A jumpstart for Cullen's?

[Stern]

This isn't necessarily for me, but it did occur to me that there's nothing going on there. The place is dead.

The Redencion House is great, but what happens when people come along who actually want to have their character regularly exist at Cullen's?

Going West is great, and it's given me especially an opportunity to do amazing things with Feral, but I feel like we're just supplanting one thing with another, rather than providing another option.

Of course, all the educators and students enrolled at Cullen's are apparently nowhere to be seen. Is there any way around that? It kind of sucks to have to RP with yourself about a school day at Cullen's.

I'm more than willing to have Stern step up the plate as an Adjunct teacher, or create a new account entirely, but I think it would help if we did something about Cullen's foundationally speaking.

I don't really want to do anything too radical, but I am edging towards a total overhaul. The headmaster is nowhere to be seen, there are no teachers (at all) and no students either.

It also be helpful to have all the options open and viable. Any suggestions or thoughts?

[Spectre]

Tempest will still be with the X-men, she is just graduated from the school now. She'll probably wind up as a teacher or something. I'm just having a bit of non-Cullen's fun with her for a while, but she'll be back!

Spectre on the other hand, is busy with work. ;)

[Ethan Evans]

I'm still available for Cullen's related shenanigans.

[Francoise Dupont]

..et moi aussi :)

[Anita Stern]

Me, as well. :D

[Jacob Foley]

I'm drained of the cycle of Cullen's, it being a school everything started to feel repetitive after a while, thus is the nature of day-to-day school life. It's not particularly conducive to new ideas, I found, and we were all restricted by the limitations on staff and needed an active hierarchy to lead the way. Dragon, for example, must've been filling in for the workload of five or six teachers at one point.

If you feel a new approach may help reinvigorate stories at the school, then I'm all in favour of it and wish you luck. If I feel I can offer any specifc advice, I will, but I doubt I'll be resurrecting any of my old students or teachers in the future.

[Stern]

Yeah, that's the exact problem. Reliance on teachers.

But I was thinking that maybe rather than have the lessons take place in a class room environment, why not have them happen as field trips or hands-on studies? Why teach a concept when you can show it in action?

Plus, I figure if the main point of the school was to create X-Men first and provide a quality classic education second, that would make things more interesting. It becomes a training ground for mutants, rather than your average high school.

[Chartis]

I'm afraid I've been woefully neglectful, but Clarity will be popping (quite literally) back and forth between NY and LA. I think she'll try to stay based at Cullen's because of her son, so I'll try to take a more active role in whatever goings-on there are. ^_^;

[Jamie Morrigan]

She has to bring Ridley sometimes. Jamie needs someone to play make-believe with. :D

[Captain Untouchable]

Like I mentioned somewhere else, I'm thinking of bringing Untouchable over to Cullens as a teacher. Because of the kind of guy that he is, he'll be all for unorthadox teaching stuff like field trips; he'll probably focus on physics but try to teach it in a way that is fun, so there'll be wacky live-action experiments out on the basketball court, letting the kids stay up past midnight to do some astronomy, and stuff.

Also, because of his power he's a pretty good shot with a paper aeroplane, so he'll likely have a stash in a drawer that he fires at the students who aren't paying attention. :D

Oh, and he's Scottish. I seem to remember hearing that you wee lasses over on this side of the pond are quite fond of that particular accent. ;)

Liz - since Clarity and Tom know each other (sort of) already, do you wanna get together and do a thread where she introduces him to Cullens? I'd rather have a little bit of a precedent for him starting work, but once he's actually been shown where the school is we can likely fudge the rest and start him teaching stuff.

I've also got the Mutant Crimes Unit that's being set up; one of their aims is to cut down on crimes by mutants, and crimes against mutants, so maybe we could arrange some outreach stuff where they come and talk to you about their various fields? We've got a cop, a lawyer, a computer whizz and a DNA guy, all of whom are mutants, so they can probably help teach the kids a little about how to cope with mutant abilities over the course of your daily lives.

One of them also turns into a purple giant, so he'd make one heck of a goalie if they join in with anything on the sports field. :D

[Ethan Daniels]

I'm around too, I just don't know what to do with myself :\

[Mandy with an I]

Banner will always be at Cullens, until she kidnaps Felix and flies away :mischief

I like the idea of doing something with our "original" characters, esp. since it makes no sense for Banner to be in LA. I could bring Sigmund in as teacher/mentor, since I've done nothing with him >_>

Maybe Oddity and Ricky could stop in NY on their way to LA too?

