Seriously Geeky Sundays: Back to School!

Hello dear readers and welcome to another Seriously Geeky Sundays post here on Shoot the Rookie! I’ve missed the last couple of these but had to make a return for this one as today’s questions relate to fictional schools – one of my favourite locations for games and anime to take place. So why not join me to find out more about some of these wonderful educational establishments!

As always before I start I want to say a huge thank you to Heather, the genius inventor of Seriously Geeky Sundays! If you haven’t had a chance to check out what it’s all about then I’d highly recommend that you head on over to Just Geeking By and see how to take part yourself!

And now on with the questions, which this week were very fun but also quite a lot of work to answer!

Which fictional school is your first choice to study at and which is your absolute last?

First choice: Starfleet Academy (Star Trek)

This may come as no surprise to those who regularly read my Seriously Geeky Sundays posts as I write about Star Trek quite a lot. Starfleet Academy isn’t strictly speaking a school but instead I guess more like a university for people who want to join Starfleet. I have always wanted to join Starfleet and therefore I know that my first step would have to be attending the academy. I know it would be a massive challenge but I also know that I would be super motivated, well supported and surrounded by likeminded people with a real desire to learn, and that my peers and I would encourage and challenge each other to smash all expectations!

Last Choice: Sunnydale High (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Not only is Sunnydale located on the hell mouth and therefore home to more than your avergage share of demons and vampires, but the high school is also just a normal American high school with all the cliques, bullying and weirdness that goes along with that. Frankly I can’t think of anything worse, even if it does mean you get to meet cute werewolves every now and then.

Choose a fictional uniform to wear to your new school!

No Mo’ Uniforms!

If I were to attend Starfleet Academy I would of course have to wear the appropriate uniform, which I think is a dull grey number. However, instead of picking that for this question I am instead going to totally dodge the question because I hate uniforms of pretty much any description. I used to do everything in my power to mess with my school uniform, from painting my nails and dyeing my hair to covering my tie in safety pins. Therefore instead of choosing a uniform here, I want to salute all those characters from different fandoms who, like my lovely assistant above, do everything they can to screw with whatever uniform they are supposed to wear!

What fictional subject/s are you studying?

Leaping, Ancient Wisdom, Focus, Clairvoyant Eye (all from Xenoblade Chronicles 2)

For this question I have again enlisted assistants to demonstrate the subjects I have chosen. The characters above are all Blades from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and each of them have special skills that I would very much like to study and master.

On the left we have Aegaeon, a Blade who uses the water element and is a fantastic cook (he is also a bit of a weirdo but that doesn’t matter here). The subject of his I would like to study is ‘Leaping’, which as it sounds is the ability to jump to ridiculously high heights.

Next is Dromarch (centre top) who is also a water blade and serves as a very useful (if not entirely comfortable) way of getting around. The skill of his I would like to study is ‘Ancient Wisdom’, which is basically the ability to read and decode ancient writings. Strictly speaking this isn’t a fictional subject, but I have always been fascinated by Archaeology and it would just be so damn cool to be able to understand any ancient texts I came across.

Third we have the lovely Electra (centre bottom) and her subject is ‘Focus’. She has lots of cool skills and can control electricity, but I’ve chosen to study ‘Focus’ as it gives you the ability to focus unwaveringly on any one thing. I’m a total scatterbrain sometimes so I think it would be great to be able to focus completely on one thing at a time.

Finally we have Azami (right), a really scary doll thing who is obsessed with her Driver and can control the dark. She has a skill called ‘Clairvoyant Eye’ which allows you to see through obstacles to find whatever you are looking for. I would really like to study and master this skill as not only would it help me find stuff I’d lost but also may come in useful when attempting to navigate new places!

What is your favourite fandom set in a teaching setting?

Persona 5

Again this choice will surprise no one, but I absolutely love the school setting of Persona 5. The game has lots of locations but the main school – Shujin Academy – is absolutely central to the story. From exploring the corridors to getting books out of the library and getting picked on by your teachers, this school rings remarkably true and you even have to answer questions in class from time to time which I will admit actually taught me a thing or two! Lots of the protagonists’ friends also attend the school and so you can go and hang out with them after class, and you even end up going on a school trip to Hawaii!

