The Art of Battle Tactics; Monday, First Period [11/08].

[sake_shinigami]

"Konnichiwa, ducklings ♥!" Back in their usual classroom with the usual set-up and the usual teacher, Shunsui held the usual sleepiness in his smile, although it seemed to have had an extra layer of what seemed almost like jet lag. "My apologies for missing last week, but, alas, duty calls. No doubt you were in good hands with Blackstone-sensei and were able to learn far more from her about various weapons in the like from someone who would have been far more knowledgable and charitable about the subject han myself ♥. Obviously," he gestured a hand to his side, where his two ever-present blades rested there with his also ever-present sake jug, "I am not entirely adverse to weapons, but when given a choice, I much prefer a battle of the mind over a battle of the blade ♥.

"And," he continued, his smile growing a little brighter, "just like any other weapon, one must keep the blade sharp and fine-tuned, and must practice to keep their skills sharp and quick and effective ♥! And there are many ways one might do that. Some say meditation may help. Pouring over books and poetry to introduce new ideas and appreciation for different perspectives. Lively philosophical debate or arguments, good-natured or otherwise, over...tea ♥."

He gave them a smile, a duck of his head, and a lift of his tea cup in salute.

"And there are, of course, games, which not only engage the mind in all-important training, to consider possibilities, strategies, attempt to predict outcomes and think quickly at moment of dire distress. And so today," he turned to reach behind him and produce a small stack of boxes, "we will be engaging in one such game to hone our strategic thinking skills ♥. The rules are simple; find yourself a partner, and engage in friendly combat. Each person has a color; you shall each take turns placing a color token into the grid between you, and the first person to line up four of their color tokens in a row, be it horizonal, vertical, or diagonal, wins the round. Release the latch at the bottom of the grid to clear the field, and you are ready to go again ♥.

"Try to 'battle' with as many of your classmates as you can," Shunsui advised. "Even with the most intense and drawn out battles, we should have plenty of time for multiple rounds, and seeing different playing styles and strategies can be very helpful. I will also be willing to take up the challenge against any of you, should you be so inclined ♥. But, unless there are any questions, let's arrange ourselves comfortably, and let the battles begins ♥!"

Badass Bitch Survival Guide; Monday, Second Period [11/08].

[died8yearsago]

With having lost about a good month of lessons for this class and having to then jump right into a heist which could have gone much better, in her not-so-humble opinion, Rosa wasn't exactly sure where to take this class next to make up for the clear damage that being stuck with Smith for those first lessons had caused. So she supposed she would just go back to the beginning, and treat the class like it was just getting started after all, and cram all the more important lessons in before the end of the semester.

Including one of her favorites, and while she still was loathed to admit that she even had favorite lessons for this class, the effort to amusement ratio was always nice: she barely had to do anything for it, but the students very rarely disappointed.

But who knew, with this group. They'd been tainted.

So they got to the classroom and find some seats, while Rosa just sat at the desk up front with her feet up, idly watching them as they filed in, they would find a list of names up on the board:

EMILY GOLDFINCH
SONIA RAMIREZ
DIANA VALLES
MARCIE BEAUCHAMP
ROSA DIAZ

Then she checked her watch again, sighed, and launched into the class from her nice comfortable spot at the desk. "Alright," she said, "let's get started. This is usually my first lesson for this class, but since that kind of got fucked up, we're doing it a little late in the game. It doesn't matter. that means introductions, especially when there's some new faces, but here's the thing. It usually ties in with the first week nicely because everyone and their mother is doing introductions, and the whole point is that I don't really care who you are. Especially since a badass bitch should be able to be just about anyone."

She gestured at the names on the board.

"These are some different identities and aliases I've used in the past, that I'm okay with sharing because, for some reason or another, I can't really use them very effectively around here any more, or various other places around the country. For all intents and purposes, if you look at the paperwork, they're all actual, real people, with ID and history, they'll pass a background check, they've got goals, they've got some real estate and businesses. And they can all be pretty handy in the pursuit of baddassery. A good, solid alternate identity to disappear into can be a useful survival tool to any badass bitch, and not even just for throwing off creeps and people," she gestured vaguely toward them now, "you just don't want to talk to.

"So today," she continued, "I've giving you five minutes. Come up with a good secret identity or alternate persona. Convince me you're someone you're not. If it's believable, you're free to go. If it's not, keep trying. Simple enough, right? And, let's be honest, none of us really want to be here right now, least of all me, so take a few moments, and when you're ready, come on up, and let's see what you've got."

Cupcake Skirmishes- Monday

[throughaphase]

"Today, we're taking a little trip to the zoo via cupcakes."

Kitty, you absolute dork.

"You're going to get to play with decorating more this week. All the cupcakes will taste the same, but you'll have to decorate all of these: a monkey, an elephant, a bear, a lion, and something I think might be a panda? That's not what pandas look like but all right. You've got all the ingredients you need, so let's get baking."

This was going to go so, so poorly.

Advanced Cultural Studies, Monday, Fourth Period

[jedigrammarians]

"You know what's fun, kids? Collective bargaining! And sometimes it even works."

Look, Aphra grew up in a totalitarian state and was very cynical, that was practically a glowing recommendation for unions.