[Chartis]

Liz - since Clarity and Tom know each other (sort of) already, do you wanna get together and do a thread where she introduces him to Cullens? I'd rather have a little bit of a precedent for him starting work, but once he's actually been shown where the school is we can likely fudge the rest and start him teaching stuff.

Yes, absolutely. It'll be great fun, considering how they met in the first place. :D

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I'm around too, I just don't know what to do with myself :\
You're in charge! Do whatever you like!

[Miranda Tarkin]

that's not very helpful LD :\

[Maxine Flannery]

Max is still at Cullen's, and I'm trying to get her active again. Hoping Ethan makes an appearance in her current thread. ;)

[Jacinda Blake]

I got something for you Professor Ion! ;) -runs to chatter idea-

[Stern]

Well, the idea I had would be for some long lost brother of Founder Cullen to appear and re-orient the school to be a strike force builder first, high school second.

With his team of 5 or so mutants, he would start testing the kids. The ones that passed would be X-Men. The ones that didn't completed their educations and joined the world.

It sounds high-handed and even arrogant of me, since I would probably play that set of characters, but I couldn't think of anything better.

Of course, this man would work very closely with the current headmaster and all the faculty.

[Dasquian Belargic]

some long lost brother of Founder Cullen

Have you been browsing the wiki lately? :lol

http://www.sw-fans.net/wiki/index.php?title=Joseph_Cullen

[Captain Untouchable]

With his team of 5 or so mutants, he would start testing the kids. The ones that passed would be X-Men. The ones that didn't completed their educations and joined the world.

Effectively establishing a neo X-Men team then, as was done often in the comics? That could work, and I'd definately be interested in having Untouchable as one of your 5 or so, if you're accepting volunteers. There might be a couple of the old staff / X-Men who might be willing to get involved with that small core of X-Men as well, if the prospect of regular activity is there.

Weren't you looking for something for Tess to do after she graduated, Liz? ;)

[Mirror]

Since I have received no opposition to my idea, I have gone ahead and started.

http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?p=296319#post296319

Students and faculty alike my join in. This thread will mostly be Mirror's assessment of the school to see what is good and what needs to be improved. Then the real fun begins.

[Dragon]

This sounds like an interesting new direction for Cullen's. I'd like to get involved, though it'll have to wait for after this weekend. Lots due Tuesday...

Should we in the faculty know to expect Mirror's arrival, or is he coming to essentially make his case? Either way, he'll probably have to earn Dragon's trust before he's fully ready to throw his support behind Mirror, but once he does, Dragon will be way into this new program.

[Mandy with an I]

I'll try to intro Ziggy tomorrow and have him join in soon.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

So this is another Cullen brother then? In addition to:

http://www.sw-fans.net/wiki/index.php?title=Joseph_Cullen

[Francoise Dupont]

Apparently poor Joe Cullen has been forgotten by his brother :mneh

Nevermind, though. I imagined Joseph as the black sheep of the family.. a man who had vanished from the radar, so to speak, many years ago - probably under slightly suspicious circumstances. :uhoh

[Mirror]

Yes, he is. If this is a problem he can be a cousin or a colleague just as easily. I figured tying him to dr. cullen by blood would allow Mirror to express authority about Dr. Cullen's true purpose for his school.

EDIT: just saw the other post. If we want, we can say the third cullen brother is overseas working on developing schools for the gifted in other countries. makes him exotic. Or we can just play the Colombo card and people can wonder if there really is a Joseph Cullen

[Dasquian Belargic]

I have no problem with him being another Cullen brother.

Nice avatar choice ;)

[Mirror]

Thank you. :)

In the thread, Mirror will be introducing himself and his team, and the thread will end with a school assembly to inform the students of the overhaul in curriculum. Faculty will also be reassigned to departments according to their mutant ability, since teaching mutant power mastery will be the first goal of the Cullen's school.

[Miranda Tarkin]

A reason for Ethan :)

Wonder how this is gonna go down

[Mirror]

Good question. I'm trying to catch up on the Time to say Goodbye thread to figure out where Ethan has been this whole time. You can bet that Mirror will have a few choice words for him for his extended absence, though.

