Delicious in Dungeon, Tuesday, Period 6

[sailor_meshi]

Last week, Senshi had told the class that they were going to be covering basilisks, and hopefully they were ready to do just that as they met in the Danger Shop, once again on the second level.

Yes, there were more levels to explore, but that was just going to have to wait until the full, semester-long class. "So a basilisk," Senshi began. "First, take a chicken roughly the height of a fully-grown Tall-Man." He gestured at the whole class, even though he wasn't sure if Kamala was fully grown yet, or if she was still a youth. "And then, give it a snake for a tail. Now, I wanna be clear. I don't mean it's got the tail of a snake hangin' off its butt. Nope, I mean that protrudin' from under its tail feathers is a snake, almost like they're two creatures that were fused at the backside. And maybe that's how they started? But now they're one single creature and they breed true. If you're gonna ask me about how it works, especially biologically - don't. I know how to hunt and prepare 'em, and some information about their habits and behaviors, but how they actually function is more than I can say. Even the experts aren't sure where the dividing line between 'head' and 'tail' are, never mind folks like me."

He'd leave speculation like that to mages and monster fanboys, not that he knew Laios yet.

"Now, male basilisks have larger, brighter combs and wattles than their female counterparts do, and both sexes have a spur on the back of their claws that are attached to a venom sac - the same type of venom that the serpent produces and injects through its fangs. A bite or a kick from the spur that manages to inject even a little of the venom in your is a very dangerous emergency; their venom is very virulent, causin' hemorrhagin', paralysis, and finally death. Even takin' the venom out of the picture, the wings are strong enough to break bones, the kicks can cause internal damage and even ruptures if they land just right, and even dry bites can getcha if the fangs nick an artery or a major blood vessel. The chicken half has eyes on the side of its head like most prey animals, and have close to three hundred degrees around themselves. The snake half has its eyes facing forward, but can also sense heat and changes in the air around 'em through what's called a pit organ, found near the nostrils on the snake's head. Together, these make it very difficult to sneak up on a basilisk, because even if you can avoid the chicken's peripheral vision, the snake might still be able to sense you. And, if the chicken is sure there is danger directly in front of itself, the snake half will curl up and over the chicken's head to look forward. Basically, what I'm sayin' is that these critters are real dangerous and are probably the number one cause of death on this level. So don't go thinkin' that they're easy prey just because they look goofy."

They did look a little goofy though. As did their even more deadly cousin, the cockatrice.

"Now the best way to fight 'em is to first make yourself look as large and intimidatin' as possible. Yell, scream, bang metal together, whatever you gotta do to send a message that you're big and scary and not to be messed with. You also wanna buddy up. Just yellin' is fine by yourself if you're hopin' to scare 'em off, but if you're lookin' for a fight, you're gonna wanna have a partner. You both attack the basilisk from either side at the same time - the two brains will briefly confuse the body about what to do or where to go if they both register an attack. When the brains are figurin' out how to react and which head's impulses to listen to, that's when you finish the attack, aimin' for the brain, the eyes, or severin' the head. You can try for a stab through the chest, but the chicken side has a number of thick, insulatin' feathers, like we saw that they line the underbrush with for their eggs, and if you're not strong enough or don't have enough momentum, you can end up getting deflected off or or lodged into bone and missin' your opportunity. Which will let the body know what brain to listen to, that's for sure."

Senshi spent some more time explaining what signs to be on guard for when either trying to hunt or avoid basilisks, how they marked their territory, and their general behavior (aggressive). "All right, now, pair up and good huntin'!"

This Sh*t is Bananas; Tuesday, Third Period [06/18].

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Hey, everyone!" said Summer and you had about three seconds to feel like maybe that particular cheerfulness was just sort of some pre-birthday-weekend excitement before the real reason for that smile was revealed. "Today, I've actually got three recipes for you to consider!"

That was triple the banana fun, you guys! She beamed a little at that before continuing.

"But don't worry," she said, which surely put everyone at ease, right? "They're just little guys. Our first one is a recipe for spaghetti car-banana....just kidding! Even I'm not that weird, but it is for this Mystery Salad recipe from 1977. We might've been better off with the cars in pasta, actually.

"And then, after that, we're going to delve into one that is actually not so bad. A palate cleanser, so to speak, although it really is named horribly enough to make you think it's bad: banana scallops. But, luckily for all of us, this is not some unholy amalgamation of bananas and scallops, but, instead, a riff of fried bananas. Which are pretty good, actually, so there you go.

"If anyone wants to make actual banana scallops, or even think of the worst thing to potentially dip our banana scallops in, you will get all the extra credit.

"And finally, we're rounding today's selections out with not an actual banana at all, but a mock banana. That's right. Mock Banana. This is a recipe not from Americana, actually, but from jolly old England. It's a wartime recipe where apparently Brits were so desperate for the bananas they could no longer import that they came up with a wild way to use some parsnips and a few dashes of banana essence. Whether or not it succeeds, we're here to discover today."

