The Magic of Plants, Wednesday, Per 3

[glacial_queen]

It felt good to be back on the island again and in front of a class. Even though it seemed like she only came to the island these days when everything was exploding, Karla still missed Fandom and all of its whimsical madness. Though since she did have a class to teach, she should probably get on that, rather than reminiscing about the times she'd had class in this very room and the state of her old locker.

"Hello, class, and welcome to the Magic of Plants," she said, giving her class an easy smile. "Which, depending on where you're from, might have a disappointing ratio of magic to plants. This isn't some introduction to witchcraft--that's not how my Craft works--we are going to learn to unlock a lot of the uses of some common plants you might come across in your day to day life. You likely already know that plants are integral to our survival as a species; they feed us, clothe us, shelter us, provide us the bases for a great many medications and remedies. Also, tea, coffee, and chocolate all come from plants and without those necessities, we'd have to have serious conversations about how much of life is actually worth living."

Because coffee. Life-giving, precious coffee.

"But since you've all been on the island for at least a semester, then you know what the first week is for. So, introductions! Name, class, why you took this course, and then an old favorite ice breaker of mine--two truths and a lie. Tell the class two truths about yourself and one lie and we'll all guess which one is a lie. And then once that's done, we're going to use plants to make papyrus sheets like your Ancient...Sumerians did? No, that doesn't sound right, hold on." Karla looked at her phone to double check. "Ah! Ancient Egyptians! Right, like the Ancient Egyptians did."

Comments

Sign in #1

[glacial_queen]

Magically

Re: Sign in #1

[cracksmostly]

Merrill

Re: Sign in #1

[intotheout]

Gratuity Tucci

Listen to the Lecture

[glacial_queen]

Really, it's the first week, so it's more like a chat.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[greenexorcist]

Finally a class Shiemi could feel useful in!

Introductions

[glacial_queen]

"So, introductions! Name, class, why you took this course, and then an old favorite ice breaker of mine--two truths and a lie," Karla said, grinning at the class. "So who wants to go first?"

Re: Introductions

[glacial_queen]

Once the last introduction was over, Karla spoke again. "I should probably do this too," she decided. "So, as I said, I'm Karla, I graduated Class of 2013, I'm teaching this course because plants are important to two of my castes and I feel like sharing some of the cool stuff they can do. And for my two truths and a lie, I'll go with...I'm twenty-seven years old, I'm from a planet called Naboo, and I have four children. Which one is the lie?"

Re: Introductions

[intotheout]

". . . You do not have four children," Tip decided. Karla looked way to well put together and rested to be a mother of four, in her opinion.

Re: Introductions

[intotheout]

"I'm Gratuity Tucci," Tip said. "I'm a sophomore, I guess? I signed up for this class because it sounded interesting and like it might be actually informative, which is kind of rare around here in the summer. And . . . let's see."

Too many people had already heard about J.Lo for her to use much about him to mislead people, but she was sure she could come up with some good stuff.

"My dad is first generation Italian-American, my family owns the last remaining natural born cat on planet Earth, and I've gone on multiple road trips to a moon of Saturn."

There. That would do.

Re: Introductions

[omgnochecksyet]

Oh this was... much less overtly terrifying than his other class today, thank goodness. "Eric Bittle, I'm a senior, and I'm interested in baking and cooking, so... this seemed like a natural extension of that sort of thing."

He paused, looking thoughtful. "As for two truths and a lie... I used to be a competitive figure skater, I can speak French, and I run a vlog where I talk about recipes and also the strange things that happen here in Fandom."

Re: Introductions

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Okay, soooooo, I'm Summer Smith," said Summer with a little wave and smiles for the familiar faces. "I'll be a senior come next year, so, ugh, almost there, right? I'm taking this course because the bogus government back home is making me, aaand, let's see. Two truths and a lie."

Summer bit her lip a little, trying to think of some good ones. Honestly, the hardest part for her was thinking up the lie.

"I, uh, used to work for the devil, I have a cat named...Gingersnap, and I....have never been to the moon."

Yet. That was maybe tomorrow.