I think it'll turn out fine, though.

[Miranda Tarkin]

You loose the love of your life to a coma and see how you react :p

[Dasquian Belargic]

EDIT: just saw the other post. If we want, we can say the third cullen brother is overseas working on developing schools for the gifted in other countries. makes him exotic. Or we can just play the Colombo card and people can wonder if there really is a Joseph Cullen

The latter, I think. He is a bit of a mystery, vanished around the time of his brothers death - but even before then he was hardly in the public eye.

[Mirror]

You loose the love of your life to a coma and see how you react :p


Mirror won't be without sympathy, but still, the school is in sad shape. Something has to be done. First thing will probably be sorting out faculty, making sure Ethan still wants to run Cullen;s, etc. Mirror will be acting as President of the school, rather than its new principal. He would very much like to see the current faculty and administration survive and do well because they're the people his brother trusted with the school. It would look bad if Dr. Cullen turned out to make a poor choice.

[Miranda Tarkin]

Well in all fairness, Ethan's brush with whatever is going on is what kicks him in the ass to get back into things. Also, I have had no idea what to do with him and hence his absence :lol

Least he can still be Headmaster tho, not principal :p

[Mirror]

They're the same in my mind.

If you don't have any ideas about what to do with Ethan, we can discuss it. It might help to have him mingle with students and assist Mirror in assigning young mutants to teachers for powers mastery.

All the students will be evaluated and placed with a faculty member who Mirror thinks is most adept at helping the student to master his or her powers.

For example, if a youngster comes in with the gift of precognitive awareness, she would be placed with a teacher whose powers are psychic in nature.

If a student's ability allows him to change the shape of his body or somehow alter his physiology, then he might be placed in a mutant powers class with Vipul, since Vipul's power involves cloning himself. It's not an exact match, but they are similar in nature.

Mutants with projectile powers might take classes with Ethan, who can project lightning (if I remember right), a student with super strength or agility might take classes with Dragon since Dragon's powers enhance his physical capability. And the same thing goes so on and so forth down the line until all the students are placed.

The teachers then are responsible for making sure the student knows everything about his or her powers. The student must know where they're powers come from, how these powers affect their bodies, the drawbacks and limitations of these powers, etc. A student would graduate from Cullen's after writing an essay outlining his or her powers in detail and completing a series of field exams with Mirror. If the students can demonstrate clear mastery of their powers to a degree higher than Mirror, they graduate. Afterwards they may join the Cullen's staff as teachers and X-Men, or enter the real world and do what they like.

This is the concept I have so far. It allows for unorthodox teaching styles, exotic locations, exciting lessons and exams, and gives every single person involved in Cullen's life a purpose and mission.

[Captain Untouchable]

I'm a little uncomfortable with that notion. Sure, mastering their mutant abilities is important and all, but we're talking about kids here, not soldiers. It sounds to me that you're trying to turn Cullens into a training ground for future X-Men. Where are these kids going to get their actual education from?

Or does the idea of compulsory education not apply to "mutant freak childs"? ;)

Also, I'm not entirely sure that "power" is the best way of dividing up the faculty. In some cases it makes sense, but just because someone can shoot lightning from their hands doesn't necessarily qualify them to instruct a pyrokinetic. They "project" fire from their hands (or can, with the requisite abilities), but their powers also allow things like making fires die down, burn hotter, spread to other areas, etc. Would such a student train with the "most suitable" mutant, or would they be part of multiple classes - projection with Ion, inner calm / mental control with Dragon, etc?

To me, the mastery side of things should be additional to regular education, not a replacement. Since we're a boarding school, what if the power mastery stuff was slotted in as a replacement for gym class, the sporting activities over the weekends, after-school clubs, etc? If people wind up only RPing the weekend lessons, that's fine, but the story does still provide an opportunity for them to get a real education.

Not that I'm trying to be the voice of reason and responsibility or anything. :mneh

[Mirror]

The kids still get a classic education at Cullen's, but that is a secondary goal. Most of them will get their education in science as they educate themselves on their powers. The English, Literature, and History will all happen too, but you might never see a thread where all the kids sit down in a classroom to hear a professor lecture them.

