single_man_tear

Class had been told to meet in the Danger Shop, which was set to look like a normal classroom, albeit one lacking both teachers.

Then with a dramatic crash of thunder and lightning, Isabela appeared in the doorway. "It was a dark and stormy night," she intoned, equally dramatically.

Aphra, meanwhile, entered via the window with an even more dramatic shattering of glass. "Then the ninjas attacked."

"You're probably wondering how we got here," they said in unison, and if anyone suspected the majority of their class prep time had been spent practising this, they'd be right.

"Introductions are important," Isabela told the class.

Aphra followed up with "You only get one chance to make a first impression, well unless you go into some serious identity hijinks, but that's a different lesson."

"Today we'd like you to find your favourite opening line from this list-" Isabela produced several thick stacks of paper and started passing them around. "- and build an introduction to the rest of the class around them."

It had taken Arden a few minutes to figure out what was off about the library when she'd walked in. Nothing seemed awry at first glance: the gremlins were there, but being an acceptable level of rowdy, the books were all in their shelves, save those she had to shelve, and there weren't any weird tableaux, weather patterns, or voices anywhere that she could spot.

So now Arden was twitchy for no good reason that she could spot. But she was definitely twitchy. Was this what going crazy felt like?

So, by this point, Adrian was pretty familiar with people turning into animals. Hell, he turned into hollyhocks for one ungodly reason or another. But waking up next to an animal when one was expecting to wake up next to one's girlfriend was an experience he had not yet had.

Well, not until Monday, anyway, when he woke up intending to ask Rey what she'd like for breakfast and instead found a little sandcat (sandkitten?) curled up on her pillow. Truly a heartmelting view, except, y'know, he'd been hoping to wake up next to a human.

The next few days had, of course, been a whirlwind of making sure that Rey had everything she needed, including her own little cushion and kitty blanket. Because it was winter and Rey hated the cold and he wasn't taking chances that her cat form was any more comfortable with it.

""We're at work right now, Rey," he reminded the cat who was cheerfully tumbling off of her cushion to go exploring. "You remember the rule, right? No attacking Pam's plants."

He was pretty sure she didn't speak English right now, and even more sure she wasn't listening at all even if she had, so hopefully people would forgive him if he was a little less attentive to their needs today in favor of keeping all plants and cats in the same condition as they'd been when they'd walked in.

The trip to the Bahamas (or the trip that had turned into a trip to the Bahamas) was over, as were the holidays, and Octavia was finally back behind the bar at the Devil's Nest.

Tiny was also still dressed overly warmly.

"It's not that cold."

Apparently people from post-apocalyptic worlds got no more of an opinion than vampires did. Octavia let it slide with half an eye roll, and busied herself with checking some of the new stock.

[ooc: Open, but slowwww.]

It was a grumpy, rumpled librarian that stomped his way into class after the students had arrived, bonelessly dropping into his chair and kicking his feet up on to his desk as he fished about in his coat for some cigarettes.

God, why the fuck had he been assigned first period? This was some sort of fucking revenge by that sodding moose, wasn't it? John hadn't started drinking yet, but this was fucking inhumane, to be sober at this hour. Bloody hell.

"Right, I'm Constantine, and you're most likely here because you're gullible and thinking this is going to be an easy 'A', a delinquent, or for some strange reason thought this was an academic class with philosophical value," he said, lighting up. "More the fools you, but I can work with it."

"So, let's start with the basics. A con is a game, one where hopefully you're the one writing the rules and the people around you are the pieces you're moving. It's a scam, a grift, a hustle, all those words designed to make it sound as shady as possible, although the number of reasons you could be running a con are infinite, at least when you're justifying it to yourself. It usually just boils down to one, very simple motivation: You want something," he continued bluntly. "So give me your name - or whatever the hell you want to be called for the purposes of this class, I don't care - and tell me one time you ran a scam on someone. Give me an idea of what you already know, kids, then we'll get on to Arts and Crafts."

