Creative Writing; Thursday, Second Period [02/09].

[sake_shinigami]

Since they'd already gone over epic poetry as a cornerstone of literature and creative writing, it would make sense to move on to some other form for the next class or two, but that sounded like an awful lot of work, between deciding what to study and how to study it, and Shunsui wasn't quite feeling up to that this week.

Which was what made teaching this class one of his absolute favorites, because it was one of the easiest ones to just throw something easy and effortless out there and still have it technically be a part of building one's craft and writing prowess.

"Good morning, ducklings ♥," he greeted them with the usual smile and the usual pouring of tea and passing along a cup to anyone who would like to start out with one. "Today, I was thinking we could talk about character ♥. Like plot, characters are essential to almost any story ♥. You can't really have one without the other; sometimes the characters are created out of a necessity for the plot, and other times, a plot begins to develop around the creation of characters ♥. Essentially, characters are our people, our friends and enemies, our little critters and important objects, the actors and the players on the stage of our book ♥. There is usually a hero and a villain. Or perhaps an anti-hero. There may be a beautiful love interest that the hero and villain are combating over, or perhaps a wise old sage who dispenses helpful....or unhelpful!...advice ♥. There are roguish captains wooing sexy pirates; bookish or dreamy young girls dreaming of princes ♥. Every day young men and women trying to discover who they are and what their purposes in life may be. When it comes to characters in fiction, just as with characters in life, there are no limits as to what there could be ♥.

"One of the easiest ways for a writer to write their stories is to really understand their character ♥ Know them as well as you know yourself, probably better; get inside them, inside their heads, their bodies, their emotions and feelings ♥. Know why they do what they do, their motivations, their reasons, their thoughts and opinions ♥. The writer, when writing, will become their characters, just as an actor on stage becomes their character for the duration of the play ♥. Do you want the character of the story to be someone like you, someone you can relate to and use as a voice ♥? Or do you want them to be quite different, to live vicariously through a person who will get the chance to do so many things differently than what life hands you now ♥? Either way, through your character, you can be whoever you want and have them do whatever your heart desires ♥. The heroes in my own work tend to be very dashing and incredibly charming, so, clearly, as you can see, I tend to lean more toward art imitating life ♥."

And yes, he winked at them with that, following it with a small little chuckle.

"So," he ventured toward his conclusion, "that is what we will be doing today ♥! I want you all to spend some time really working out a character, who you can use in future projects throughout the course ♥. I have some worksheets that may help you really get down to the details of a character, but you, as the writer, of course, may determine what is important about them and what is not ♥. Feel free to bounce ideas off of each other, of course, and let's just see what you can come up with ♥.

"Any questions before we begin ♥?"

The Hylian Bestiary; Thursday, Third Period [02/09].

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Once again, the board at the front of the classroom with the highest ceiling sported a very lovingly but terribly drawn depiction of what sort looked like perhaps a slightly hunched over lizard person with a horn and maybe a spear (???), if you squinted at it the right way. Or perhaps once Sidon got finished with the lecture, it would make a little more sense, when the students knew more about the topic of the day. Until then, though, Sidon was clearly proud of his work (he really felt as though he was making some improvements!) and was clearly very excited to talk about today's subject.

Granted, he was always excited to talk about most subjects.

"Good morning, everyone!" he greeted them, with his usual, cheerful, bombastic way. "Today, we're going to talk about another beastly creature that roams nearly every corner of Hyrule, the Lizalfos! And when I say every corner of Hyrule, I truly mean it, because these monsters are incredibly adaptable to all sorts of various weather and geographical features, from the snowy, icy mountains of Hebra to the dry, scorching sands of the Gerudo Desert, the impossible heat of Death Mountain, and even to the wet and rainy lakes of rivers of my own Zora's Domain! As a matter of fact, the lizalfos population in the Lanayru Mountains were I live can sometimes be so rowdy and out of hand that I often have to take trip back home to help in the efforts to squash them and keep them in line! Now, that might sound a bit cruel, but the lizalfos are viscious predators that strive to encroach on any territory they seem fit, and will attack without mercy or morals. Let's talk a little more about them.

