Rage Against the Machine: Etc, Etc, Etc; Tuesday, Second Period [01/25].

[somethingwithturquoise]

This week, the class was not meeting in the classroom sim! Instead, when they arrived, they would find themselves in a small but sleek sort of space-diner of sorts, very Atomic Age retro-chic with a pastel pink and white color scheme, with a...very specific menu theme. The place was pretty lively, with an interesting mix of troopers in their familiar armor, people in fancier robes or clean-cut uniforms, a few white-collar office drones (both flesh and mechanical!), and a handful of working stiffs clearly fresh out of a long shift. There was also a cat (with fur the color of a perfectly cooked pancake) stalking around the place and occasionally inviting herself onto a table and plopping down in the middle of it, no matter what the people at that table had to say about it.

So, currently, the only place for them all to sit was right up at the counter behind which Summer was standing, grinning and eager to get into the class.

"Welcome," she told them, "to Hello Jello!, a mock-up of the jello cantina I was running as a spy operations base for the resistence back in the old days."

Of like, you know, a few years ago.

"Now," she continued, "the planet where we were located was the Imperial Center at the time, and it's an ecumenopolis...meaning the whole planet is just one big city. The area of the city we're in right now is very close to the Imperial Palace, which is definitely why you'll see a lot of troopers moving in and out of this place. They take security very seriously around here, which makes planting a secret spy base right in the middle of it a risky move, but...with great risk sometimes comes great reward, and when someone thinks they're in a safe space, it's sometimes amazing what they might let slip.

"This close to the Emperor," she added, "almost no one is going to be blatant, though. But that's where deductive reasoning can come in handy, if you're trying to collect info from word-of-mouth, and that's kind of what we're going to be working on today. This place is a little more relaxed and casual than a bar cantina...and less likely to land anyone in a cantina fight. I hope! But try and see if you can pick up on anything that might be helpful in a resistence against the Empire. What can you observe without being too suspicious in watching? What might you be able to overhear without people thinking you're an eavesdropping creep? Maybe you can try and make friends that won't immediately question your motives? And then we'll 'close up' for the day and have a jam session on what you may have been able to pick up, overhear, deduce or otherwise find out that could be helpful."

Books vs Movies, Tuesday first period

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon rubbed his eyes and smiled at the students. "So, this week's was a bit different than the last two." In hindsight, maybe they should've gone for something in between to avoid the whiplash. Ah, well.

"Philip K. Dick has had a number of stories made into movies over the years; this one is probably the most classic. So, let's watch it, and then we can discuss how the film does or does not translate the story's themes into a visual medium, how well it gets it all across, and how things change between the two."

He wrote the next week's assignment on the board: The Fellowship of the Ring. "This one is actually first of a trilogy, but we don't have time to do all three at once, so you can continue if you're so inclined on your own."

Living with Trauma, Tuesday 1/25, 3rd Period

[stykera]

The lights in the classroom were at a normal level today and there was no screen set up. Stark, however, was still looking worse for wear. That probably wasn’t going to stop anytime soon.

“Welcome back. I said, in our first class, that I was very familiar with trauma. And grief. And loss. All of it. I am. And some of you are, too. The universe is often unkind.” Sometimes the universe was too unkind. “I try, when I can, to be kind. To help make up for it. That doesn’t always work. But I try.”

“That’s…one way I try to deal with things that have happened.” Other coping mechanisms included occasionally drinking heavily but that was probably not the sort of thing he ought to be telling students about. The drinking hadn't really done much to help so far, anyway. "Sometimes it's just a way to keep busy. Once I was asked by someone I love to watch over others in her absence. This class is…a way to help because I understand and a way to keep busy, now." It hadn't been just a way to keep busy originally. But then all of Stark's plans had changed rather suddenly, hadn't they?

“But I know how it feels, being hurt. Losing people. Witnessing terrible things. So I try and help and sometimes…sometimes that helps me as well. Not always. I don't think anything helps always. Maybe time. Even then...” Stark let his voice trail off and shrugged. "Sometimes that's not enough. Usually, at least, enough time will let you make room for things, even if the pain doesn't really go away. You learn to to live with it. It's part of you. Even if you wish it wasn't."

"There are no shortcuts for time. I wish there were. Although… time isn't so linear, always, as we think it is and that, that can cause its own trauma." Ask your teacher about that time he accidentally went through a tear in time and ended up causing the deaths of a bunch of nuns and children, kids! See what happens. Maybe he'll cry.

Mad Kings & Queens: Raving Royals and How To Survive Them (Tuesday, 4th Period)

[atreideslioness]

Ghanima was leaning up against the wall with the wipeboard as students entered today, already twirling a marker in her hand as if it were a knife.

( Peace of mind! I have no peace of mind. I've had no peace of mind since we lost America. Forests, old as the world itself... meadows... plains... strange delicate flowers... immense solitudes... and all nature new to art... all ours... Mine. Gone. A paradise... lost. )