The Occult | Period 1 | Tuesday

[thepaledreamer.livejournal.com]

Paige arrived early, taking her time to settle in at the desk and make a few notes on some different topics before the class arrived. Nothing too strenuous but it was always good to stay ahead of the game. Once the students filed in, she stood up.

"Good morning," Paige said once everyone was seated and settled. "Glad to see everyone came back for the second class. We'll be getting more into things today so hopefully we won't have any sleepers. Though again, I just ask that you don't snore."

No one needed to hear that.

"Today, we're going to be talking about astrology," she said. "Some of you may know what it is and some of you may now. To put it simply, astrology is the study that assumes and attempts to interpret the influence of the heavenly bodies on human affairs. It's the search for answers in the sky. The easiest example of astrology is horoscopes. Horoscopes claim to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict future events in their life based on the positions of the sun, moon, and other planetary objects at the time of their birth."

She paused for a moment and held up a chart listing the various astrological signs. "Astrology has been labeled a pseudoscience though as it has no validity or explanatory power for describing the universe. Scientists basically said there's no way that the position and motion of the planets and stars couldn't affect those of us on Earth without contradicting basic biology and physics."

She crossed her arms and shrugged. "But, I'm going to guess a lot of the scientists who say those things would be pretty shocked if they ever walked onto an island like this. Just because something is discredited doesn't make it true. Just because someone can't see something, doesn't mean it's not there. Today, the activity is simple. I want you all to take a peek at your horoscopes. Read them and then tell the class if you think they're on the right track or if they have any merit at all. Feel free to share the reasons why, if you'd like. Let's get started."

Library, Tuesday

[faithandscience.livejournal.com]

William was shelving some of the older books when it happened. And by "it" we mean "some of the older books were suddenly much less old looking". Still the same books, as far as he could tell, flipping through one on the top of the stack. They just looked rather like they'd just come off the printing press than been in circulation for decades.

William just tsk'ed at the books, as if it were there fault (because let's be real, it usually was), and continued shelving.

When he returned to shelve another book not even an hour later, the suddenly-new books were back to their old selves. Strange.

How to Make Friends and Influence People [Tuesday, January 14, 2014]

[sith_happened]

Anakin stood in front of the Danger Shop-generated conference room with a slightly sheepish (for him--you had to really be looking for it) expression on his face. "My apologies for missing our first class," he began. "I had two Force-sensitive children at home with the flu and was told by my wife that she'd divorce me if I tried to leave the house. I'm pretty sure she was exaggerating, but it's never a good idea to push a tired, sick mother."

He gestured around the room. "Welcome to How to Make Friends and Influence People," he said. "You'll be learning mostly through simulations and hypothetical scenarios. I recognize most of your faces and those I don't know I'll figure out as we go along."

Because introductions in a class with friends in the name would make far to much sense, apparently.

"Here's your scenario today: a recently passed bill in the government has severely cut into the profit margins of an important trade federation. In retaliation, they have imposed a blockade around the planet of one of the biggest supporters of the law."

Because that made sense.

"Because that makes sense. You are here to negotiate an end to the hostilities. Discuss with your classmates what you think would be a good compromise to offer the trade federation. You absolutely cannot promise to repeal the law, but everything else is fair game." Anakin clapped his hands together. "Begin."

Handling Your Powers, Tuesday

[not_a_whiner]

The class met up in a simulated gym hall, a set of seats at the front, an open space at the back. Kaidan stood in front of the class, waiting for all the students to filter in and find their seats. His conversation with Jack yesterday had made it clear to him it might be necessary to share, in order to create an open space for discussion-- and so when everyone had arrived, he began to speak.

"I told you a little about myself last week," he said. "And then I had you share your own worries with me. I think it's only fair, in the interest of sharing, that I tell you my own story in full. I'm not saying this because I want any sympathy - I got over this a long time ago. But it was hard to get to that point. I made a lot of mistakes until I got a handle of myself."

He studied the class for a moment. Certain people in particular: they had had similar problems.

"As I've said, human biotics are still fairly rare. I was part of the first generation. When people like me started getting born, nobody knew what to do with us. There wasn't any precedent. Nobody had any experience with it. Sometimes biotic children would break their own limbs and nobody knew how to stop it. So they reached out to other species who had known biotics for a much longer time than we had. That led to the creation of BAat, Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training. It was a program aboard a boarding school, and they instated alien instructors to teach us."

"The problem was, we'd only just gotten out of a war with this same alien race," he continued, "A lot of our instructors were veterans of that war. So they found reasons to push us. It was a grueling program-- either you came out of it strong, or you came out of it broken. Several students died. We were supposed to do everything with our biotics, even the simplest tasks."

"One day, one of the instructors pushed too hard. He insisted a friend of mine, Rahna, pick up a glass using her biotics. She was exhausted and dehydrated; she just wanted a glass of water. When she refused to use her biotics, our instructor broke her arm." He took a breath. "I snapped. Lost my temper. I lashed out with my biotics. The instructor died, the incident was brushed under the rug, and the program was discontinued."

He glanced across the class once again, picking out the various faces, remembering what they'd said last week. "There wasn't any safety net for me when I got out. I had to figure out a lot of stuff on my own, and it wasn't easy. So I understand it, when you express worry about hurting someone, about having been in that position. I have. And it took me a long time before I reached a point where I could control it."

He ran a hand through his hair. "If anyone else wants to share their story, the floor is always open at the start of the class," he said. "We'll be starting with physical exercises today. I intend for us to open every class with them from here on in, but they won't be the focus of the lesson every time."

Literature- Wednesday- 2nd period

[puppyinacup.livejournal.com]

"All right, everybody!" Jess said, clapping her hands together when everyone had gotten there. Was she in Austen-period costume? Yes. Yes she was. Be glad she wasn't doing a whole character. "I hope you all read the meta for Emma over the last week, because if you didn't... well, we're going to discuss it anyway and you're going to be expected to participate so you'll know better next time.

"So, the meta for Emma comes to us from Jane Austen, who's had a lot of her works turned into movies, or had zombies added into them, and this book in particular got a 90's update that was pretty inescapable for those of us who happened to be in high school at the time," Jess said. "For today we're going to discuss the book, and you should all pay attention because you have a book report due next week and this discussion might help."