Fandom High School

Class today met in the Danger Shop, which had been made to look like a very nice dining room, with a gourmet kitchen at one end in case anybody needed to make any last-minute adjustments to their offerings.

"Welcome to our final class," Hannibal greeted them with a smile. "I hope you've all brought your signature items. Today we'll be eating them. There will be no judging, only sharing these things and our stories about why these things are important to us and what meaning they may have."

He waved at his own offering. "I have made croque monsieur. My parents passed away when I was young, and I lived in an orphanage for some time. When my uncle adopted me and moved me to Paris, one of the first things I was given to eat was this. It's a kind of comfort food - a sandwich with ham and gruyère cheese, on good bread, with a béchamel sauce poured over it. Not terribly glamorous, but it held great significance to me."

He sat and nodded at them to do the same, then waited for their dishes and explanations.

Hannibal nodded to everyone as they settled in. The front of the room featured a table with a number of identical silver cloches over dishes.

When everyone was ready and listening, Hannibal stood behind the table and spoke.

"While I like to think that food can truly be an art form and a beautiful thing, I am well aware that not everybody shares that opinion. Nor does everybody have that option. Art, preference, culture - many things affect how we think of food. One of those is economics. Availability." He looked at them all seriously. "Not everybody gets the best food. Not everybody gets food they can eat. Some people are lucky if they get anything."

He gestured at the dishes. "So. Each of you gets one of these covered dishes. No peeking. When you each have your own, we'll uncover them all. If you don't like what you have, feel free to try to get something else. Barter, bargain, trade, give away, or steal, whatever you like, remembering that you may still need to see each other later. Consider this a hands-on experience."


[OOC: If you play and want to do it randomly, just click a dish below and see what you get. But feel free to check them all out and mod your results for the most interesting playing. :) ]

"Good afternoon," Hannibal said, nodding to the class. "Today we continue our discussion of what is and isn't food, and how our preferences are formed."

He waved toward the table behind him, which held pairs of dishes this time. "We've got an assortment of foods and beverages today, organized into pairs. You may choose only one from each pair - you cannot have both. You may choose neither, if you prefer. But in any case, you must explain your choice. Why do you prefer the option you've chosen - taste? Nostalgia? Curiosity? Feel free to debate with each other as well, and ask each other or me questions. Remember, there are no wrong answers - it's reasoning and thought we're looking for."

Class had been asked to meet in the Danger Shop; when they arrived there, they would find Hannibal leaning up against a table at the front of the room; the table had a number of dishes on it, each neatly covered with a lid or cloth napkin. He nodded and smiled at the students he knew, and made note of the ones he did not. The room was set up with a number of comfortable chairs, some at tables and some not, a couch or two, and even a beanbag. When they had all arrived and settled in, he began.

"Good afternoon. I am Dr. Lecter; this is The Philosophy of Food. I trust you are all in the correct place." He called up a syllabus on a screen at the front of the room. "I will send you each a copy of this. You may sit in a chair, or on the floor, or wander the room; whatever makes you comfortable, so long as you pay attention." You could tell a lot about people from how they chose to interact with their space.

"You will not need to take any notes, although you may do so if you choose. As you can see," he nodded at the syllabus, "there will be a final project, no exams or quizzes. I have only two requirements for our classes: one, you must participate." He indicated the dishes. "You may choose to eat or decline anything presented here. You may choose to eat none of it; while I might be disappointed, it will in no way affect your grade. However, you must have opinions and speak them, and possibly be prepared to defend them." He smiled.

"The second rule – there will be no judging. There will undoubtedly be things you do not think of as edible, or even that you may have a cultural or religious bias against. There may be practices in the raising or creation of food which you may find objectionable. I expect you to say just that, and to be prepared to explain why. There will be no use of the term 'disgusting', no 'ew's or 'gross'es." He frowned. "That will affect your grade if I hear it, and quite negatively."

He made sure they understood, and nodded. "Now, introductions I believe are traditional, but I would appreciate a little more as well. Please tell me your name, where you are from, and any allergies – food or otherwise – and dietary restrictions you may have. It is my goal to make you think about your food and to expand your horizons, not to kill you from anaphylaxis." Though he did have medicines just in case; he'd never lost a student unintentionally yet, and had no plans of starting now.

A message was sent to all the students today:

Apparently the portals aren't working, so I won't be able to get there for class today, and if I could, we couldn't go anywhere. Enjoy your free time.

Hannibal was an optimist.

Hannibal greeted his students as usual at Portalocity, then nodded and started. "This week seems...odd, but unpredictable. So, we will start with dinner, in Lima, Peru. That will make four of the seven continents of Earth we've seen so far. The primary language there is Spanish; I speak that, and if any of you speak it as well, please speak up so the others will know they can use you as a resource. Peru's standard cuisine owes much to any number of immigrant groups in the area; the restaurant we'll be visiting pares down some of those influences and focuses on local ingredients and flavors from the Amazon forest. The chef has researched quite a bit, and formed relationships with local suppliers that enable him to offer a wide variety."

The portal opened, and they would step through into a wide, sunny street in front of the restaurant.

"After this," he informed them, "we will be visiting the Mercado Central, the central market, where you may find everything from clothes to meat on sale. Also, I am told, pickpockets, so keep an eye on your valuables." He'd mostly be watching to see if any of said thieves were bold enough to try him. He'd be impressed if they managed it.

Hannibal nodded and greeted the students at Portalocity.

