Between the Motion and the Act ~ Wesley Ficlet

[alwaysjbj]

Title: Between the Motion and the Act
Author: Always_jbj
Rating: MA 15+ (R)
Word Count: 3932
Summary: A brief look at the life of a man...
Character/s: Wesley
AN: Some dialogue was taken from the Buffy and Angel Television series.

Feedback: Is always VERY MUCH appreciated - from a simple "I liked it." (or not) to detailed con-crit, both are

Comments

[gillo]

Oh poor Wesley. Never a hope of happiness.

I really liked this, but the school bit did jar me out of it slightly. Hope you don't mind, but: in informing their Homeroom Master of the four boys’ tendency to gather at the far end of the football pitch sharing cigarettes is so very not Eton. "Homeroom" is not a term they use there. All disciplinary/pastoral stuff is dealt with by the House Master - the boys are assigned to houses with about a dozen from each year-group, and they live in these Houses all their time at the school. I have no doubt such things go on, but it would probably be in the privacy of one of the bathrooms in his house.

Also "the football pitch" jars - they have acres and acres of sports grounds at Eton - the infamous Playing Fields of Eton are about the same size as Waterloo! And I think it would be the rugby pitch anyway - do they even play "football" there?

Sorry to be picky. I once taught the daughter of an Eton housemaster and had a guided tour of their drama facilities. The level of provision is awe-

[alwaysjbj]

Sorry to be picky.

Don't be... Thank you! lol... I did the best I could with the terms I could find online and from books/movies etc, so any inside info is greatly appreciated. I shall have to do a little reworking when I get the chance.

[gillo]

These upmarket Public Schools (anything but public, of course) are the very devil with their terminology. Some have Matrons, some have Dames, some have Masters, some have Beaks. All cost what an average family could live on for a year. I've worked in private schools most of my career, but these are a different planet, even to me.

[alwaysjbj]

LOL. Yeah, I went to private schools, both here in Australia and in England, but they were nothing like that.

I had a bit of a play with it, if you have the time would you mind giving it a quick check over to see if it is any better?

[gillo]

Definitely makes more sense, though I don't think they call them first years either. Boys don't start at Eton or the other posh public schools till they are thirteen - third years in old money, Year 9 in new.

I did some research. Apparently he'd be an "F-blocker" and go to "div", not classes.
Incidentally:
Lower School

For two hundred years, Eton’s only classroom.

The list of slang is atrocious, and if you used all of it your readers would give up in despair, but it might help with more obvious mistakes.

Only someone who knows about the arcane system would find any problem with it now, so don't stress over it - but I did find all those terms quite a fantasy land in themselves!

[alwaysjbj]

Thanks for your help, sweetie! It's very much appreciated!