Shop Class; Thursday, Second Period [03/11].

[special_rabbit]

"Morning, everyone," said Amaya, grinning faintly as she greeted them all with a nod. "Barring anything a bit too odd happening, which is always a possibility around here, we should have a few weeks ahead of us to allow for a project that'll carry us through a few classes, as well as letting us use those mini-forges we made a little while back again, so....knock on wood," she took a moment to rap a fist against a table, "we should be able to get through this no problem. Or rather, instead of knocking on wood," yes, she was insanely proud of that segue, shush, "why don't we carve it? Whittle it, to be precise! Which just means it's carving done specifically by hand, and that's what we're focusing on today.

"Now, taking a knife to a piece of wood might not necessarily seem as exciting as melting down or shaping molten metal, but you'll find it's a bit more involved than it might at first seem. And the knives we'll be using are sharp, so make sure you've got some safety gloves on and that you're minding all the basics, the most important of which is to not rush and to pay attention! I've got a good track record of no one losing any fingers in my classes," and, considering some of her previous students, that was impressive!, "and I'd rather like to keep it that way.

"Everyone come in close now so that I can show you some of the basic whittling cuts that should make it easier for you to carve out something that hopefully resembles what you're going for." And she did just that, going over the different approaches in detail, talking about wood grain and everything in there, too, and then showing the students how to employ those methods to do what you want it to, with the example of carving out a quick owl.

"Most importantly," she added, once she really felt she'd covered most of the basics, "we're not just whittling something out for the heck of it; what you work on today is actually going to be used next week, so to make things easier for you in the future, I recommend you don't try to whittle out something too complex. Keep it simple, but interesting, and not too many fine details, since those won't do you much good coming up.

"I've got a few project guides if you'd like a little inspiration, but definitely feel free to get creative as well and try something on your own. I want this to be something you like, maybe something a little reflective of who you are or your personality, something like that, that you wouldn't mind working with again, because you'll be working with this again. If you can't quite get it right, we'll see what needs doing to get it there. We've got plenty of time and plenty of wood, too, so don't hesitate to give a few things a try. Any questions before we begin, then?"

Guiding the Powerful Yet Incompetent, Thursday, Third Period

[tellmehowstuffworks]

The class was meeting in an actual classroom today, with a screen ready to go. "Today we will be watching a film in which there are multiple advisor-advisee roles, none of which are, if we're honest, entirely successful, but somehow everything works out in the end--" Except for for Jafar, but honestly, what had he been thinking? A sorcerer's role was to be the power behind the scenes, not to take over. "--because that's the kind of tat this is. Also, this is not really a good introduction to how djinns work. It's my understanding that there is generally much less singing, but what do you expect from fiction? Enjoy."

Advanced Teamwork, Thursday, March 11, 2021

[heroic_jawline]

Steve held up a WWII-era shovel. "People joke that the military is mostly running and peeling potatoes, but they forget the very, very important digging holes aspect."

So much digging.

"These shovels were standard issue during my time in the service."

"Holes can also be used to make a shelter cooler in the warmer months," Tony added, sighing at the shovel in his hands. "So... it does relate to survival."

And not just the teachers being terrible.

"They can be used to hide food from animals," Steve added, "and save your bacon from enemy mortars."

Not normally a problem, but sure.

"Protection. Yes," Tony said, nodding and trying not to grin at that very specific thing. "So. We'll be digging--as a group. And decide how deep and how large this hole should be."

"Pretty sure there aren't scorpions in this dirt," Steve added helpfully.

Tony had been nodding along until his brain caught up with what Steve said there. "Wait, what?"

Steve smiled beatifically at him. "What what?"