Reading

Entry tags:

Pick Your Poison, Wednesday

The phone was ringing off the hook today, but the conversations were more and more confusing.

"Is my refrigerator running?" he repeated. "What fridge? Do you mean the one in my Grove or the one here in the shop? Hello?"

"Do I have Prince Albert in a can? What's that? Is that some kind of body wash? Hello? Hello?"

"You're looking for...you said his first name was Ollie? Last name Tabooger? Excuse me, is there a Mr. Tabooger in the store? Mr. Tabooger? No, I don't think that there's anyone here by this name. Have you tried--hello?"

This is what happens when you were raised in a forest with a coven that pretty universally hated April Fools. You spent the whole day bewildered.

Entry tags:

library

Fandom Library, Wednesday, April 1st

Arden glared at the gremlins who were having a hilarious time. Today she'd come in to find: googly eyes stuck everywhere; all the office equipment vacuum-sealed, especially anything with an edge; not only were books moved around but they were also put back backwards, their pages showing instead of their spines; Vaseline had been smeared on various door handles, and all the clocks had been changed to random times.

"I hate this day and I hate you," she muttered, trying to force open the vacuum-sealed scissors so she could get the pens free.

Fandom Radio, Wednesday 4/1

No, I didn’t find any of it funny. Not even a little. You’re terrible.

*tiny squirrel snickers*

All of you.

*trilling*

Not you.

Right. It’s Wednesday, the squirrels are being absolutely ridiculous today and the first set of notes didn’t even make sense. Neither did the second. I think I have the real notes from yesterday now. I hope.

At the school we had Feeding Yourself 101 making food from…whatever was in the fridge. That seems fair. Though I hope they had a better selection than I do sometimes. And then in Ethics there was talk of artificial intelligence and robots.

And, oh, I have something from the dorms?
*excited trilling*
*snickering*
*sad Porg noises*
Leroy, that was mean.

I do have a couple of things from the town. Sairis was in Liliana’s shop with the door open. I hope the chair didn’t escape and eat anyone. It didn’t eat Leroy. Unfortunately.

*offended chittering*

You started it. Hush.

Right. And Kitty was at Caritas without Tino again. The squirrels have come up with a very long list of explanations where he might have gone. I don’t think any of them could be true. Well. Maybe. It’s hard to say.

*chittering*

No, I do not believe he’s a hero in his homeland and had to go save the world. No one would believe that.

It’s best to be suspicious today, I think.

Glitter. -Wednesday- 3rd period

They were in the classroom again, where the desks were pushed together with a bunch of supplies in the middle for people to use.

"Today we're making bath bombs," Kitty announced. "Which are different than glitter bombs in that they're contained, and not weaponry. You just put them in the tub and relax. I have a recipe here, you can use whatever supplies but maybe don't go too heavy on fragrance."

How were you supposed to get the glitter of your skin and tub? Details.

Entry tags:

creative writing

Creative Writing [Wednesday, Period Two]

Your teachers were here this week. Twice in a row, even.

"They say that writers should focus on the three 'r's." Well, that was an interesting moment of deja vu. "But given that when we looked them up, only one of them starts with that letter, that's arguably dubious advice."

"In any case, you could probably all do with a movie," Aphra, who seemed exceedingly pleased with herself, said. "I know I could."

Were certain people taking advantage of the date to get out of coming up with a different lesson? Quite possibly.

Entry tags:

The Boardwalk, Tuesday Night

It was finally warm enough out for Gregorith to go for a walk after dark. He suspected it was a trap, that the temperature tomorrow or the next day would plummet again, but for now it was quite pleasant.

So after enjoying a meal, a succulent Mexican meal, he sat on a bench with his leftover nachos, silently daring the seagulls to try to steal any.

He would however be willing to share with any passers by.

Entry tags:

ethics

Fandom Radio, Friday, March 26, 2026

"This is an ethics class," Anakin said, "and there are new technologies on this planet that take some serious thought before you use them."