Re: Introductions

[spell_chucker]

"I'm Khadgar, I'm a junior, and I love learning about practical uses for things," he said. "As for the rest, I'm a mage, I've been here since the beginning of the summer, and I'm kind of addicted to the Perk."

Re: Introductions

[notamascot]

"I'm Kaylin Neya," Kaylin said, though she was hoping that Karla remembered her. "I'll be a senior this year and I took this course because I enjoy your classes."

She bit her lip. "Two truths and a lie... I speak seven languages, I have one sibling, and my home is ruled by the Dragon Emperor."

Re: Introductions

[greenexorcist]

"Ano," Shiemi stood and waved shyly. "My name is Shiemi Moriyama and I just started Secon... uhm, I mean Junior year. I signed up for this class and I am really glad I got it, because I love plants and gardening."

She took a deep breath to calm herself and then continued, trying to remember what she had decided for her lie. "I'm training to become an exorcist, I have a demon in my hair, and I wear kimono because my mother orders me to."

Re: Introductions

[soniaroadsqueen]

"I'm Ringo Noyamano!" Two full years at Fandom had leeched away almost all of Ringo's formality with introductions. She did offer a quick bow, but she kept her head up, and grinned, not bothering to duck her head as was proper.

"It's weird to say it, but this is already my third Summer here on the island." Pretty crazy!

"Hmm. Let's see. I'm really into this thing from back home called AirTrek." So that was a gimme. "Um. My favorite food is salad. And, uh, oh! I'm totally a queen back home."

Make Papyrus

[glacial_queen]

"So, it takes about a week and a half to make papyrus properly," Karla explained. "So, to give you a chance to do the whole activity, we've got three stations here. Go around, hit all three stations, and next week you can collect your papyrus scrolls."

Make Papyrus: Station One

[glacial_queen]

Here were multiple pots of papyrus plants, garden shears, and a kitchen mandoline to slice the papyrus into thin strips.

"Please be careful," Karla said. "If you cut yourself, I can Heal you, but I'd really rather we didn't start the term with excessive blood loss. Cut three or four stalks as far down as you can, slice them into strips on the mandoline, then peel the green bark off them so you just have the white pulp left. Those can go into that bucket of water, where they'd sit for three days."

Make Papyrus: Station Two

[glacial_queen]

The second station had rolling pins, rolls of paper towels, and pairs of long wooden boards with heavy rocks.

"Surround the stalks in layers of paper towels, and then use the rolling pins to try to squeeze out the last of the excess water. When you've got the strips as dry as you can, layer them correctly--" she demonstrated the layout "--until all your strips are used up. Take a pair of boards, layer them with more paper towels, and then put your papyrus layer between them. The boards will keep the papyrus from curling while they dry and the rock just adds a bit more weight."

Make Papyrus: Station Three

[glacial_queen]

The last station featured more rocks, though these were much smaller and very smooth, and stacks of dried papyrus sheets. Also various types of pens, inkwells, and even some paint.

"So, your papyrus sheets need to dry for about a week before you can use them," she finished. "So I made these a week ago so you can finish up today. There should be a sheet for each of you; take one, grab a smooth rock, and rub it along the grain of the topmost layer until it's smooth enough to write on. Voila! Your own sheet of papyrus. When you're done smoothing it out, feel free to experiment with writing on it."

Talk to Karla

[glacial_queen]

Either after class or as she's wandering around, supervising everyone to make sure no one loses a finger to the mandoline.

Re: Talk to Karla

[sharp_man]

Hannibal had noticed the class rosters this term, and he was hardly going to ignore one of the most delightfully wicked people he knew.

So, here he was, standing at the door with his customary tribute of handmade chocolates, waiting for a moment to say hello.

Talk to the TA

[glacial_queen]

If she's here!

Re: Talk to the TA

[crimson_sister]

Lucille had been flattered when Karla had asked her to be TA, and since she was going to be on the island for the rest of the summer, she wasn't going to turn the offer down. So she was here.

OOC

[glacial_queen]

Good to be playing my girl again!

Re: OOC

[soniaroadsqueen]

ON TIME, LIKE A BOSS!