Fandom High School

Honestly, Shunsui almost wondered if sending out this message to his students was even necessary, considering everything still obnoxiously insisting on going on around the island this week, but, just to be on the safe side and he figured a little bit of effort on his part wouldn't hurt, his students would, indeed, be receiving a cancellation notice.

I'm sure this comes as no surprise to you, ducklings, but our final class for the Art of Ma will be canceled
due to this island's complete and utter lack of ability to appreciate negative space for itself
and cluttering itself with far too many annoying and dangerous holiday themes.
Please use this as an excellent example to reflect on the importance of this semester's topic in every day life.
--京楽

And now that it appeared that just leaving seemed significantly more complicated now, Shunsui wondered if he'd just be better off slipping into jinzen until this all blew over, because if he was going to suffer an assault of verbal abuse regardless, he'd rather it be from his beautiful zanpakutō than from a plant...

"Welcome back, ducklings ♥," Shunsui greeted the class as they gathered, in the classroom, with the desks pushed aside and replaced with comfortable cushions in a circle at the center of the room, each little spot accompanied with a few notebooks and pens. "Our time together on this subject is running short, so it's high time we've delved into the poetic examples of Ma in art. In Japanese poetry Ma suggests a pause in time — it takes the mind to the moment that inspired the poet, suggesting that one contemplates that moment, experiences it fully. For example, the term ko-no-ma, meaning ‘among trees’ sets a vivid scene, yet at the same time the moment is open for individual interpretation ♥. And our most clear and evident example of such a venture is, naturally, the Japanese haiku ♥.

"Traditionally, a haiku consists of just three phrases that contain kireji, 'the cutting word,' in a 5, 7, 5 syllable pattern, and traditional haiku will almost always contain some reference to nature or seasons. Not all haiku will be reflective of Ma, but since they deal so heavily with nature, and nature is often reflective of Ma, there are many haiku, then, that are also Ma ♥."

The faint grin on his face may have suggested that he had made that intentionally a bit convuluted, yes.

"An example, then, from Naitō Jōsō:

Plains and Mountains
All enveloped in snow-
There is nothing else.

Or perhaps this one, from Jōsō's mentor Bashō:

Fragrant orchard--
Perfuming the wings
Of the butterfly

And a third, from Kobayashi Issa:

A giant firefly
wavers this way and that way--
look--it flies away.

"Now, of course, with some of the translations from the original Japanese, the beats and phrases are a little off, but the sentiment remains true: a picture in nature, a breath, to acknowledge the small things that fill the negatie space of the bigger picture ♥. What are these poems really telling us? What do they make us feel? How does it inspire us in the world around us? And, of course...can we effectually make our own? And that's what we'll be doing today, ducklings, taking our pens to the paper and reflecting the art of Ma through our own words ♥.

The Danger Shop for the class that day would look a bit like a furniture store showroom, with a series of individual rooms with one wall missing to see inside: a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom, living room, and a study. The aesthetics tended to lean toward an amalgamation of a certain ubiquitous modern Swedish standard and sleek modern Japanese, but the thing these otherwise wholly moddable rooms had in common was that they were all a complete and total mess. Not necessarily in the way that that current state of the back room at Turtle & Canary might be a mess, but rather that they were filled with too much stuff, as whoever put them together wanted to incorperate everything at their disposal together, a cluster of furniture, a clash of art, a jumble of knick-knacks and a variety of mismatched things and incomplete ideas.

"We have spent a good deal of time in this class," Shunsui started with a faint smile, "exploring the concept of Ma through many of the things we look at: art, the natural world, delightful little bonsai trees and even the world of film. But, today, we are going to explore the concept of Ma through the things we live in, that is, our personal spaces, our homes, places where we eat and sleep and spending hours both waking and sleeping to embrace the potential of nothingness in the worlds we make our own, to explore that crucial space that exists in-between our personal and private lives ♥.

"As you can see," he gestured toward the rooms on display, "these rooms are in considerable need of an interior design make-over ♥. So your task today is to see what you can do to make these living spaces far more pleasant, relaxing, and liveable, with a keen eye for the Ma of it ♥. A few things to keep in mind, then, as you explore the spaces and utilize its potential emptiness:

"Movement is key; one should be able to flow as freely as the energy surrounding them ♥. Relax your mind to create those moments of quiet and awareness in your design ♥. And don't be afraid to live in the now ♥."

How exactly that was supposed to translate into how to redecorate a room was, apparently, up for them to decide.

"And before you begin, ducklings, a small poem from Saikontan to keep in mind:

Length of time depends upon our ideas.
Size of space hangs upon our sentiments.

For one whose mind is free from care,
A day will outlast the millennium.

For one whose heart is large,
A tiny room is as the space between heaven and earth."

It mentioned a room, you see, so it was clearly related!

"Now, let's see what you can do with these horribly cluttered and claustrophobic rooms, neh ♥?"

Minsc was running just a little bit late for his class that morning, mostly on account of the fact that it was not at all Minsc running late for his class, but rather Shunsui thinking he was Minsc after a bit of an unexpected run-in with a gremlin in the apartment. So that certainly answered the question of whether or not gremlin venom actually could have an affect on a gigai.