...did he mean for that to sound slightly ominous? Maybe. It was too fucking early for this shite.

The Danger Shop was set up to resemble a large, sun-filled room with a number of comfortable looking meditation cushions set up in a rough semi-circle facing the front.On the whole the vibes were very calm and welcoming. Anakin had not picked this simulation.

Anakin, in fact, looked much less relaxed than the room should make him. "Welcome to the Jedi Temple," he said. "Apparently.'

Ahsoka surely didn't know any reason it could have made him off kilter. At all. "Also welcome to this semester's Ethics class," she said. "Given the influence of the Jedi in developing both Master Skywalker's and my own sense of ethics, it seemed a good place to start with for introductions."

"Ohh," Anakin said quietly. "Oh no."

He started to look at the door. "Is he coming?"

"You're going to have to be more specific," Ahsoka replied, because there were honestly so many people Anakin could be referring to, before addressing the class again. "But for now I'd like to tell you all about how Anakin and I met."

There was one "him" that loomed particularly large in Anakin's mind, but he wasn't going to manifest a holographic version of Obi-Wan by naming him. "You were very short then," he said instead.

Ahsoka had been tempted for the visual. "I was fourteen," she said, holding her hand about the height of where the tips of her montrals would've been. "I'd just been assigned as the Padawan learner of the infamous Hero Without Fear, who promptly hid behind his own master."

"In my defense, I was an idiot," Anakin said.

"And not all that much older than I was, when all's said and done," Ahsoka added. "But in the end, I don't think I would have made it with any other master . The point of this is that at some point you will fail, and what's important is what you do and what you afterwards."

Anakin nodded. "I got better," he said. "Mostly."

Mostly. Meanwhile Ahsoka was perfect and had no concerns or worries whatsoever about training her own Padawan.

Of course not! "Today's lesson is to make a good impression," Anakin said, nodding. "Introduce yourself in a way that won't make you cringe to think back on."

It's possible that I am the only one who likes this meme. But I am suddenly in a meme-ing mood, which like never happens, and this is the meme I wanted to do. And per

throughaphase's fabulous spreadsheet, we haven't done this one in nearly five years!

Friends, we are due.

Anyway:

Tell us about your character's journal name, what it means and how you decided on it?

Let's gooooooo!

It was a quiet night, so Kitty was at the bar, trying to scribble out some kind of plan for a class on glitter. Seriously, you'd think it'd be easier but not if you wanted it to be something beyond just arts and crafts.

And then all of a sudden... cat. Just a little tiny lion cub behind the bar in a pile of clothes.

Welp. The plan for class was now next week's problem.

[Its a mod Tino night!]

Once the students had assembled in the Home Ec room, Raiden greeted them all with a hearty, "Good morning! I'm Raiden, and this is the basic cooking class! If you wanted the advanced cooking class, it's on Monday and you already missed the first one, but I'm sure the moose can sort you out. So!" He clapped his hands together. It was loud. "Let's get started! Before we do anything involving sharp or hot objects, I'd like to know what I'm working with, and I'd like to make sure you all have full bellies. There's a ~~handwavey~~ selection of breakfast sandwiches over there," he said, waving toward a table where there were also carafes of coffee and orange juice, along with assorted other accoutrements to go with the sandwiches. Did you want hash browns? There were probably hash browns. "So please help yourselves, and then I'd like for everyone to introduce themselves and tell me about your current level of cooking skill, and your level of familiarity with the appliances and fixtures at the cooking stations. If you don't know what a stove is or how a sink works, I need to know so I can teach you. Let's get started!"

Class met -- as it would every week, most likely -- in the Danger Shop. (Gambit was basically guaranteed to call it the wrong thing every time he talked about it; why was it a "shop" here and not a "room"?) Today it was left neutral when the students arrived, the walls bare and a plain landlord-beige. Just a big empty space ready to be filled with possibility!

Or at least robot drones.

