Newspaper Club, Journalism Room, Monday after classes

[iwishiwasbig.livejournal.com]

This was Dave. This was Dave embarrassed that he wasn't able to properly get the newspaper fixed up this week after the paranoid idiot he was over the weekend wrote for the newspaper for some inexplicable reason. He looked a lot like Dave any other time, in that he was behind a desk and clutching a cup of coffee. He looked rather unlike Dave at any other time because his head was on the desk and occasionally lifted just high and long enough to drop back down with a sad thud.

He also had a bagel next to his coffee, which was also new.

"Anyone have any non-crazy news for next week?" he sighed one of the times he lifted his head up. Then he let himself headdesk again.

Basic Strategy, Monday, Period 4

[halfman-lion.livejournal.com]

The class met in its usual classroom today, though Tyrion was not in the best frame of mind. It wasn't that he had so terribly minded being Tito -- he suspected he'd like the player, if he met him -- but there was always a certain hangover that came from not being yourself.

"Hello," he began. "I hope you're all feeling like yourselves today. If you aren't ... at least it should be an easy class."

"In every culture," he said, "there are certain games of skill, though the details of how they're played vary. Mastering one has several benefits. They train your mind to think through possibilities. There's also a certain amount of value in dedicating yourself to rote memorization. In this world, chess is one popular such game; so is a board game named Risk."

"Today," he continued, as he gave a stack of handouts to the first student in each row for them to pass along, "we aren't playing either of those, since we only have an hour and I'm spending some of it talking. Instead, we'll be working on a game that may seem simpler -- a card game called Blackjack or 21. It works like this: You play against the dealer. Each of you starts with two cards: You can see both of yours, and one of the dealer's. Your goal is to get a score of 21 without going over -- or to make the dealer go over, before you do. "

He would have dealt a hand so the class could see what he meant, but he feared fumbling with the cards. They'd have to imagine. "You have a choice: Hit or stand. Hit means you take another card. Stand means you're content with what you have. You can also split -- break up a pair -- or double down -- increase your bet. There's much more to it, but those are the basic elements."

He talked through the handout's chart of options for different hands, then passed out a deck of cards and hundred dollars in fake money to each student. "Pair up today, and play the game. Take turns being the dealer and the player. If you leave with more fake money than you started with, consider it a job well done."

Library, Monday

[faithandscience.livejournal.com]

William had spent much of the weekend on the trail of some supposedly-cursed object. So it was something of a relief to wake up Monday morning back to normal... as it were.

The penguins, it seemed, were also back. This time, in the form of stuffed animals perched on the bookshelves.

Defending Yourself [Monday, Period 1]

[furious-maximus.livejournal.com]

This week the Danger Shop was configured to mirror the lobby of the dorms, and Max was leaning against the wall near the door with an expression that was a cross between stern and amused settled across his face.

"So far this semester, we've mostly talked about how to defend yourself when you aren't ready. When someone jumps out at you, or you suddenly find yourself on the wrong side of a dangerous invasion." Max shrugged. "And, often, that's how it happens. It's also what people tend to need the most practice getting ready for."

"But it's not always that way. Sometimes you know you need to defend yourself. You see the threat coming. Of course, in many situations, this just makes it really easy to get away. You catch the next portal out of town, or whatever it is you need to do."

Max's eyes narrowed. "But sometimes you can't leave."

"There are any number of reasons that might be true, but most of them boil down to there being someone or something that you can't leave behind, and that you can't get to come with you." By now, given Fandom, Max was sure that more than a few of his students totally understood exactly what he meant.

"So if you're not going to use the extra time that knowing ahead of time brings to get away, you might as well use it for something that might keep you and yours safe: preparing. We've talked already about how important terrain can be when you're fighting for your life, but that's mostly been in the context of finding the right terrain. Things change when you have time to prepare because that means you can, to some degree, build new terrain. You can erect walls, or knock them down. You can reinforce doors. You can prepare booby traps. You can generally set things up to go your way as much as possible."

"There is something important to remember, though: just because you have time to prepare, doesn't mean you have infinite time to prepare. There are limits on how long you probably have before whatever you're preparing for happens, and that means you need to prioritize what you focus your time and energy on."

"We'll be talking about this for the next couple of weeks. This week is a simple chance for you all to see what you already know. The Danger Shop is configured to mirror the first two floors of the dorms. You have until the end of class to turn this place into as much of a fortress as you can manage."

Max smirked slightly. "You might find it helpful to work in groups, but that's up to you."