The Cryptozoologist's Field Guide, Wednesday, Per 1

[arboreal_priestess]

"So, as we've learned all semester, the cryptozoologist's main job is conservation and understanding, not violence. Even those cryptids that are dangerous, like lindworms and swamp bromeliads, serve an important ecological role and killing them all would be unwise as well as immoral. And while things like border imps do need to be fought to keep away from innocents, they attack us when we enter into their realm, not the other way around. We are the interlopers--not that that makes us fight any less when there's a train full of people to protect, but it's worth keeping in mind. However, there is one species of cryptid that carries an immediate 'kill on sight' order. The Apraxis wasp."

( Cut for potential body horror re: parasitic wasps. )

Any questions about why we kill first, burn the remains with fire, and only then get around to asking questions?"

Earth Zoology, Wednesday

[livingartifact]

"As you know, while I generally prefer to give you the chance to meet the animals we're learning about in person, that's not always safely possible, either for the three of you or for the animals themselves. Today we're going to learn about an animal I've deemed to dangerous to meet in person at the moment, the grizzly bear. The grizzly is one of the largest species of bears, an animal already known for being large and having multiple sharp bits with which to tear and rend flesh. Despite that fact, cartoonish toy bears are a wildly popular toy choice for small children." Jenkins shrugged. "Humans are nothing if not willing, as a general species, to cuddle."

He switched on the film projector and turned off the lights. "Anyway, enjoy the Land of the Giant Bears."

Practical Diplomacy, Wednesday, April 11, 2018

[sith_happened]

"My apologies for missing class last week," Anakin said. "I was stuck at a pediatrician's office with a kid with a terrible cough. Trust me, you didn't want me here."

He passed out giant packets of paper. "Sometimes diplomacy is excruciatingly boring," he said. "Today, you are each reading a different moddable document of trade proposals. Carefully couched behind fancy language are ten different proposals that will completely tank your government's economy. Your job is to find all of them and come up with a better way to write the counter-proposal that won't start a war."

Which was so much easier, in Anakin's opinion. Lightsaber battles over paperwork any time.

"Tell me what you've found by the end of class," he concluded.