And not only were Minsc and Boo (who looked suspiciously like a potted bonsai tucked carefully under his arm) late, but he was having an incredibly difficult time getting the Danger Shop to do what he wanted it to do once he got there (conveniently, class was already planned for that location, but the program Minsc thought he had prepared was a little tricky to find, but, after a little bit of murmuring under his breath and talking to the "giant miniature space hamster" he had with him, he'd finally managed to find something manageable and they class would find themselves in a nice wooded forest...beset with bandits.

"Ah-ha!" Minsc pronounced boldly, grinning widely and with a truly unplaceable accent. "At last! We are ready for buttkicking....for goodness! As you know, this class has been spending a great deal of time and energy building up to moments like this, when the squeaky wheel get the kick, and we demolish our enemies in the pursuit of violence and victory for the good guys! And the good guys? That is us! The bad guys? That is them! So go forth, my little buttkickers, and kick butt! Go for the eyes, Boo! Go for the eyes! Raaauuuggghhhh!"

And that was when the bonsai presumed to be a giant miniature space hamster was tossed toward one of the bandits, and the buttkicking could truly commense!

No Danger Shop or portals today, ducklings! The class would be meeting in a regular classroom, no elaborate art museums or breathtaking vistas, just a classroom in a castle with all the desks pushed aside in favor of a circle of comfortable pillows and offerings of tea and hot cocoa. And a poem, written carefully on the blackboard:

Thirty spokes meet in the hub,
though the space between them is the essence of the wheel;

Pots are formed from clay, though the space inside them is the essence of the pot;
Walls with windows and doors form the house,

though the space within them is the essence of the house.

"Good morning, ducklings ♥," Shunsui greeted them with a soft smile from wher ehe was already sitting at a spot in the circle. "Come, make yourselves comfortable, help yourself to some refreshments if you feel so inclined, and then I'd like you to take a moment and consider the poem written on the board today ♥. It is an old poem, sometimes attributed to Lao Tze, a Chinese philosopher, and considered to be an excellent representation of the essential heart of the Art of Ma -- it is not just the thing itself that makes it what it is, but also the things that it is not that gives it purpose and meaning. What is a teapot if not for the space in which you put your tea? Is a forest still a forest if there is no distinction between the air and what makes a tree? And how does this apply, to the greater scheme of things?

"Today, then," he continued, "I'd like us to explore this particular concept, the Art of Ma not as it applies to art, but as it applies to function. Can you think of other examples where the space between is just as important, if not more so, than the thing itself? Do you believe the poem? Do you disagree? There are, of course, no wrong answers, and should no one have any points to discuss regarding the matter, well, then..." Here he chuckled softly, "let us then just contemplate the space between our words and the function of the silence within our discussion, neh ♥?"

The students would find themselves instructed to meet in the danger shop for their first class, something that may have struck a note of amusement in Shunsui since the most danger he suspected any of them were likely to be in for this class (and most of his classes, really) was the potential threat of papercuts or vertigo. But where else could he so easily render the wide, open gallery space that they would find themselves in, sleek and modern with touches of Japanese aesthetic accents, art hanging or sculptures standing at wide intervals, with large plate glass windows overlooking a vista overlooking a lake in a grassy valley at one end, mountains wreathed in fog stretching to the horizon on the other.

And Shunsui gave the students a soft, sleepy sort of smile when they gathered, bowing his head with a tilt of his hat to get things started. "Ohayōgozaimasu, ducklings ♥," he greeted them, the acoustics of the empty space around them allowing his low, rumbling voice to carry like thunder, though he spoke softly, quietly, "and welcome to the Art of Ma ♥. It is the exploration of negative space in art, in culture, in the world, and in our lives ♥. It is an appreciation of the vastness of the world that surrounds us and an understanding of our own places within it ♥." He laughed, softly. "That is no small thing! Many people can find negative space to be confusing, or unsettling, or oppressive. It can feel empty, it can feel uncertain. We may feel the need to fill an empty space between two people with words or banter or an empty house with clutter of things that make us feel tangible evidence of the things we've experienced. Eradicate the empty space to fill it with things, rather than embracing it and discovering that an understanding of that empty space can set us at ease, if only you know how ♥."

His smile grew, warming a little more. "One of the easiest ways to comprehend Ma is through art, and that is where we shall begin, ducklings ♥. Here in this gallery are many fine examples of Ma as depicted through art, most of it Japanese, not only as a bias toward my own personal knowledge but because this concept itself is heavily rooted in Japanese culture, right down to its name, Ma, which means, simply, space or pause or room. What I would like to do today is to have you begin your journey into the discovery of Ma by taking some time, walking around the gallery, and trying to find which piece in particular speaks to you the most. Take your time. Use it, begin to cultivate it even now, as you explore and consider, and, at the end of class, I'd like for us all to come together and share which pieces spoke to us. You don't have to explain why, if you don't want to, but you are invited to, and you do have to choose something. Feel free to get ideas and inspiration from each other as well; after all, in order for there to be empty space, there needs to be full space as well. One can't have a glass half empty without it also being half full ♥.

"Any questions before we begin ♥?"