Pizza!, Monday, First Period

[carbsliftthespirit]

Today Raiden had sent a message to his students asking them to meet outside, where they would find a grilling setup awaiting them, under one of those tent-canopy things because shade was precious. "It's summer, which means it's grilling season," Raiden told them, "because who wants to heat up the kitchen when it's already hot? Better to keep that heat outside, where the sun already is, am I right? And good news for us, you can grill pizza! As long as you don't have those sad little wire grill grates, that is, and with those, you probably still can, just, I would stick a pizza stone on there instead of putting the dough directly onto the grill. It's really easy. You just have to grill one side of the dough, then flip it and put your sauce and toppings on the side you already cooked." Raiden demonstrated this process for them.

"You do have to keep in mind, though, your toppings are only going to be cooked for a few minutes. Even at high heat it might not be enough to get them cooked through. If you find you want your veggies more cooked than the grill gets them, you can cook them separately ahead of time--and then you can start playing around with things like caramelized onions. Delicious. Any meats you put on will need to be cooked already, because undercooked meat can make you sick. Anyhoodle, it's your turn now!" He clapped his hands together in excitement. "Let's get to grilling some pizzas!"

Self-Defense for Shinies, Tuesday, June 18, 2024

[sith_happened]

The weather today was already sticky and hot and while Anakin was still in Jedi robes because of course he was, he was prepared to take pity on the rest of you. "We will be fighting with water today," he said.

And it was just water too!...okay with some food dye in it. "After all, learning not to get hit is perhaps the most valuable self defence lesson you could learn."

You needed the dye How else would your teachers know you'd been hit?

"So true," Anakin agreed, nodding. "There's a small obstacle course to travel through to make it more challenging. Stay low to the ground and keep moving. Freezing in place is a guaranteed way to get hit."

"Especially since your classmates will also be armed." This was actually an improvement on when Anakin had decided Ahsoka needed to learn about this.

He was getting better! So take that, Shenanigan whiners. "It's only fair to be armed," Anakin agreed.

Ahsoka was just...not going to comment on Shenanigans.

It was a VERY NORMAL HOBBY, Ahsoka. You know, on a scale of Skywalker.

"Put on these white jumpsuits so we can see the dye better, grab your Supersoakers, and get ready," Anakin added.

Earth Tourism, Tuesday 5th period

[unusual_sith]

"Today," Lana announced when everyone was at Portalocity, "we're going to Japan. It's a really interesting place; we've been there on trips before with the school. It's a country on the opposite side of the world from where we are now, composed of a large number of islands, though not as water-based as Venice.

"We don't have enough time to take in even a fraction of it, of course, but we'll be going to the capital city, Tokyo. Specifically, to Senso-ji Temple, which is the oldest religious site in the city, dating back almost fourteen centuries. It's supposed to be quite lovely, and a good example of Japanese tradition. As an added bonus, there are plenty of shops and food places nearby."

Their portal arrived, and Lana ushered them through onto a bustling plaza.

Practical Philosophy, Tuesday

[endsthegame]

"Truth," Ender began, "Is relative."

He considered the people sitting in this circle. "The island is currently present in a time where that seems to have been proven," he said. "One being's reality can be quite different to another's, despite living in the same geographical space and time. As such, over the years, philosophers have often fought one another about the meaning of truth, and how one goes about gathering it."

He picked up his water bottle, shifting on his pillow. "For a long time, many people on this Earth believed that gods were the only ones who held the truth of the world, and in order to understand it, one had to take it on faith that they were there, that they had a will, that they moved mountains."

"The Greek philosophers, of course, had their own feelings about it. Plato thought we were all born with knowledge inside of us, and that the world around us didn't hold a candle to that true knowledge. But his student Aristotle took the concept of knowledge in another direction, one that would come to inform the way this world is run: he believed that we could observe truth, that there was such a thing as gathering evidence and coming to truthful conclusions."

He took a sip. "Of course, God and Faith dominated much of the Middle Ages, but even then, wheels were turning, as religious men struggled to reconcile what their faith was telling them with the growing practice of science. By the early modern age, during what would come to be known as the enlightenment, John Locke had devised the concept of empiricism - the idea that truth could only be reached through testing and weighing and careful consideration of the evidence we achieve through our senses. Truth was not contained within men nor Gods; truth was to be observed, and then hewn in stone."

He tapped the bottle. "But as the past few centuries, and certainly decades, have born out, what truth we accept is still rooted in our faith, in what we believe in our core must be true," he said. "Human beings, at least, seek out evidence that confirms what they already believe, and ignore that which doesn't. Their beliefs thus shape the world that they see around them."

"So I'm curious: where do you believe knowledge comes from? Have you ever caught yourself believing something is true merely because you wanted to? Or have you struggled to let evidence be heard when no one seems interested in hearing it? And is truth important at all, if ears, minds and hearts can be bent with lies for a benevolent purpose?"