"They are quite lizard-like, not only in their appearance, but also in their nature. They possess protruding eyes that allow them to look in multiple directions at once, making it very difficult to be sneaky around them, and they are just as vicious when attacking with their long whip of a tongue as they are with any variety of weapons, which they use quite efficiently and well. They tend to favor short swords, bows, and spears, however, and are quite fond of jump attacks, leaping down on their enemy from great heights....as well as the ground, as they are, in fact, fantastic jumpers. They are also incredibly fast, amazing climbers, and many of them can also camouflaged into the surrounding area, so one must be sharp-eyed and sharp-witted to catch a lizalfos at bay! They are reasonably intelligent, and, in fact, they have the ability to make their own weapons and armor, which truly does make them a formidable opponent, far more than the more bumbling bokoblins and meandering moblins we discussed last week!

"Lizalfos, much like Zora, will come with a wide variety of different colored scales, and they often make camps on various rivers and lakes around Hyrule that involve a raised wooden platform, usually in a circle, with sheets and tarps to protect from the elements, which look a bit like...this."

Here, Sidon did his very best to draw such an encampment, but you would still mostly have to use your imagination, by the looks of it.

"They will also sometimes build these around trees in some areas, and, in the dessert and the snowfields, they tend to burrow in the sand and snow to better conceal themselves further. They mostly eat a diet of fish and insects and are excellent spear-hunters, though they will not hesitate to turn those spears on Hylians and Zora alike, nor will they be likely to refuse other kinds of meat! Some of them have the ability to breathe fire, but the ones that give us Zora the most trouble are the Electric Lizalfos, who can produce lightning with their horns, and will discharge that power when hit! So it's very important, especially if one is sensitive to fire or lightning, to be well prepared for that possibility! They can also lash out very powerfully with their tail, and specialize in a water-spitting attack that is difficult to avoid. Not so much a problem for a Zora like me," he chuckled a little, "but definitely something most would have to look out for!

"Lizalfos horns, talons, and tails are often quite prized among merchants and traders who hope to use them for various elixirs and powders. They can also swim, which makes them a particularly interesting foe to fight when one is in the water! They are a nuisance in the Domain, if I"m entirely honest, but I simply must admit, they are a nuisance that I do rather enjoy fighting!"

He flashed a big, toothy grin at the students.

"And that," he declared, "is an overview of the lizalfos! Do you have any questions or anything I should elaborate on? If anything, I should very much like to go over some useful tips in fighting them, as someone who has fought many in my wide span of years! Why, fighting lizalfos is very much an every day sort of adventure back home!"

Espionage, Thursday, February 9, 2023

[sith_happened]

Anakin swooped into class with his normal flair, trying to pretend like he didn't have a koala clinging to his shoulders and riding in his hood.

But he did.

But he wouldn't admit it.

"Today we are going to learn about lying in the face of overwhelming evidence," he said. "Sometimes in espionage, you will get caught and exposed as a spy. Obviously, you cannot admit that you are working for a foreign adversary because that generally leads to immediate, generally horrible, consequences. But we're not going to start off with lying about your jobs. We'll start easier." He sighed to himself. "For example, I do not have a koala on me today."

But he did.

"You need to try to prove to me that I do."

Great Fandom Bake-Off, Thursday, First Period

[tellmehowstuffworks]

"Jaskier couldn't make it today," Yennefer told the students. "Make up your own reasons. Your assignment for today is similarly dealer's choice: I want you to make me a pastry. Happily, in doing research for this class," which had involved eating pastries, "I found that many of them start with a similar base. Hence..." Yennefer whipped a cloth off a pile of boxes of frozen puff pastry. Yes, that was right. She was going easy on you.

Listen, she wanted as few barriers between herself and stuffing her face with croissants as possible.

"A variety of ingredients has been provided for you to choose from to complete your pastry, and really, the sky is the limit. I encourage your creativity. You may begin."