Blacksmith Basics: Armor Edition; Thursday, Second Period [07/14].

[special_rabbit]

Was there some sort of large giant hammer apparatus in the Crumbler's corner of the shop that morning when the class came in?

Yes. Yes there was.

And you could definitely worry about it.

"Morning, everyone!" Amaya greeted them all with a grin once they were all (mostly, probably) present and accounted for. "Welcome back! Now, today, we're going to be doing more work on flattening our materials so we have a good base to work with before we move onto the next step. The flattening is sort of the big one, and probably the trickiest for newer smiths because if you're not already well-practiced, it can take some doing to get the piece to the right even distribution, thickness, weight, and size that you'll be needing. Now, obviously, last week, we worked a little with the traditional hammering method, which is particularly good for those of you who are working on smaller pieces or are more experienced. But to get that kind of precision on larger pieces, or pieces that you need to get out more quickly because you haven't got the time to really refine a hunk of metal with your own two hand, you've got to go a bit....bigger. And that's where the trip hammer," she gestured toward the aforementioned giant hammer in the corner, "come in.

"Now," she started, "in a bigger blacksmithing operation, you'd find plenty of these guys hard at work, usually powered by water or mules, just like you would a grindstone in a mill. Thankfully, I've got the Crumbler for that. And even without the Crumbler, this one gets a bit loud, so I've got some ear protection for everyone this week, too. Basically, what you have here is your automatic hammer, to flatten the metal for you, essentially, which is handy for, as I said, bigger pieces, or for a more uniform distribution of blows. I'm going to explain first, then show you, because once it gets going, you won't be able to hear much. But, basically, get the Crumbler going, the Crumbler's going to power the hammer, which will rise and fall at a steady rate onto the steel. You, then, are mostly just in charge of moving the steel along so that it can flatten it out evenly all along the metal. Depending on how flat or thick you want it, you might want to run it through a few times."

She nodded to the box of ear protection for everyone to get prepared before she switched on the Crumbler, which started rumbling to life and, after a moment, got itself going enough to start pumping the hammer. Amaya was quick and ready with a piece of metal she had been heating in the forge, so that she could further demonstrate by holding it between the makeshift anvil and the hammer until it was good and flat, she killed the grinding of the Crumbler, and held the piece up to show it off while gesturing for them all to remove the headphones.

"I don't care how strong you are," she concluded, "odds are, that," hitching a thumb over her shoulder, "is still going to be more precise and more effective than any hand hammer. I'll admit, sometimes it feels a bit like cheating, so I don't personally use her very often, but I'm not one to ignore efficiency and productivity when I see it.

"So there we are with today," she concluded. "Take some time to consider which flattening method is going to work best for your specific piece and your own personal preferences, and then we'll get to work. And in the downtime in between your turn at an anvil or the trip hammer, you can work on refining your designs, asking questions, or just observe the others. Any questions before we get started? Because if you've got them after, I sure hope you've got some good volume on those lungs."

Fandom Gladiators; Thursday, Third Period [07/14[.

[died8yearsago]

The Gladiators would come into the Danger Shop that day to find a large foam pyramid at the center of the arena, so if anyone was wondering what they might be doing for this week's challenge, Rosa might let you skip wearing the helmet this week because there was clearly nothing up there that needed to be protected.

"Alright, Gladiators," she nodded once they all seemed settled and geared up, "this is the Pyramid. The goal is simple: get to the top. But, of course, it won't be that simple. Sniper. Crocker or whatever name he picked assuming they were there. Based on your performances last week in Human Cannonball, you have been selected to defend the top of the pyramid. Do whatever it takes to make sure the other gladiators don't reach the top. We'll be doing rounds of two; the first one to the top gets the chance to compete again for ultimate champion, which...might give you an advantage next week.

"Any questions? If not, Sniper, Crocker, head on up and get ready to defend the territory; the rest of you, get limber, get stretched, and get ready."

Library, Thursday 7/14

[noonedecidesmyfate]

Why was the library ceiling missing a section? Why were there plastic tarps covering some of the shelves? Why were there blueprints on a table?

Belle had no idea. It wasn't as if anyone informed library staff when things were planned in here, or when they weren't planned.

The desk seemed unaffected, at least, so she sat down there to check in some books that had appeared since the last time someone was there.

A Guide to Mechanical Engineering - Thursday, 4th Period

[notagoose]

In the space of a week Goose had completely forgotten about his class being on Thursday afternoon’s and remembered that morning he did in fact have class, so he quickly looked through his old notes and found a topic that he had done during the spring for his intro to mechanical engineering class and decided that he could work with that.

“Welcome back,” he said a little sheepishly as he showed up minutes before class started, luckily the practical he was going to have didn’t require a lot materials at all.

“This week we’re going to be experimenting with paper planes,” he announced, which he had done this class a few times but it was at least an easy way to demonstrate fluid mechanics.

How to Form a Band, Thursday - Period 1

[wrongkindofsith]

"Genre!" Jaskier proclaimed loudly to the class. "It can make or break your success as a musician. If there's no love for your particular skill in the area, sure you might try to correct that, but it would take time and the phrase starving artist is no joke."

"What my collegue means is that there's no shame in selling out," Cara said, a beatific smile on her face.
"That exactly," he admitted with a little wince. "So, perhaps we should determine what is the best genre for our little class that is also popular or on the cusp of becoming popular."

And don't say ska.

Cara and Jaskier were in a rare moment of agreement on that. "Though sticking to your principles is also an option."

Unless your principles said ska.