The Art of Bashō; Tuesday, Second Period [05/09].

[sake_shinigami]

Was there the suggestion of light rain in the forecast for the day? Yes, there was, but Shunsui was hardly about to let something like that spoil the effect of having his poetry classes down at the park, by the lake, underneath a nice tree with hopefully branches spread and thick enough to protect them from the worst of whatever sprinkles might try to dampen their lesson. And so that is where they would find their instructor, as per the correspondence he certainly hoped the moose was on top of relegating, gesturing with a warm greeting for them to have a seat, form a circle and join him, help themselves to some tea while they waited for the time to begin.

"Ohayōgozaimasu, everyone ♥," he then greeted the gathered students as a whole when it was...about time, probably a little bit past it, but why hurry such nice things, neh? "And welcome to the Art of a man who needs no introductions, but, since such things are quite traditional for the first class, I will happily indulge ♥. Matsuo Bashō was the foremost poet of the Edo era, and arguably one of the foremost poets of history. Not only did he come to be known as the Master of the art of the poetic form of haiku, but he is also well known for his travel writings and his paintings. The man also knew how to network himself, getting himself heavily involved in the intellectual scene around Edo--now known as Tokyo--and made quite the name for himself, before flitting off to the wilderness to experience the world from a different, more natural perspective ♥. He was also, it should be noted, apparently trained in ninjutsu ♥."

Did that really have much relevance? Maybe not. But Shunsui, at least, appreciated that detail.

"Truly," he said, "a man of many skills and experiences that lead to his timelessness as an artist that we can still appreciate and delve into today ♥. But we shall doubtless discover more about him as we continue on through these next weeks, as I hope we will learn more about each other, as well ♥. But we have to start somewhere, and that?" He smiled beatifically around the circle. "Is what today is all about ♥.

"I'd like to take a moment to go around and have everyone introduce themselves, of course, so we're all on the same level, neh ♥? Your name, perhaps your own interests in poetry, anything interesting you might have to share, and, perhaps even a favorite Bashō poem of your own ♥. Then, I would like to take the remaining time to just look at one of his most popular ones and discuss it amongst ourselves, just to get us started ♥.

"And, to get the introductions started, for those of you who may not know already, I am Shunsui Kyōraku; while here on this island, I like to teach the Arts of many beautiful things, which seems so appropriate, surrounded as we are by such beautiful people as well ♥. I also own," note that he didn't exactly say run, "the general store here in town, so if you should need anything, don't hesitate to ask, and I find it impossible to choose a favorite poem of Bashō's; it all rather depends on my mood, but I have rather been fond of this one, lately:

"Ta-makura ni hosoki kaina o sashi-irete...

"Or, loosely translated to English:

"Easing in,
her slender forearm
for his pillow"

Anyone who known Shunsui for more than three seconds should not be surprised by that particular choice, and he gave the class a somewhat sleepy, but altogether very pleased smile before asking, "And who would like grace us with their introduction next ♥?"

The Great Fandom Photography Scavenger Hunt; Tuesday, Third Period [05/09].

[hashtag_chocobro]

It looked like Prompto had himself another teeny, tiny class this semester, which made him wonder if there was anything he could be doing to get a little more excitement about photography going on around this town, but he'd work on it! For now, he was definitely going to make the best of what he had, and, in a way, maybe this was a good thing. He didn't know how well this whole idea was going to work, so it was like...a test run. And maybe a good way to see if it was just a dumb idea to begin with.

But he was definitely going to still give his two students his all, grinning a little as he sat on the desk at the front of the classroom as they got settled in. "Hey, you guys," he said. "Welcome to one of the most exclusive workshops in the whole roster this semester!" Sure! That was a way to spin it! "The Great Fandom Photography Scavenger Hunt! The concept is pretty simple: every week, you'll be tasked with a sort of themed list of stuff to take pictures of throughout the island, and, the next week, in class, you'll show off what you've shot, compare with each other, talk a little about the experience and maybe even some photography technique to go along with it! I'm pretty passionate about photography myself, and it started with just sort of taking pictures of interesting things around where I lived, and so this seemed like a good way to sort of recreate that for maybe a few other future photographers as well.

"Of course," he added with a chuckle, "even if you just like taking pictures because it's fun, that's totally legit, too. Anyway, it's the first class, and since there's only a few of us, we can probably skip the whole formal introduction thing, but what I would like to introduce you guys to is the equipment." Here, reached over to pick up one of the cameras beside him on the desk. "Unless you've got your own camera you prefer to use, I've got some loaners from the Photo Hut for you guys, and we'll go over in general how to use them, some nifty useful features, and I'll answer any questions you have, and then? You'll get your assignment for the week! And then I'll probably let you guys run off early to get started, if you want, since we don't have any photos to share from previous weeks. Sound good? Okay!" He hopped off the desk, camera in hand and ready to be explained. "Let's get started!"