Which fictional teacher is your favourite, which is the most useless and who do you find the most inspiring?

Favourite: Shota Aizawa (My Hero Academia)

Aizawa Sensei is a totally awesome character who makes me laugh nearly every time I see him despite being the most deadpan person of all time. In the classroom he gives off a vibe that says he simply cannot be bothered, even frequently falling asleep in class. However behind that exterior is a talented and dedicated hero who cares deeply for the safety of his students and colleagues.

Most Useless: Dr Desmond Forrest Oates (Get Over It!)

Dr Forrest Oates on the other hand couldn’t care less about his students. In fact, this self-obsessed drama teacher doesn’t care about anything much except his past ‘glories’ as an actor. Instead of encouraging his students he frequently diminishes them and dismisses their talents as being inferior to his own. A total bastard yes, but despite that his hilarious self-absorption absolutely steals the show in Get Over It with quotes such as “It’s just not very good. I could lie to you but I would do you a disservice because it’s just bad” and the classic “Bill Shakespeare was a wonderful poet, but Burt Bacharach he ain’t”. Awful but brilliant!

Most Inspiring: Heine Wittgenstein (The Royal Tutor)

Heine has a ridiculously tough job on his hands! Teach four princes who don’t want to be taught how to prepare for life as a king. They are all difficult students and have seen that many previous tutors have been sacked promptly. The stakes of this appointment are high as Heine was chosen by the boys’ father (the king!), and he not only has to teach his students but also deal with political dramas and also endure some occasional taunting about his height. Despite this he does his job impeccably and convinces even the most difficult prince of the value of education.

School’s just started; who’s in your school gang?

I’ve decided to answer this one in a slightly different way. I wasn’t sure which traditional school roles to include so started looking around for inspiration. It then occurred to me that there is an excellent list of the stereotypical social roles within a school to be found in one of the most famous (and best) films to be set in a high school – The Breakfast Club. In the film, the entirely useless teacher see’s the students as labels rather than people. Therefore I have decided to use those labels as the basis for the members of my school gang! Please bare in mind that I would never label these characters like this, but rather it is how I think they might be stereotyped.

The Criminal – Yuri Plisetsky (Yuri on Ice!!!)

Not actually a criminal, and in fact one of the best ice skaters the world’s has ever seen, Yuri P (or Yurio to his friends…) is tough, rude and would do anything to convince you that he doesn’t care about you even though it is a lie. A difficult guy to get on with for sure but there is something extremely refreshing about the cold demeanour that protects his big heart.

The Athlete – Reyn (Xenoblade Chronicles)

A hard-as-nails soldier and the most dedicated friend you could ever have, there is no one I would want in my corner more than Reyn, even if he is a bit of an idiot sometimes!

The Brain – Rita Mordio (Tales of Vesperia)

Her obsession with her research and the burdens that come along with it make Rita a bit of a difficult customer, but hanging with her would definitely improve my scientific skills and also give me someone to share my deep mistrust of dogs with.

The Princess – Mizusaki Tsubame (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!)

A child model, Mizusaki has the world at her feet. Except that all she wants to do is be a total nerd and make anime, which clearly isn’t something her celebrity parents would approve of. She does however have the will to pursue her dreams and I think would be a supportive friend, even if she was generally locked away in a room drawing countless pictures of robots.

The Basketcase – Yusuke Kitagawa (Persona 5)

A dedicated student of art with an inexplicable love of lobsters, this boy is unusual in many ways. From his tendency to frame all scenes as if they were paintings to his frequent misunderstanding of social norms, he could definitely be stereotyped by an uncaring teacher. That label however would completely overlook his level headed nature, his passion for his subject and his determination to make the world a better place. I’d buy this starving artist a beef bowl any day of the week!

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So what do you think? Do you wish you’d attended some of the schools here instead of your own one? Let me know all about your favourite fictional educational establishments below and don’t forget to head on over to Just Geeking By to submit your own answers!

Thanks for reading,

Pix1001 x