Grow Your Own Garden, Tuesday, Period 6

[sailor_meshi]

"Apologies for missin' last class, but there was a problem in the dungeon I needed to take care of," Senshi said once everyone had shown up. "But that's okay, because it's this week that's the important one. That's right, it's time to harvest what we've been growin'! Now, when it's time to harvest, be careful not to break, nick or bruise them. The less you handle your vegetables, the longer they'll last in storage. For things like carrots an' radishes, loosen the soil around the root with your hands, then pull roots from the ground by their stem and greens. For the salad greens and the spinach we planted, you want to use scissors to cut as close to the main stem as possible without disrupting the main stem or the root ball. Probably best to leave about one to two inches of the newly cut lettuce leaf stem just to be safe and don't cut the smaller leaves at the base of the plant."

He smiled at the class. "See, nice and easy. Grab some colanders - better than bowls so you can rinse the veggies and the water just runs out - and some sharp scissors and start harvestin'! I'll take any vegetables that nobody wants. No reason to let 'em go to waste, but I do suggest that you make a nice salad with them. Nothin' like fresh veggies you grew yourself, I can tell you that."

Nightmare Party Planning from the Mid-Century; Tuesday, Third Period [08/20].

[somethingwithturquoise]

This week, there was plenty of things in front of Summer at the front of the class, but no cloches. Rather, it was all the stuff that tended to make the things that usually went under those cloches: boxes of gelatin powders, copious jars of mayonnaise and marshmallow fluff, packages of hot dogs and bologna, bags of pretzel sticks, cans of tuna fish and Spaghetti-O's and Spam, bottles of ranch dressing and ketchup. Basically all the pantry staples of your most Mid-Western, Mid-Century household worth its salt and ridicule.

(And, good lord, was there a lot of salt represented on this table!)

And Summer, of course, beamed at everyone.

"In the grand tradition of final classes," she announced, "today, we're focusing on you and what you've learned and your own creative pursuits. We have, hopefully, everything we need for you to create your own Mid-Century Nightmare Party Monstrosity here in this very classroom today and that is your assignment here today. Get creative, get weird, get gross...or I guess you could swing for the fences and give us something actually shockingly magnificent out of these offered ingredients, but, whatever you do, I want it to wow me in some way, you know? Show me if I've managed to twist your brain just a little bit more toward the terrible these past seven weeks.

"Bonus points, as always, for presentation, even more if you tie it to a whole terrible theme that your creation will be taking center stage for with your presumed party. You'll have most of the class to work on it, and then we'll use the last few minutes to present your creations. You're pretty much on your own, but if you have any questions or need help, I'll see what I can do."

The Wonderful World of Pizza, Tuesday Second Period

[carbsliftthespirit]

"Okay!" Raiden exclaimed with an excited clap of his hands. "It's our last class, and you know what that means: more pizza! Today we're going to Stockholm, Sweden, where my plan was for you to try one of the more unique and innovative pizzas out there, the Tropicana, also known as the Africana, which is made with curry sauce and topped with bananas and peanuts. Unfortunately," or fortunately, depending on how you felt about what he had just said, "the place we're going to today, V Italiano Moderno, doesn't serve the Tropicana, but it does have some really delicious-looking pizzas on the menu, and after we eat you can look around Stockholm a bit!"

Practical Philosophy, Tuesday

[endsthegame]

"'The first principles of the universe are atoms and empty space; everything else is merely opinion'," Ender quoted, once the last of his students had settled in on the lawn. "If you did the reading I assigned a few weeks ago, you'll know that quote from the Greek philosopher Democritus. If you didn't, for instance because you were stuck in a hole, well, I won't dock points."

He smiled briefly, then reached for a bottle of water.

"Like many of the famous old Greeks, Democritus concerned himself with many areas of study, from physics to mathematics. But he also dabbled in philosophy." His mouth curved. "Actually, they called him 'The Laughing Philosopher', because he 'laughed at humanity's follies', which should tell you a thing or two about the man."

He took a sip of water.

"Democritus believed it was almost impossible to know the truth. After all, we see the world through our senses, which he felt were innately subjective. Who's to say the color 'purple' looks the same to your eyes as they do to a friend's? He called this 'bastard' knowing: to know only through the senses. Real truth can only be attained through reason."

Another sip, then he set it down. "We're all from different universes with different rules, we're all people with different perceptions and different experiences," he said. "What's true to you can be quite fundamentally untrue to your friend from another universe where purple is a little yellow, actually. And still, here at Fandom, we manage to relate ourselves to people who are so very different from ourselves. In a way, I suppose, we collectively come together to decide on what we think is true, and we live by that."

He shrugged. "Of course, Democritus also pointed out that we can reason our way into beautiful theories about the state of the universe, but the only way to confirm those theories is to see them with our imperfect senses." He sat back. "Have you befriended anyone, or seen another universe, or experienced anything this summer that made you question whether your own perceptions are true? Do you think Democritus is right, or is there such a thing as real truth?" he said. "Does it even matter?"

Teamwork Through Meditation and Also Lightsabers, Tuesday morning

[sith_happened]

For their final class today, the Danger Shop looked like the break room of a capital ship if you were from their galaxy, or like a slightly gray, boring room to anyone else. "Sometimes you have to practice in less beautiful locales," Anakin began, gesturing around. "If you are about to head into battle, it's especially important to focus beforehand and this might be what your surroundings look like."
"Hopefully you'll never have to find out for yourself, but battles are chaotic and messy," Ahsoka added. "Being able to clear your mind and work in harmony with your compatriots can be the difference between life and death."

Anakin ignited his lightsaber--real, not a trainer today--with the casual ease of someone who'd done that gesture a thousand times. "Jedi work in partnership with at least one other Jedi in battle, sometimes with multiple Jedi. It's vital to quiet your mind to react to those around you," he said over the hum of the blue light of his weapon.

Ahsoka followed suit, and if you thought they were showing off, look, they weren't wearing cloaks to dramatically toss aside, so clearly they weren't. "It would be awkward to hit someone on your own side rather than the other."

Anakin nodded. "Pair up with the practice lightsabers and spar."

While your teachers continued totally not showing off.

More Earth Tourism, Tuesday

[unusual_sith]

Today, instead of Portalocity, class had been instructed to meet at...the junkyard?

Lana smiled and ushered them in and over to an angular-looking ship. "I borrowed a ship for our last summer class. Don't worry; I'm a much better pilot than its owner."

Once they were all inside, she did a quick preflight check, then advised them all to sit. "We'll be taking off quickly to get out of the atmosphere before we're spotted."

They headed out to space, and into an orbit far beyond Earth satellites to avoid running into anything. Then Lana turned the ship around to point the viewport directly at Earth.

"I thought today we'd see all of Earth at once. Most people from Earth don't get to see it like this for themselves in this time, but it is a lovely view. And we can use the sensors to get a closer look at anything interesting you might spot. Enjoy it."

She smiled. "Oh, and I've decided to keep teaching this. There's entirely too much of the planet to have seen it all already."