Totally Safe Science with Beaker, Tuesday, May 9, 2023

[meepmeepmeep]

There was a short, felt-covered Muppet in a lab coat at the front of the Danger Shop today. He hadn't been transformed from something else, that was just how Beaker looked.

"Meep meep meep meep meep!" he proclaimed, gesturing with his hands, then holding up one finger and reaching for a piece of paper. "Meep meep mee meep mee," he began reading, looking as annoyed as a person with non-blinking eyes could look. "Meep meep meep meep meep meep--"

This went on for a while. It was a legal disclaimer disavowing the school of all liability should the participants of this class catch fire, lose limbs, gain limbs, or turn into a new element or form of matter. Someone at the School Board had Learned Some Things from last summer's class.

"--meep!" Beaker finally concluded, tossing the sheet of paper away.

So, that was all terribly clear, right, class?

He pulled himself up onto a stool so he could be seen over the lab table. "Meep meep mee!" he said, pointing to the rain outside. "Meep meep meep meep meep!" He held up an umbrella and scoffed at it. Clearly this class would be able to make a better rain deterrant than a mere umbrella!

"Meep meep meep," Beaker said, pointing to a variety of objects that could--if you squinted--be used to make some kind of rain protection machine or outfit. "Meep meep mee!"

He dramatically pushed a big red button...and now it was pouring in the classroom.

No one was really surprised, right?

Introduction to Dinosaurs - Tuesday, 1st Period

[itsananomaly]

Connor stood at the front of the class, gripping the class papers in his hands, trying to resist the urge to just turn and walk out. The very last thing he wanted right now was to be anywhere, but especially not in the same room as Cutter. Connor took a slow, deep breath. He could do this. He could get through a class with Cutter. Even though they were on anything but good speaking terms, he could figure out to manage being in the same room with him long enough to get their class lecture done. He could totally do this…

He risked a glance over at Cutter as he made sure his notes were in order. He had no idea what Cutter was going to talk about and cover. They hadn't discussed the class at all or done any sort of planning or collaboration. They hadn't even spoken to each other since they had gotten back to Fandom two days ago. So this could end up being interesting…

“Alright, I…. I think we should go ahead and start” Connor said as he picked up the papers and glanced down at them, not looking at Cutter at all as he did. “My name is Connor Temple. I’m going to be one of your teachers for the class this session and we are going to learn about some of the lesser-known dinosaurs that have been discovered.” Connor paused, long enough for Cutter to jump in if he wanted to say anything, but Connor still couldn’t bring himself to look at him.

Cutter was not prepared for class at all - it had been so long since he had submitted that proposal, and then everything had happened, and now he and Connor weren’t talking and … It was all a mess and it was his fault. He stared down at his hands, wincing at the sight of the braces, and for a while, he seemed to not be focused on what Connor was saying and was startled slightly when it seemed like Connor had stopped talking.

“Er … right, I’m … um Professor Nick Cutter, I’m … I’m an evolutionary zoologist and this class will be an introduction to some of the dinosaurs and creatures from the past,” he said, rather distractedly as he tried to focus on class, he stared sadly at Connor for a moment and then looked back at the class when it was clear that Connor wasn’t going to acknowledge him, “I figured we could keep things simple enough for this first class and do introductions, so I’d like you to tell me your name and your favourite dinosaur or prehistoric creature,”

Connor spoke up once Cutter was done to add a final bit. “You can also share a fun or interesting fact about the dinosaur or creature you choose if you would like. We’ll keep things simple this first class.” And with that, Connor nodded to the first student to have them start the introductions.

Loot, Loot, Loot - Tuesday, 4th Period

[good_for_six]

Today's class was being held on the deck of the Siren's Call, both to set the mood, and because if Isabela had an excuse to not climb all the stairs ever, she was going to take it.

"Welcome aboard," as her cheerful greeting. "As most of you know, I'm Isabela, captain of this fine ship and a connoisseur of all kinds of booty. An appreciation I hope most of you share."

"And I'm Doctor Chelli Aphra, rogue archaeologist." Just in case anyone had mistaken her for one of those boring archaeologists who played by the rules. "For this first class we're going to get all philosophical on you and ask the question, what is loot?"

"Treasure obviously," Isabela started them off, very helpfully. "Usually acquired in a very dashing way."

"Obviously, but then you have to ask, what is treasure? There's fabulous wealth, clearly, but what about lost artefacts that have a cultural rather than monetary value?" Not that Aphra had dealt in the latter for a while.

Isabela struck a thoughtful pose. "Or more ephemeral things, like experiences or forbidden knowledge?"

"Not NFTs though, they're just a scam."

"What about the friends we made along the way?"

Aphra shrugged. "Jury's out on that. Anyway, you get the idea, let's get talking."