"Today's Fandom seems fairly normal, although apparently we're in for another nasty one later," hey, he listened to radio, "so we'll be going on another general run. Today we're going to Tokyo, Japan. Seafood is much more prominent in Japanese cuisine than in the French we had last week, as are rice and noodles; the sauces tend to be lighter. We'll be dining at a lovely restaurant we've been to before - Mikawa Zezankyo, a restaurant that serves tempura - seafood and vegetables, deep fried. Specifically, this one serves food in the style called Edomae tempura - tempura in the style of the Edo period, approximately one hundred fifty years ago. The chef uses traditional ingredients and techniques that would not have been out of place then."

Their portal opened and he ushered them all through to a small, mostly residential street, where they stood outside an unassuming door. "Chef Tetsuya Saotome prepares all the food himself and will be standing in front of you, so I trust you will all use your best behavior," he told them. "I will demonstrate the use of chopsticks to those of you who've never used them, and I trust your classmates who know how will also help. Also, when we enter, you'll need to remove your shoes and leave them by the door; it's tradition and proper etiquette. If you have any questions, please ask me, as the chef and his assistants do not speak English.

"After that, we will be making a trip to Nissin World Delicatessen. They have foods from around the world, as well as a very good wine selection should our water turn unpotable, and a sizeable garden shop."

"Welcome back," Hannibal said to the students once they arrived in the Danger Shop. "Today is our last day, and that means our final. Ordinarily we would have been working on this throughout the term, and I would require that you cook it yourself. However, the island's whims being what they are..." He spread his hands.

"So, for your final today, use this room's abilities to help you create a food with special meaning to you. Serve it to the rest of us, and explain it - what makes this food special, what gives it its meaning, what the flavors are, and what setting you would choose for it. Tell us all about it."

The room was back to normal this week, and Hannibal was grateful for it. After one week of swimming out his windows to get anywhere, and another of trying not to smell anything, he would easily take being grumped at by his cat.

This time the front of the room featured a table with a number of identical silver cloches over dishes.

When everyone was settled and listening, Hannibal stood behind the table and spoke.

"While I like to think that food can truly be an art form and a beautiful thing, I am well aware that not everybody shares that opinion. Nor does everybody have that option. Art, preference, culture - many things affect how we think of food. One of those is economics. Availability." He looked at them all seriously. "Not everybody gets the best food. Not everybody gets food they can eat. Some people are lucky if they get anything."

He gestured at the dishes. "So. Each of you gets one of these. No peeking. When you each have your own, we'll uncover them all. If you don't like what you have, feel free to try to get something else. Barter, bargain, trade, give away, or steal, whatever you like, remembering that you may still need to see each other later. Consider this a hands-on experience."


[OOC: If you play and want to do it randomly, just click a dish below and see what you get. But feel free to check them all out and mod your results for the most interesting playing. :) ]

Hannibal welcomed everyone to class just a little more studiously calm than usual. And with wet hair. Swimming to school had not been in his plans. Still, he was determined to fulfill his obligation.


"Good afternoon. I hope you made it here without too much problem. Today we continue our discussion of what is and isn't food, and how our preferences are formed."

He waved toward the table behind him, which held pairs of dishes this time. "We've got an assortment of foods and beverages today. You may choose only one from each pair - you cannot have both. You may choose neither, if you prefer. But in any case, you must explain your choice. Why do you prefer the option you've chosen - taste? Nostalgia? Curiosity? Feel free to debate with each other as well, and ask each other or me questions. Remember, there are no wrong answers - it's reasoning and thought we're looking for."

Class had been asked to meet in the Danger Shop; when they arrived there, they would find Hannibal leaning up against a table at the front of the room; the table had a number of dishes on it, each neatly covered with a lid or cloth napkin. He nodded and smiled at the students he knew, and made note of the ones he did not. The room was set up with a number of comfortable chairs, some at tables and some not, a couch or two, and even a beanbag. When they had all arrived and settled in, he began.

"Good afternoon. I am Dr. Lecter; this is The Philosophy of Food. I trust you are all in the correct place." He called up a syllabus on a screen at the front of the room. "I will send you each a copy of this. You may sit in a chair, or on the floor, or wander the room; whatever makes you comfortable, so long as you pay attention." You could tell a lot about people from how they chose to interact with their space.

"You will not need to take any notes, although you may do so if you choose. As you can see," he nodded at the syllabus, "there will be a final project, no exams or quizzes. I have only two requirements for our classes: one, you must participate." He indicated the dishes. "You may choose to eat or decline anything presented here. You may choose to eat none of it; while I might be disappointed, it will in no way affect your grade. However, you must have opinions and speak them, and possibly be prepared to defend them." He smiled.

"The second rule – there will be no judging. There will undoubtedly be things you do not think of as edible, or even that you may have a cultural or religious bias against. There may be practices in the raising or creation of food which you may find objectionable. I expect you to say just that, and to be prepared to explain why. There will be no use of the term 'disgusting', no 'ew's or 'gross'es." He frowned. "That will affect your grade if I hear it, and quite negatively."

He made sure they understood, and nodded. "Now, introductions I believe are traditional, but I would appreciate a little more as well. Please tell me your name, where you are from, and any allergies – food or otherwise – and dietary restrictions you may have. It is my goal to make you think about your food and to expand your horizons, not to kill you from anaphylaxis." Though he did have medicines just in case; he'd never lost a student unintentionally yet, and had no plans of starting now.