Around the World in 15 Weeks [Monday, Period Three]

[doubleohblonde]

When Bond's class arrived at the Danger Shop today, they were greeted with a stunning evening view.

"Like London, Florence was originally founded as a Roman settlement," Bond began, once he felt they'd had enough time to take in the view. "By Julius Caesar himself to be exact. In the two thousand years since, it has come to be regarded as one of the most culturally significant cities in Europe, if not the world. Often referred to as the cradle of the Renaissance, its impact on art, science, religion, politics, even the Italian language itself can be felt to this day. Dante, da Vinci, Machiavelli, Galileo Galilei, the de Medicis, all of them at one point called Florence home."
He continued in this vein for quite some time as he led the class into the city, making sure to point out any particular places of interest.

Eventually, he led them a quiet square to a where a vast array of food was laid out on tables. "In addition to providing a feast for the senses and the soul," Bond said, gesturing to the tables. "I've found that Florentines are also quite adapt at providing them for the body." Well, he thought it was clever wordplay, at least.

[ooc: wait for ocd up]

[Class Roster|Class Rules]

Spaceships 101- 1st period- Week #4

[solo_sword]

"So," Jaina greeted the class, if that was really considered a greeting, "I hope you were all paying attention last week, because you know those ships attacking you? You get to fly one today."

Showing them the holographic display of the ship, she continued, "This is a TIE fighter. It's an Imperial starfighter, and while they definitely have limitations, they can do a good bit of damage. They don't have shields, so you're going to take more damage if you get hit. They don't have a hyperdrive, so you can't jump to another system or follow an enemy or jump away if you need to escape. They don't have life support systems, which should be self-explanatory. If you get hit too bad to go on in one of these, you're pretty much stuck. But they're fast, and they're light and maneuverable.

"Good thing, too, because you're going to be running an asteroid belt today. This was a real run in the Dubrillion System, a competition run by a friend," Jaina said, keeping it vague. She was the leader in it, too, but she wasn't the type to brag about that sort of thing. "Your job is simply to get through the asteroids for as long as possible with your weapons disabled. When you get hit too hard to go on- and you will at some point- you're out. Whoever stays in the longest gets... well, you get bragging rights."

The Mathematics of Quantum Neutrino Fields; Tuesday, Period 4 [09/21].

[ivejustinvented.livejournal.com]

The class should be feeling glad that, today, they were back in the classroom. Shouldn't they?

( Good news, everyones! )

"If there aren't any questions, I'd like you all to spend some time with some doubles to determine the factors needed to fill in the equations and determine whether or not they are your clone, robot, long-lost twin, or Fandom double. Before you leave today, please grab one of the worksheets on my desk. Your homework for the week is to apply this equation to your friends and determine if they, too, have any clones, robots, long-lost twins, or Fandom doubles."

[[ OCD is on the way! ]]

[[ Previous Classes ]]

Unconventional Tactics, Tuesday, Period 2

[raspberryturk]

Today, when the students gathered for their class, they'd find themselves in... an interesting Danger Shop setting, yes. Today, the indoors were made to look something like the outdoors. A sprawling pasture next to a barn, populated by large, yellow birds that looked something like a cross between a canary and an ostrich.

Meet the mighty Chocobo, kids.

"Yo, Rookies!" Reno was ever-so-comfortably leaning up against a fencepost, arms crossed over his chest. "No, the island don't have none of these guys on it, and no, this ain't an invasion you'll probably ever have to worry about. Unless you go hittin' them first, they'll either just run away, or try an' nuzzle you to death, yo. But today, we're talkin' about transportation, and I thought, shit, why not give you guys a basis for comparison?"

He grinned. It was one of those 'I am going to probably enjoy watching this more than you'll enjoy attempting it' grins.

"So, like you guys probably noticed last Friday with them fish, gettin' from point A to point B durin' an invasion can be... A bit tricky. Unless you don't mind havin' your ass chomped on the way. Bein' here on Fandom Island, with a student body as diverse as this one, fortunately we got a few options, yoto. We got teleporters, who might not mind givin' you a lift. We got flyers, who might be able to take you over an' above whatever's out there. Then there's the speedsters, who usually seem to prefer runnin' solo, but they'll get from here to there, faster'n whatever's on their tail. And, of course, you got people with horses, or motorbikes, or the ability to make shields, or just fighter-type escorts. Some of these methods involve more risk than others, yo. But if you're not bein' an idiot about it, they might get you where you need to go, and in one piece, too."

One of the birds wandered over to Reno and tried to bury its face in his armpit. He gave it a pat on the forehead that was almost affectionate if you squinted before pressing on.

