Roar

[Dr. Abigail Hardscrabble]

(September 2nd. Open to all taking Hardscrabble's class. For the record, this post is taking place at the beginning of the class so the class has already begun. Just throw your characters in as if they had already arrived unless you want them to come late.)

The basement. Hardscrabble gave a spooky grin as she dusted off the dark wooden desk they'd equipped her with. It was fitting, wasn't it? A frightening setting for a class about frightening. She chuckled to herself before looking around the bare classroom. The chairs were soot covered, it was hot and sticky with the dust floating in the little bit of light that she allowed into the room through the windows. She'd turned off the AC and the lights. There would be no need for note taking in this particular class.

After letting a three minute silence flow through the hot room, the former dean crawled towards the students sitting in the front row. Her centipede like legs clicked on the hardwood floor of the basement as she approached. Her eyes narrowed as she opened her mouth to speak.

"You are not all monsters," she said, "But not all students are intelligent. Some are creative. Some are passionate. Some are athletic. You are all different in every way. And yet." Her eyes narrowed darker. "You are NOT scary." She rustled her wings. 

"However," she remarked, "I will use those talents to help mold you. Now, one might ask why is scaring important here? Wouldn't it be better to learn something like boxing or karate." She paced as she spoke. "Scaring your opponent will make them quake in their boots. Will make them want to run from you instead of facing you head on. In other words if you can scare your rival you will have a better chance at beating them."

She tilted her head. "Now. Can anyone tell me why you think it's important or not important to scare? Make sure to introduce yourself first. Unlike most professors I ALWAYS remember my students' names."

[Deleted]

Not scary? How in the world was he... Oh, right. Cute, fluffy, and blue. They didn't exactly make for the most terrifying of features. Stitch tilted his head to the side and listened as Hardscrabble gave her lecture. He wiggled about in his seat and fiddled with his tie in an effort to make himself more comfortable. Not scary... He'd show her not scary. At the very least, he could show this monster that he was a monster too. At least, in theory that was what Stitch supposed to be. Lilo had reformed him and taught him how to be good. Well, here he was going to learn how to be scary again. Stitch wanted this knowledge so he could be a more effective fighter.

"My name Stitch," Stitch said as soon as Hardscrabble asked. "Meega think... It important to look scary. You not look scary, then you not be scary. Ih?"

He hoped that was a good enough answer. It was the best one that Stitch had at any rate. Not that he was the best example of looking scary at all. He had his extra arms, antennae, and spikes hidden within his body at the moment, so he looked more like a fluffy blue koala than anything else. True, Stitch did have sharp claws and teeth. He could have very easily made the argument that these could make him scary. Whether or not Hardscrabble agreed or not was up for debate.

[Dr. Abigail Hardscrabble]

"Hello Stitch."

Odd name but the creature looked like it could have been a pet so maybe an owner had given him that name. A child most likely. She blinked before crawling towards him and shifting her wings again. Her arms crossed behind her back. "Looking scary is only part of the task. In order to look scary, you have to feel scary. You have to be scary." She turned from Stitch and crawled to the blackboard, picking up a piece of chalk. Time for an example. She drew a crude doodle of a human child and a fuzzy monster with horns and sharp teeth.

"Now, this creature here is trying to scare this child. However this child is afraid of snakes. So this monster coming in and roaring in her face would make her cry, not scream. It would make her upset, not scared." She turned again. "One must know who you are dealing with. Is your opponent strong or fast? Intelligent or slow? The same thing can be said of scariness. And if you cannot scare, what kind of fighter are you?"

[Luna Tsukuyomi]

Luna wasn't sure why she was assigned to this class. She wasn't scary, nor was she even considered threatening. Though maybe, once upon a time she was. That was a long time ago. The green haired girl twisted her gloved hands in an awkward fashion, the teacher, of course gave her the chills but she couldn't very well drop out now. It wouldn't make things easier on her. She jotted down notes in her notebook before raising her hand politely.

[Deleted]

"Ooooh..."

Stitch nodded a little as Hardscrabble explained further. Her doodle looked funny, but Stitch tried his hardest not to laugh at it. Laughing would get him nowhere in this class, he was sure. Besides, the whole point was to act, think, look, and be scary. Stitch thought it was the best class he had so far... At least apart from that dance class. That one was fun. But he was letting his mind wander. Stitch turned his attention back to the teacher's words and considered them carefully. Who could he have potentially scared? People who were afraid of aliens, he supposed, would be the best answer. But even then he was uncertain. He was cute and fluffy, after all... Even with his alien features out for all to see. He wondered if maybe he ought to show them off.

"So... Stitch be scary to people afraid of fluffy?" Stitch asked. That wasn't the only thing he wondered, though. Hardscrabble looked like a monster, so did she know anything about aliens? He tentatively let his antennae come out into view and tilted his head to the opposite side. He hadn't really noticed the other student, mostly because they hadn't bothered to speak up, but he supposed they couldn't be bad. At least, that was what he assumed. Stitch's thoughts presently were focused on asking questions still.

"Or... Aliens?"

[Waffle]

Wow.  Waffle wasn't late.  The spotted hyena had shown up on time.  Meh - the basement didn't really bother him too much.  After all, he and his poor clan had live in a foggy, smelly bone-yard so a musty old basement actually seemed like a step up.  The teacher on the other hand was just lolwut.  She kind of looked like if a bat, a lizard and bug all had one crazy night together.  Waffle guessed the monster was a little bit human-like, but he supposed if he had to class her species based on what he knew, he'd call her a bug.  Insects didn't really scare the hyena.  In fact, Waffle was almost fearless in most regards.  Whether this be out of bravery or stupidity is up to debate, but nonetheless Waffle didn't feel uncomfortable being in Hardscrabble's presence.  But, who said he didn't come to her class on time without an ulterior motive?  Apparently, he only showed up so he could get beauty rest.  After a minuet or two, the hyena's face was flat on the desk and his paws were lopped over the edges.  A wet snoring came out from one side of his face and a bit of slobber was dripping to the floor.  Waffle was napping in class...or was he?

[Dr. Abigail Hardscrabble]

"So... Stitch be scary to people afraid of fluffy?"

"No. I'm sure there's more to you than being just cute and fluffy, is there not?" She raised her head, crawling between the desks on insect like legs. "You see, my program at Monster's University had a group of students who positively didn't look scary in the slightest. We had one student who looked as if he'd been molded from jelly. Another who was an elder student with a grotesque mustache. However these students learned to use their abilities they had within to bring about proper scaring."

She reached Waffle's desk, eyes narrowed as she batted her wing against the back of his head.

"Now. How's about you come up and show us your scariest face," She asked, "You there. Blue monster. How about you?"

She pointed to Stitch. "There is a six foot tall male human in front of you. He is afraid of insects and snakes. How would you go about scaring him?"