inquiry is to be expected and, even if the teacher is eventually cleared of all charges, I wouldn't be surprised for them to resign anyway.

I must note that those are just my opinions, based on my experience as a teacher, and that the rules in other countries could be more or less strict (in Italy it is really difficult to fire a teacher from a public school, there are a lot of bureaucratic steps and a lawsuit from the teacher is almost a given).

@ Oculto:

Yes that makes sense. I'm not particularly knowledgeable about school policies on teacher conduct, but I was almost positive this risked being a career-ending gaffe, at least at the school where he works.

I can see this happening; him being pressured to apologize, I mean. He'd do it anyway (it's in his character to want to make things right and he'd be horribly embarrassed and angry) but the idea that the school directors would lean on him even with this could just make things worse.

(This happens in the US in a small semi-rural town for context and the teacher and his wife and newcomers).

@ Titan Jump:

There are certain jobs in which the conduct of your family members/close friends could endanger your career. And that's not even when those people are doing something directly like showing up to the workplace and having altercations with the people there. I just figured if you can be negatively impacted by your loved ones doing things in their private lives, a loved one actively doing something at your job would be grounds for serious career-danger.

I'll definitely be asking my father this; I just really wondered what people here thought of this aspect of the story.

Your Bloody Valentine:

Whew, almost got. Thank you for taking the time to write out those scenarios, really.

The entire incident is meant to be a one-time thing, although it has some lingering effects. The teacher's wife knew he wasn't actually sleeping with students or even flirting with them; she was just overcome with jealous anger and lost her head for a moment...it never happens again but she refuses to apologize or take it back and it just worsens an already stormy marriage. Plus the two of them are newcomers to a small town in the United States, so it made a rather unpleasant first impression (this happens in the second month of the school year).

I'm still sort of stuck on what repercussions I want it to have with parents/students. I do want to keep things realistic but also don't want to create a problem that cripples this guy and his wife so that they cannot move forward to carry out their roles in the plot.

Anyway, this is much appreciated!

Uff, that happening in a small town...

As soon as rumours spread everywhere things are going to be much worse for them. It´s completely unavoidable that some parents will believe that he was actually trying to seduce some students and if they start complaining or threatening to sue the school if they dont fire him, it can even end on local news.

Though if it´s one of those schools that have cameras, they can show he never did anything inappropriate.

@ Oculto

Well that certainly gives fuel to the argument I intend for them to have later about this. The first thought was that she badly humiliated him over nothing but her own insecurities and jealousy but now it gives him more concrete grievances—-she threatened their place in the town and is drawing unnecessary attention down on them in the form of angry parents and even local news. To be honest this was really about his career and his ability to provide for his small family but what you brought up, combined with that, makes it ever so much worse.

Is it necessary for the plot?

This event, that is?

@ Titan Jump:

Yes it is necessary, for a number of different reasons. It showcases some of the problems in the marriage between two major characters, it provides a window into the personality of one of these major characters, and also gives a plausible reason why the teacher character didn't intervene during a certain part of the story (he was stuck in meetings that were the fallout of this incident).

One of my drafts is a Two-Fisted Tales-esque thing (but with modern sensibilities). It's about a german resistance fighter^note  started as a ''Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold member, after 1933 became a disguised partisan in a ww2 that has Weird Science, Diesel Punk, and mythological and magical stuff, but otherwise the same as the real world.

It's a lot darker than the actual pulp ever was, but i want to try to skirt around directly involving the most horrible things^note  you know what i mean. How can i do that without looking like i'm glossing over them or ignoring their existence?

Edited by Nukeli on Jun 8th 2021 at 1:33:36 PM

Well, it´s just possible the he himself has not seen them so he does not know the most horrible details but has heard "rumours about atrocities" that he considers completely believable as he knows his nation´s rulers have no conscience or shame.

Many real resistance members had not seen the camps, for example, or even the slaughter in the Eastern Front as they served in Africa, Denmark, France (many of them) or Italy.

I'm pretty sure that, on the contrary to the popular opinion in the modern day, most people in there had a pretty good idea about what happened to all the people who were dissappearing.

Also, once the actual war starts, the character is basically running around the occupied Europe and fighting Ghostapo, super soldiers, and Dressing as the Enemy to sabotage and to conceal his actual identity, so he'd definitely know^note  Though he doesn't really have the ability to do anything about that since he is one man and doesn't even have super powers or -weapons or other abilities. He was also a civilian to begin with, pretty much a random guy who ditched his real identity snd started permanently living in disguises when the nazis came after Reichsbanner members in 1933.

The question is how do i skirt around directly addressing the subject without it coming off the wrong way.

Edited by Nukeli on Jun 9th 2021 at 2:01:51 PM

I don't think you really CAN gloss over it if you're intentionally making the setting dark. It might feel like an awkward half-measure to be otherwise much darker but ignore the genocide happening. What reason is there to gloss over it anyway?

Many people who are now in the list of Righteous among the Nations mentioned that they did not know anything about the camps. Of course they knew the Nazis were killing millions of people and were specially obsessed with Jews, which is the reason why they knew they had to help. But most of them never imagined the grossest details, which is the only thing that you can "gloss over" in this case.

I guess you can write it so he does not even want to think about it, but an entire story never mentioning a word about the reasons why he is a traitor to his own country would seem weird.

Maybe he can use only euphemisms such as "The things they are doing."

Edited by Oculto on Jun 8th 2021 at 2:54:25 PM

Don't gloss over them.

Call them for what they are but you don't have to go into detail about it.

Death factories.

Butcher-shops.

Holocaust.

Gas chambers.

Concentration camps.

No reason to hide that from the readers of this story.