The Art of Poetry; Monday, First Period [01/31].

[sake_shinigami]

Perhaps a bit inspired by a recent conversation and a general appreciation for the appreciation of snow, Shunsui decided to do something a little bit different for this week's class. There were, of course, two ways he could approach this, and since the portal method was far less work on his end than setting it up with the danger shop, you could probably guess which one he was going to go for. And, really, if anything, this simply made the experience all the more authentic, neh?

So the class would be taking a portal that morning that would lead them to warm and cozy pavililion settled in a snow-covered landscape. "Today, ducklings ♥," he started, "we are not talking about a form of poetry so much as what inspires us to create it, very specifically the yukimi, or snow-viewing, parties that have been a rich tradition in the development of Japanese poetry for centuries ♥. The concept is quite simple, really: you gather together a bunch of intellectual and philosophical minds in a remote location known for its beauty, such as this place, have them drink sake, play games, and see how the creativity begins to flow out of them ♥. We, of course, will be trading our sake for a nice warming tea since this is a school trip," --not, it should be noted, because it was Monday morning or anything--, "but other than that, the point of today is to merely enjoy the beautiful scenery and the excellent company and see what poetry can be sparked out of it ♥.

"Now," lest anyone think that this was just an excuse to spend a morning lazing about in a scenic pavillion, "this is a very popular tradition with artists of all sorts, from poets to painters, authors and composors, and such viewing parties are also popular in the springtime with the blossomoning of trees and the fall, with the changing of colors, and is not strictly a Japanese phenomenon as well. In fact, one of the most famous of such gatherings, known as the Orchard Pavilion Gathering, took place Six Dynasties era of China and wa a gathering of 42 of China's greatest literati, and even included a game called liúshāng, where one floated cups of wine down a river, and when one plucked one out of the river, they must drink that wine and then compose a poem. At least thirty-seven known poems and several painting have the Orchard Pavilion Gathering to thank for their existence, and a great many other such parties have brought so many more into the world ♥.

"Will our own little Kinkakuji yumiki yeild similar results? Let us find out ♥."

Guiding the Powerful Yet Incompetent, Monday, Fourth Period

[tellmehowstuffworks]

"The last time we met," and everyone would kindly ignore how long ago that might have been, "you decided to..." Please hold while Yennefer consulted her notes. Oh. That was what they had decided. "Convince the duke that it would be an honor to have the king take his tapestries. Well. The good news is that the duke let the king take his tapestries without any sort of a fuss. The bad news is that he didn't do that because he thought it was any sort of an honor, but because the king is the king and he rather likes having his head attached to his body. So now he's rather miffed, all the other nobles are planning to hide their valuables before the king comes to visit, and his majesty is proudly displaying the feats of someone else's ancestors in textile form in the south hall. The situation could be worse."

Of course the situation was worse. Yennefer took a deep breath and said, "However. The king finds that the south hall's decor doesn't quite suit his new tapestries, and he wants to build a new wing on the castle to house them. This is going to be incredibly expensive and he's going to have to raise taxes. How do you advise him to proceed?"

Mythbusting- Monday- 3rd period

[throughaphase]

Today the workshop was still there, leading out to a perfectly ordinary living room. With multiple ceiling fans. And a couple dummies sitting on the couches.

"Today's myth: can a ceiling fan decapitate you?" Kitty greeted them. "If you've ever accidentally stuck your arm up while the blades were going, you know it hurts, but is it deadly? And if it's not, under what conditions does it become deadly? We're going to rig these dummies up so their heads are in range of the blades, and then we're going to have at it."

Exit Strategies, Monday, Period 2

[jedigrammarians]

"We're having another back to basics class, kids," Aphra told them cheerfully as they came into an actual classroom today. "Real basics depending on the tech level of where you're from."

With a dramatic gesture, she whipped a drop sheet off a table revealing an array of various kinds of locks and tools. "Today you're learning lock-picking old-school! Because you never know when someone's going to clap a set of old-fashioned mechanical cuffs on you. We'll get to fancier modern locks in a later class, once you've got the basics down." Probably.