The Art of Ma; Thursday, Second Period [10/08].

[sake_shinigami]

Today would be another class in the Danger Shop, and when they arrived, the students would find themselves in a typical dojo, open and empty save for a few weapons on the wall and a few practice dummies. And, of course, their teacher, a hand on one of his swords and a soft smile on his face.

"Last week," he started, "was a bit interesting, neh ♥? I daresay it didn't take much for you all to realize that I was not exactly feeling myself. The accent, for one, was probably a good indication, as well as the unfortunate throwing of plants..." And now he needed a new Nanao-chan. "Most of all, though, was the emphasis on butt-kicking, and while it's hard to argue that butt-kicking for goodness is an inherently bad thing, anyone who knows me knows that I am a stauch pacifist and do not advocate for butt-kicking in general ♥.

"There are," he added, with a soft, rueful sort of chuckle, "always exceptions. There are times when butt-kicking cannot be avoided, and, in those times, it is my perspective that one must be swift, decisive, and efficient in their butt-kicking, to make it as quick as possible, let it end as quickly as it can, so that one may return to much more pleasant pursuits than the often messy business of fighting and war.

"In a way, then," he continued, "one could say that this approach is quite a bit like applying the Art of Ma to fighting ♥. Ma emphasizes the use of space in a sparing but effective way; one can apply such thinking to a battle, as well. One can think to themselves: how might I approach this fight using the most minimal approach? Why do with ten strokes what could easily be accomplished in one? I know most of you in this class are not fighters, but today I would like to teach those of you who are, those of you who may one day be, and those of you who may never lift a sword again after this class, a few techniques I've learned over the years that may put the Art of Ma into your battles so that they may be as minimal and sparse as the most moving Ma landscape or cutting Bashō poem ♥."

Library - Thursday

[mother_forker]

Okay. So there were times that Eleanor had a little voice in her head that told her to do the right thing.

Usually she ignored it.

But today the voice seemed louder than usual and it was enough to drag her out of bed and head to the library to do actual work.

Which technically was just putting away five books and putting a bottle of expensive tequila in the librarian's office in case he ever came back and realized how much Eleanor had stolen from his liquor cabinet.

The little voice now silenced, or at least quieter, Eleanor settled down behind the main desk to take a nap.

Functioning Governments, Thursday, October 8, 2020

[heroic_jawline]

Steve and Tony were in the front of the classroom again, but Patriot was nowhere to be seen, sadly. "Today we're going to talk about continuity of government--what happens if a President is incompacited or when one person is defeated at the polls and is replaced by someone else," Steve said.

"Anyone from this era or a similar world might think it's a simple thing where their vice president or winner of the election takes over in their place," Tony said. "But, back when this country was first founded, it was sort of a thought experiment? Where no one really knew if someone would fight the transition like they had with royalty back in Europe."

Steve nodded. "The transition of power is a very dangerous moment in a lot of nations," he said. "Yennefer's class--from what I can tell from radio--has been dealing with that, too. The United States, since our very founding, has had an unbroken string of peaceful transitions. When John Adams lost his re-election bid in 1800, he left. That was not a guarantee, though we've expected that to be the reaction in the centuries since."

Both your teachers had a sort of Look about them as that settled in.

"So, we have a song--because of course Broadway has a song for everything--and then we can discuss what you expect in regards to the subject," Tony said.