Gambit, suited up in his full working uniform, complete with ridiculous "X" branded accessories, stood leaning against his bo staff, and gave the students a cheeky wave as they entered, counting them up and looking for anyone who might be missing. "Bonjour," he greeted when it seemed everyone who was coming had arrived. "Some of you I know. Some I don't. I'm Gambit. King of Thieves and more-than-occasional professional superhero. I'm here to introduce you to some of the basic training drills I and my fellow X-Men do on a regular basis to keep ourselves in full fighting shape. To do it right, though, I gotta know what each of you can do. So that's what we're doing today."

He pushed himself upright from his lean, gave his staff a spin, then hit the button that caused it to collapse into something pocket-sized and tucked it away, replacing it with a deck of cards that he idly shuffled while he spoke.

"Your job today is to show off. Let us all see what you can do. Maybe you have special powers, like me. Maybe you don't, but you've got skills: great aim, say, or acrobatics. Maybe you just got a lot of cash to spend on goodies and want to use them to save the world. Superheroing, she takes all types."

He flicked the top card of his deck up between his index and middle fingers and charged it, causing it to glow a fabulous fuchsia that matched the breastplate of his armor. "Me, I make things go 'boom'." He flicked the card away. Sure it enough, it burst in a bright flash against the wall, leaving a scorch mark that would vanish once everyone's attention was elsewhere, thanks to the Danger Shop's safeties. He flicked another card up between his fingers and pointed it at one of the students. "How 'bout you?"

[open class is open!]

Hey there island! What up? It's me, ya girl Arden Finch, and welcome to this, my first radio broadcast of 2026! And hey, we're celebrating with plenty of notes today, even, though the porg is looking disappointed again, so I guess we're back to no dorm note.

We did have School, though! It's the first week, so you know what means. That's right! Introductions. Squirrel! had normal introductions: names, pronouns, reasons. Beginner Gourmet Cooking Techniques had introductions with French onion soup and coquilles St Jacques, and Tasks! had all the watermelon they could eat in one minute.

Again, no Dorms - sorry porg - but in Town, there was a lot of stuff happening. Professor Vess was at the Infinite Consortium, where she was visited by Sairis for tea and questions. Dr. Isley returned to Pick Your Poison and checked on all her plants. Vi found the Magpie Emporium full of orders from people who didn't realize that the store was closed. Steph came by with plenty of lunch to help her get through. Ray - Raiden - was at Pizza Planet making King Cake calzone and now I have so many questions. Professor James brought the remainder of his watermelon to the Clinic, and Officer McGarrett was trying to bribe his way into forgiveness from the Troopers at the Station. And, lastly, Mr. Northman was judgy at the Devil's Nest about Tiny's dressing for warmth.

Eric came into the bar to see Tiny dressed in a turtleneck with a scarf and a hat.

"It's not that cold," he proclaimed.

Tiny muttered something about Vikings not getting an opinion on the cold and poured himself a hot drink.

The Devil's Nest was open! Warm drinks were on special.

Steve returned to the office with a tan and a box of malasadas to make up for the tan.

The malasadas disappeared, but the Troopers weren't forgiving him for the tan.

The Trooper Station was open! New year, new crimes?

Stark's shift was starting later today since he now had a class Monday mornings. That was fine. The clinic was generally quiet during his shifts (and other days as well).

He still brought the usual coffees with him. Caffeine was important to the wellbeing of all clinic staff. But new today was nearly all of a watermelon. Because he barely had time to eat any of it during his class activity.

"Can crabs eat watermelon?" he asked, glancing at Stabby who waa making grabby-claw motions."a little is probably fine."

He handed over a little bit of watermelon to the crab and then sat down with his coffee.

The clinic was open, smelling of watermelon and still decorated for the holidays, the crab was enjoying some refreshing fruit, and the alien waa in.

The Christmas decorations had come down at Pizza Planet, and Raiden felt like it was too early to decorate for Valentine's Day. This was why this stretch of winter sucked, he supposed.

Oh, well. At least they still had pizza!

