Shop, Tuesday, period 3

[vdistinctive]

The danger shop was set to an outdoor setting today, one that greatly resembled certain parts of the preserve (there was even an alot of leaves hanging out in the distance). The students walked in on a clearing, lined on one side with woods and the other with a shallow rock quarry. It was peaceful and warm, the artificial sun shining, a faint whiff of wood smoke and falling leaves on the air.

The fact that there were the usual metal work tables arranged in the clearing only sort of ruined the whole effect.

"Welcome back," Eliot greeted. "Hope you all had a good break. I thought it might be nice to get out of the workshop for a class session. Enjoy some fresh air, even if it is simulated." The actual preserve didn't have safeties that promised to keep the students from slicing their own fingers off, after all. "Today we're going to try out some smaller scale, detail oriented work, namely carving. You can try out some wood," he nodded to the trees, "or take a shot at something that takes a little more grit and give stone a shot."

He'd tried out several ways of phrasing that in planning today's class. He'd eventually given up on trying to find a way to say it that wasn't somehow a pun.

"Either way you go, you're gonna want to plan ahead on this one. The great Renaissance sculptors may have claimed to just see the shape inside the marble that wanted to come out, but I guarantee you they drew that crap out on paper and made a couple mock-ups first." No, seriously, he'd been involved in a rather impressive heist involving one of Michaelangelo's mock-ups. Twice even. "So take some time and get an idea of what sort of thing you want to try making before you start looking around for your materials. If you're stumped for ideas, I've got a list of simple suggestions, mostly for wood, but some of which could sure as hell be used on rock, too.

"Once you've worked out what you want to make, go hunt up a nice looking branch or stone to work with. This bein' a programmed environment, everything in here is soft enough that ya ain't gonna give yourself blisters tryin' to chip away at it as a beginner, so don't worry about accidentally gettin' yourself a piece of granite or ironwood or something. That doesn't mean I wanna see anyone getting to work out here without the proper safety equipment, though. Goggles and gloves on everyone, and those of ya working with stone are gonna be wanting a face mask while you're at it.

"Basic tools are about the same for each, though stone takes more force than wood does. Key thing to remember is to take off small pieces at a time. You can always take off more if you need to, but it's a pain in the ass tryin' to glue anything back on if you mess it up. Carving and whittling takes patience. If you end up runnin' out of time, but still wantin' to finish your project even after class is up, let me know, and I'll make sure we find you time to get back in and keep at it. So no rushing, get me?"

He spent several more minutes going into greater detail about chisel and knife technique, including a number of more safety recommendations, before letting the students get started. "One last thing," he said. "I know plenty of y'all have your own knives and blades you like to use for whatever purposes at home. I'm tellin' you now: a pocket, kitchen, or combat knife is not a good idea for a carving knife. All you're gonna do is dull out your tool and probably cut yourself to ribbons in the process. You wanna whittle on your own time, get yourself a proper wood carving knife. They ain't expensive, and you'll save your other blades for what they're actually meant for. Now: get to work."

Underrated Sports [Mon, Period 3]

[doubleohblonde]

Bond's class was once again in the Danger Shop, though there was a distinct lack of lava today.

"I trust you all enjoyed the break," Bond told them after greeting them. "Hopefully it's left you in good frame of mind for today's sport the Don't Give A Fuck, a test of inner calm and facial control, as participants do their best not to react to various stimuli. All things considered, I have faith in all of you having considerable staying power for this event."

Culture Shock: Adjusting to Life on the Weird Side | Tuesday, Period 2

[uncertain_dume]

When students came into the class today, they would find Kanan looking vaguely annoyed, side-eyeing Cecil, who he'd stuck into quarantine off in the corner.

Literally. He'd even taped off the area and everything. It wasn't anything personal, except that if Cecil got him or anybody in the class sick, he'd have to deck him. It was how Kanan showed he cared.

( Stay. Stay. )

[OOC: Open!]

What NOT To Do In A Fight / Wednesday, Period III / Week 7

[atreideslioness]

"Since we're in the week before Homecoming, we're going to refrain from any serious attempts at combat because some of you may already be distracted," Ghanima said once everyone had arrived. "Instead, we're going to talk about banter."

"For some reason, fiction has popularized the idea that when two or more people are fighting, they're also engaged in witty banter or volleying insults or, perhaps, having a discussion on fighting technique, the meaning of life, what they had for lunch, or some other quip. The purpose is, theoretically, to distract or upset your adversary and allow you to gain the upper hand. I will confess that I personally do not understand the urge to banter during combat," Ghanima stated. "In my opinion, silence will do more to unnerve your opponent than any blithe quips."

Banter with Leto, of course, and sometimes even during sparring, but not during a real fight with someone other than her brother. She was more the type to stab someone in the back or with poison them with a blow-dart. Details.

"To show you how difficult it is to think up witty banter and fight at the same time, you all get soft foam Nerf swords, and I want you all to find a partner and try talking and fighting at the same time. If you aren't comfortable trying to hit someone, try knocking something off their head or out of their hand while moving and talking," Ghanima suggested. "Some of you seem to prefer non-lethal blows, and the coordination required to pull your hits accordingly is difficult in a best-case situation. When dividing your focus between combat and unnecessary verbosity? It can become downright impossible."

"Feel free to run, dodge, use your classmates as shields...whatever you need to do while trying to banter and fight at the same time."