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Elizabeth A's avatar

Coming back to say that I DID end up doing this with my students and epics (my juniors just finished Aeneid and have also read Dante, The Iliad, and the Odyssey with me over the years). We were pretending to be recovering our father's "storied sword from the clutches of Geryon in the Inferno." They were allowed to draft one god only. I have 8 students, so they were all allowed to use any name--I didn't make it so that they couldn't pick an already named person. We had a lot of fun and had our Headmaster come make a master list out of their lists! Thanks for this idea!

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Cheyne Jarnol's avatar

Where do we vote? I so enjoyed this listen and I'm mulling over the options

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Elizabeth A's avatar

I am going to do this with epics with my students now!

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Vicki Schwartz's avatar

This is so much fun. Sure beats the basketball brackets. I choose Heidi's team, and my vote is not a sympathy vote. I especially like Heidi's reasoning for picking Lady Catherine, although Lucy Steele and Mr. Wickham are brilliant picks, too.

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Laura Reu's avatar

Lucy Steele is a genius mastermind. Heidi's right - she plotted and pivoted and ultimately got everything she wanted!

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Laura Reu's avatar

Sean is totally right about Admiral Croft as driver!

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Jennifer Ulrich's avatar

I didn’t see that one coming as the first pick, but thought it was hilariously brilliant!

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Laura Reu's avatar

I just finished a reread of Persuasion and he's a wild driver- perfect choice!

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Aubrey Wetzel's avatar

BRB, going to go reread all of Austen. Again.

Which isn’t a bad idea for her 250th birthday.

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Beth Kwast's avatar

May I suggest a draft for "space mission crew to save the world" based on Shakespeare characters? (Think Interstellar, Armageddon, etc.)

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David Kern's avatar

I will add this to my list of similar ideas. That’s a fun one.

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Beth Kwast's avatar

I love the interplay of very modern story arc with very classical lot characters.

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Beth Kwast's avatar

Captain, Scientist, Cross-Species Liaison, Weapons Expert, AI intelligence/Robot, Red Shirt, and Guy Who Goes Insane in Space

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Laura Reu's avatar

Love this so much! Gotta go with Heidi on this one. But also, where is Fanny Dashwood, the great conniver of all? Or William Elliott? :)

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Rachel's avatar

Sean won this one 👍🏻 although each had picks I would use, Lady Susan and Colonel Brandon sold it for me. It was so fun to listen to, I was laughing throughout.

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Kristy Luther's avatar

“Your street name involves an ampersand?”

Incredible start 😂

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Natalie Curro's avatar

🤣🤣🤣

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James C. Zeller's avatar

Is this where we vote? I vote David. His heist crew would work best together. Every one of his picks was pretty much perfect.

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Dulcimer Hope Brubaker's avatar

David, having planned the draft in the first place, clearly understood the assignment best. 👏🏼 However, I give Heidi mad props for taking the whole thing so seriously and thinking like a criminal. Sean gets honorable mention for his readiness to recruit and sing the praises of Austen's more obscure characters.

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Sean Johnson's avatar

Obscure = least likely to be recognized = most likely to succeed!

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David Kern's avatar

Every draft, Graeme texts me to see how . . . specific your picks you were lol .

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David Kern's avatar

We had a pretty fun meeting back in January planning this one out. It’s funny to see where it goes.

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Amy Mrosko's avatar

My loyalty is with Heidi, but her picks are unpredictable! Let’s be honest: David did it again.

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Sean Johnson's avatar

He has merely conditioned you to think this way! David is the real con-man here.

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Natalie Curro's avatar

🤣

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Blueroses's avatar

Mastermind: Mrs. Norris

Conman: Mr. Elliot (Persuasion)

Wheels: John Thorpe

Muscle: Mr. Martin (Emma)

Safecracker: Anne Elliot

Demolition: Col. Fitzwilliam

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Megan Willome's avatar

I am ridiculously happy to see both Mrs. Norris and Mr. Martin making an appearance on your list.

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Laura Reu's avatar

Mr Martin the farmer! Brilliant

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Jennifer Ulrich's avatar

Anne was on my list for safecracker too, right after Elinor. Mr. Martin is a genius pick for muscle. Col. Fitzwilliam would be good for that too.

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Marah McCalebb's avatar

Love this! John Thorpe would be my pick for wheels too 😂

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Melissa Jackson's avatar

Harry Potter could be good for future ones. Or Chronicles of Narnia. No way Heidi’s not wanting Uncle Andrew somewhere on her roster.

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Cheyne Jarnol's avatar

My first thought was Narnia characters!

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