Specials
Roasted Grape & Brie Pizza
Black-Eyed Peas, Collard Greens, & Sausage Pizza
King Cake Calzones

...okay, technically it was a day early for king cake, but Raiden wasn't much of one for rules. Pizza Planet is open!

Hannibal smiled at them. "Welcome, both of you, to Beginning Gourmet Cooking Techniques. This is a small class, then, but that simply gives us more time to focus on individual strengths and weaknesses. So, since today is for introductions, let us do that. I already know who you are, but I should like to know if there are dietary restrictions or preferences you have. Any allergies, religious objections, or so forth. Also, please let me know what experience you have in cooking and what you hope to take away from this class."

He nodded to the table at the front of the class. "And while we're getting to know each other, please feel free to help yourself to coffee or tea and to some French onion soup and coquilles St Jacques.

Hope neither of you cared about your cholesterol.

"Hello." Jon sighed. "I will freely admit this is another instance of 'the moose decides Mr. Sims needs to teach something ridiculous'. At least it's not tea again. I suppose I'll be getting together focusing techniques and such in the future, but conveniently, the first day is generally for introductions, and since we're the first class, you can't even have gotten sick of them yet."

He gestured. "So, just in case you don't know each other, let's do introductions. I am Jonathan Sims, he/him. I am from England in the present day. I've been teaching here for a few years, and generally enjoying it despite the moose's best attempts. Now you." He gestured at the first student.

The students in this class had been told to meet Kitty at the Danger Shop, which was made up to look like a house. They were outside at the moment, where the weather was nice, because they'd had to suffer through the picnic and that was enough.

"Good morning, and welcome to Tasks!" Kitty greeted them. "This is a class where I'm going to give you a task to do, and you have to figure out how to complete it in your own way. Vague, I know. That's because I'm trying for the element of surprise. Depending on the task, you might have the whole house and grounds at your disposal, maybe. You'll also be competing individually, but either in staggered times or all at once in different rooms so that you can't influence each other. At the end of class I'll let you all watch back everybody's turn.

"You'll score points for how you do on the task each week, and on the last day, the winner gets a special prize. For now, though, I've got some stylish coveralls for everybody, and you have any questions, save it for the lab."

The break had been relaxing and refreshing for Vi, which made for an extra sense of chipperness as she opened the store.

It even lasted as she started going through the stack of orders from people who hadn't seemed to be aware that the store had been closed.

Saffron had been aware though. Aware that she'd been cruelly abandoned (with near daily visits that somehow didn't count), by her heartless humans who weren't even sorry.

Pam had spent the holiday weeks either doing the last few things she could for the swamp while she waited for winter to pass, or spending quality time with Harley. She had no regrets. But now that it was the new year, she did - finally - need to come in and check on her store.

"I know, I know, Adrian took good care of you, but let me check the nutrients in your soil for a minute anyway..."

Well, check on the many plants in her store, going from one to the other, mainly. Still, the door was unlocked, and the shelves were stacked, so... the store was open.

[[ open! ]]

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Dean Winchester

December 2024

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Page generated Jan. 7th, 2026 12:41 pm

A G.E.D.

And a Give 'Em Hell Attitude

Reading

Creative Writing [Wednesday, Period Two]

Fandom Library, Wednesday, January 7th

Pick Your Poison, Wednesday

The Devil's Nest, Wednesday Evening

The Long Con, Wednesday, Period 1 [1/7]

Ethics, Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Meme: What's in a name?

Caritas- Tuesday

Feeding Yourself 101, Tuesday, First Period

Basic Training, Tuesday

Fandom Radio, Tuesday, January 6th

The Devil's Nest, Monday Night

Trooper Station, Monday, January 5, 2026

Fandom Clinic, Monday 1/5

Pizza Planet, Monday

Beginning Gourmet Cooking Techniques, period two

Squirrel! Period one

Tasks!- Monday- 3rd period

The Magpie Emporium, Monday [05/01]

Pick Your Poison, Monday

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December 2024

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