"Today, we're gonna put that into practise, yo. Your mission, should you choose to accept it- An' shit, even if you don't wanna, this is my class an' I'm the boss here- Is to get from the barn to the fenceposts at the same time or before the chocobos do. Do whatever you gotta, yo. Try an' run, teleport, fly, find some way to slow them down, or try to get up on their backs an' hitch a ride. Odds are they don't throw you. Hard."

Yep. You were going to be racing against ten-foot tall yellow birds. Deal with it, class.

[Open! WAIT I MISSED SOME. Okay, NOW it's open! For real!]

Library, Tuesday

[angelo_wings]

It was official: Rinoa was hooked. She'd finished The Jade Flower, moved on to The Amethyst Flower, and was well into The Pearl Blade by the time she opened the library this week. Running Wolf wasn't really cheating on Ammy, was he!?

The library was open. And indulging itself in mindless trash.

Is A Cigar Just A Cigar, Tuesday, Period 3

[steel-not-glass.livejournal.com]

"It's the fourth week of classes and time to deviate slightly from our syllabus," Cindy announced as the bell rang. She held a stack of papers out to Jaime if he was there for him to pass around. "One of the problems with discussing symbolism in literature is that it's very culturally subjective. We discussed that in the first class. Another problem is that the discussion of literature comes with its own unique vocabulary. Today, we're taking a break from our discussion of symbolism to make certain that everyone has the necessary vocabulary to continue our discussion."

At least they weren't diagramming sentences.

"Your TA is passing out a list of common literary terms. It's far more extensive than anything we need for this class, but keeping a reference sheet nearby might come in handy in your future. Feel free to look it over at you leisure, but I'll be going over the most important terms today in class."

"In case anyone missed it, this class is about symbolism, the practice of having one thing standing for both itself and another, deeper meaning. Last week, for example, we talked about travel as a symbol for a quest. In literature then, travel stands both for itself--the literal movement from one place to another--and something else--the quest for self-knowledge and understanding. In many cases, symbolism works by way of allusion, which is a brief reference to a person, place, or event, either real or fictitious. The title of this class is an allusion to a comment made by famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who we'll be discussing in a few weeks. The reason that symbolism and allusion are so closely entwined is because of intertextuality, where the meaning of one text you read is shaped by other texts."

Cindy thought for a moment, looking for an example. With students coming from so many different worlds, there was no shared canon that could reach all of them. "Those of you who have read Shakespeare's Star-Crossed, or have seen one of the movie versions, that play informs how you read other stories about teenagers in love. Because you know what happens in Star-Crossed, consciously or unconsciously, you compare that play to other stories with similar plots and themes. That is intertextuality. If the story you are comparing makes a deliberate reference to Star-Crossed, that's an allusion. With me so far?"

"Simile and metaphor are two types of symbolic or figurative language. They both compare two unlike things together; the difference is that simile uses 'like' or 'as' in it's comparison, and metaphor does not. 'Her lips were like rose petals' is a simile, while 'Her rose petal lips' is a metaphor. Lips and rose petals have very little in common with one another and no one is suggestion that this poor woman, whoever she is, has flowers instead of a mouth. Instead, 'rose petals' become a symbol of softness or the color pink. Allegory, is an entire story made up of one long metaphor. It is both a literal story, in that it is a narrative of linked events, and a symbolic story, in that every event and character has another, greater meaning. Spenser's epic poem Gloriana, is an allegory several times over, in that its story examines the Christian virtues and Elizabethan politics at the same time."

Cindy gave everyone a rueful smile. "I know that's a lot of vocabulary to take in. Any questions?"

[OCD coming up]

So You Say You Want a Revolution: Week 4, Period 3

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

Aly had handwavily notified students that today's class was in the Danger Room and to wear clothes that could get dirty. She thought she was being awfully nice with that warning. When the students entered the room, they would see that it was set up with a series of obstacles and a high ropes course. There was a 50 foot high cliff set up with ropes and harnesses at one end of the room and ropes crisscrossed the ceiling, ending in a zip line back to the floor. On the floor there was a mud pit, cable walk, and other moddable obstacles.

Aly stood at the edge of the obstacles and waited for everyone to arrive. "Okay, guys, over the last few weeks, we've talked about how to recruit others to your side. This week, we're going to work with the people we already have - your group of classmates. This course-" she gestured across the room "-is full of obstacles that you'll need to work together to get over." She grinned a little. "Yeah, you're Fandom students so most of you probably can get over every single one on your own using sheer determination if not magic, but that's not the point."

"When you're fighting a revolution, your life is in the hands of the other people in your pack. They screw up? You'll probably end up hurt or imprisoned or dead with them. Today's stakes aren't nearly as high." She grinned. "So have some fun."