By making the first goal of Cullen's Institute power mastery, we make Cullen's threads more interesting. Most of the kids probably won't be that interested in fighting--take Freight Train for example.

In the real X-Men universe, every student no matter what spent time in the Danger Room. They spent time in the classroom too, but you never saw a 12 page comic of mutant teenagers spending time hearing a lecture on World War II.

That's what I'm trying to do here: make it so the high energy, exciting stuff is what we hear about.

[Captain Untouchable]

It isn't your concept that I have an issue with - it's the application, as I've already stated.

I don't feel that what you propose actually represents a new direction for Cullens. Unless you plan to reduce the amount of time kids spend in the classroom, then the existing activities at Cullens will continue as normal. All you're suggesting is a bolt-on, to take place whenever the kids aren't actually in lessons.

With this brought in - as you're pitching it at least - you risk stamping out everything else that happens at Cullens. You risk losing all feel of it being a school, and will effectively turn it into more of a boot camp than a sanctuary for angsty mutant teens. Sure, lesson-based stories might be boring, unless they're done right, but there are certain aspects of stories that make things feel like "High School"; such an aggressive change of direction could eliminate those from occurring.

Surely, your idea can be implemented in such a way that it isn't a "big deal" in character - as if it's an organic extension of the school, rather than the new "first goal" you suggest?

[Mirror]

That's not up to me. It'll be up to the people that role play. If you write it like a school, then it'll be a school. If you write it like a boot camp, it'll be a boot camp.

Powers lessons will run (in my mind) like organized chaos or sports practice. The students will be encouraged to play with their powers and see what they can do while under the supervision of faculty, who will observe and make suggestions. The students will set their own goals for their powers development and it will be up to the teachers to see that their kids meet those goals.

I plan to keep Cullen's a school.

[Mandy with an I]

Cullens already had mutation classes, so how is Mirrors idea any different? It's just like a special school that puts emphasis on powers first.

I don't see how it'll be like boot-camp at all, unless you're getting punished. The only class I ever rped that was some sort of powers class was Art Class as Caresse. I like the idea, and I think it'll bring a bit more life to Cullens.

Kids are still going to bitch and moan about school, only now some might be bitching about fucking up while using their powers, or getting a shit kicking in one of their lessons. Like Mirror said, if the original comics were just about school, no-one would read them. One of the first X-men comics I bought started with them doing a training exercise. Great way to intro everyone and their powers.

[Droo]

To be honest, the way I envision this is a little bit like Hogwarts for mutants, and I like the sound of that. :)

[Captain Untouchable]

I think it narrows the scope of Cullen's quite considerably; there are student characters around who wont fit into this concept at all. I can't see Anita Florence fitting in with your training program, for example; I'm not sure that Anja Drake would fit in either, nor Damien, Pan and Taya (whose powers are physical, and thus require no "control").

Rather than encouraging universal activity across the board, there's a risk that Cullen's will simply become a "mutant training facility". And if all we care about at Cullen's is training mutants to use their abilities, then how are we actually different from the Brotherhood? Why would someone like Felix Fletcher select one over the other, rather than because he simply dislikes the alternative?

I'm not saying that you shouldn't implement the idea; I can hardly prevent you even if I wanted to. I just feel that if you were a little less totalitarian in the way it's implimented, it wouldn't seem to close as many doors on other people.

But *shrug* - I seem to be the only person with these concerns. Best of luck - hope it works out for you.

[Dee Cusiak]

I dunno, I am still going over in my head how Ethan would like someone coming in and basically taking over the way Cullen's is ran in a sense. He would be respectful of Dr. Cullen's brother of course, but he isn't Dr. Cullen :p

That IC aside, the X-Men comics are mainly focused on power training, but it isn't the sole purpose of the book. It is about relationships etc... just like anything else. This is just setting up a bigger facet of that training.

As Droo said, it's kinda like Harry Potter! They go to school to become Wizards, but they are also going to school. Math and language and all that stuff is woven into their wizardly academics. This is just similar.

[Mirror]

I promise to make the transition as smooth as possible and make things very seamless.

Ready when you guys are. I just need someone to make a reply to the thread. :)

[Miranda Tarkin]

I sent you a PM because I really want to iron out Ethan's place now, since basically he isn't in charge anymore. Unless I am wrong :p