Library, Wednesday [December 2]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

It was going to be a script-review day. No way around that, but Gabrielle's attention was split between the script and an unrolled parchment with a letter from home, lying on the desk beside her.

She couldn't help being interested in how Perdicas was doing these days.

That had sort of come out of nowhere, but . . . okay.

[OOC: Lame post is lame, and the OCD has dissociated from it.]

Punching People for Fun and Profit, Class 13.

[nofatjokes.livejournal.com]

There was an e-mail early that morning:

Kids,

Class is canceled due to teacher illness. Next week, we'll make up for it.

-Mr. Dukes

[ooc: Ugh, sorry about my fail. I was all gungho and ready to wake up early and get the class written up... and then I got hit with a gallstone flareup. Bad enough that I am actually on my superpills and WHOA does that stuff make you kinda loopy.]

Adventures in Literature, Wednesday, Period Three [Class Fourteen]

[carpe_demon]

Drake had sent out a notice to his students that class would be in the Danger Shop again. When the students arrived, however, Drake was nowhere in sight. The Danger Shop had been transformed into a medievally gothic room all decorated in blue, with blue stained-glass windows. To the west was a door leading to the next room.

There were extravagant medieval costumes (and masks) for those who wished to wear them, but it wasn't necessary.

A parchment stuck to the entrance of the Danger Shop read: The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the "Red Death."

There were a twisty maze of passageways, all alike. Well, not quite alike. While each room held couches for lounging, drinks and snacks for nomming, and music for grooving, each one was a different color....


[Syllabus | Class Roster]

Infantry Tactics [Wednesday Second Period]

[furious-maximus.livejournal.com]

Max like to think his students were clever enough to be getting used to the big pile of random gear to select from for their runs. They were all pretty bright, after all. "Since you've done this before, today you've got three minutes to gear up. Get to it."

"Going into this course I knew that just a few weeks wasn't enough to teach you more than the most simple of basics about regular or irregular infantry tactics, and I've sought to cover the most important aspects. So today we're going to talk about one of the most important things to understand for irregular forces: cheating. Apparently the modern militaries of this world have some fancy words for this, but I don't really remember what they are. Not that it matters, because in the end all those fancy words boil down to cheating."

The trail today was relatively clear, but was also noticeably uphill. The terrain was slightly rocky and dry, but provided perfectly decent footing. "One of the ways to keep an irregular force flexible is to keep it small," he explained. "And one of the advantages of regular forces is that you can make them big pretty easily. Which means that if you end up fighting a regular force with an irregular force, you're going to be outnumbered, often badly. Now, I know you're all smart enough to know that when you're outnumbered you don't charge in head-first because that's a good way to die, and none of you want that. What you do instead," Max grinned just bit, "is cheat."

"You come up with the dirtiest tricks you can think of: sabotage supplies, cause landslides, lead them into ambushes, pick them off with snipers, anything that lets you avoid actually having to fight fair. One of the important things to remember is that beating an enemy doesn't necessarily mean killing all of them. Getting them to run away can work just fine, and sometimes just slowing them down so that they can't get where they're going quite fast enough to do what they want to do is all you need to manage. Which," he smirked as they came to the top of a rise that looked down over a tree-filled valley, "brings us to today's exercise."

Max pointed out a line of men marching through the valley. "The Danger Shop has kindly simulated a century of troops trained in the same regular infantry tactics you were shown. That's about a hundred men with swords and armor and discipline down there, and your job is to find some way to keep them from getting out the other side of the valley before class ends."

He looked over his students and grinned. "At their current pace they'll be through in fifteen minutes." And there was at least half an hour of class left. "You can take as much time as you want to plan things, but keep in mind that the more time you spend on that, the less time you're actually doing things. And the clock is ticking." He heard that line on TV somewhere.

Art 101 - Wednesday, Period Four - 12/02

[notsobadatall.livejournal.com]

The room was just a simple studio today; there wouldn't be a lecture, but there would be--

"I'm not having a final exam, rather obviously," he told them as they came into the room, "but we will be doing a final 'piece'. This is the only time I'll be asking you to produce something that we'll be showing off to others. Don't worry," a smile "I won't be grading on the final outcome. No, this is more about seeing whether this class has had any impact on your art, and whether you've put some effort into the final project."

He leaned against one of the pillars in the 'art studio', his eyes resting on one of the open windows and the sunlight shining through. He snapped out of it a moment later.

"You can, if you like, work with a partner, but it's not required. You're also welcome to help and critique each other if requested while you work. We'll be presenting during the last class of the year."

Nick spread his hands.

"Well, go on. Best to get started."

[ocd up.]

Ethics [Thursday, December 3, 1st period]

[sith_happened]

Anakin was trying very hard (very, very hard) to look as if he didn't know or care that he was wearing an entire elf costume today.

Yes, he'd set the stupid hat on fire. And the shoes with the bells. They kept. Coming. Back.

"You've had two weeks with your droid babies," Anakin said. "I trust that you've all learned valuable lessons about restraint in the face of lust, or at least the value of good birth control. Now we'll move on to the last of the seven major sins: sloth. Originally, sloth was described as 'an uneasiness of the mind'," he continued. "Apathy. Melancholy. Joylessness. And importantly, the decision not to do anything about it."

He shrugged. "The modern view understands that the mind is slightly more complicated than that and sometimes it is impossible to will yourself not to be sad. Instead, this sin focuses on the failure to utilize your talents and gifts."

He made eye contact with each student. "In a place filled with as many talented people as this one, I can view it as almost criminal to not live up to the potential each of you has. Today, pair up and talk about what your plans for the future are, and how what you will be doing will be helping you in what you might think of as your greater destiny."

He rolled his eyes. "You may also use this time to complain about what a horrible person I was to saddle you with fake children for a period of weeks, if you insist upon it."