"Not least because they pose a serious insult to a number of old friends of ours who are actual artificial intelligences," Asohka added.

"Threepio would never behave like this," Anakin agreed. "From not knowing the number of r's in strawberry to making up legal precedents to win an argument, this current version of artificial intelligence is a solution to a problem no one really had. However, no one actually wants to write cover letters. So argue both sides for us: how could you ethically use artificial intelligence? Is it even possible?"

Entry tags:

cooking

Feeding Yourself 101, Tuesday, First Period

Raiden was late today, because he had only just realized it was Tuesday.

Actually, he had walked into Pizza Planet thinking it was Monday and been greeted with, "Uh...don't you have a class right now?" It was fine. Everything was fine.

"Hey, so, your assignment for today is to put together a meal from whatever ~~handwavily~~ is in the fridge and cabinets at your station, and then explain to me why it's acceptable. It's, uh, a practical application or whatever. Go!"

Nailed it.

Entry tags:

Infinite Consortium, Tuesday

Today was warm and sunny, so Sairis propped the door open as he did a bit of cleaning. Not that the place needed much, but it was something to do, and it was soothing work. Then he took some time to learn what some of the newer artifacts were. There were things he'd never remotely heard of, and he was definitely taking notes.

The shop was open!

Entry tags:

Caritas- Tuesday

Tino was still out. He hadn't requested vacation or anything, he just texted Kitty again to say he wouldn't be in. Which was fine- he really was here all the time, he could take a break.

That did not stop Kitty from spending her shift making up reasons he could be out. Family reunion? Pet illness? Kidnapped in a foreign country? Dead in a ditch somewhere? The possibilities were endless.

[Open!]

Fandom Radio, Tuesday, March 31st

What up, island, it's me, ya girl Arden Finch, on this last day of March. Hopefully we'll soon be through this season of roller coaster temperatures and into civilized weather. I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I am ready to embrace my natural state of cut-offs and tanktops.

Anyway, the news! School did school things, with Squirrel! organizing systems down in the basement of City Hall. Which again meant that I could just zone out to music, so that was pretty chill. Beginning Gourmet Cooking Techniques spoiled us by bringing us to Baltimore in August, where I got to enjoy a nice relaxing hour of warmth and also shopping for veggies, but mostly warmth. Tasks had to, uh, take pictures of their hands? And knock over rubber ducks. If there's any relation between the two, I do not know it.

No Dorms, and very little in Town, with Professor Vess kicking someone out of the Infinite Consortium for trying to sell her magical cards of some variety. Huh. Weird.

Anyway, that's all I've got, so this is ya girl, Arden Finch, signing off, and leaving you with this generation's Jolene: Gabriela by KATSEYE.

Tasks!- Monday- 3rd period

Today was kind of a twofer, in that upon getting to class today, each student would have a photo taken of their hand. No explanation. Trust the process.

And then it was off to the backyard simulation, where they got to stand behind a velvet rope, with a wall about twenty feet in front of them. Atop that wall: a long line of rubber ducks.

Knock over all of the rubber ducks. You must stay behind the rope. No powers allowed. Fastest wins.

Entry tags:

kitty pryde

Fandom Radio- Monday, March 30

Morning, everyone. This is Kitty with yesterday's news. Bet it's two notes!

At the museum we have Gregorith trying to bring the warm via Jimmy Buffet, and Rey had some sword fighting gremlins to deal with at Stark's. I actually want to see that for some reason?

Anyway, that's it, the squirrels are still slacking, see you later.

Entry tags:

cooking

Beginning Gourmet Cooking Techniques, period two

This week, the class had received handwavy e-mail messages to meet at Portalocity. When they got there, Hannibal greeted them and handed them each a list of fruits and vegetables. "I have this as a spreadsheet online if you would like, but sometimes paper is easier." Also, he was old. "Today, we will be covering selecting good produce. The first lesson to buying decent fruits and vegetables is, whenever possible, to buy things which are organic, grown locally, and currently in season. It's healthier and tastes much better. That said, I realize that you may not always have that option. There are some foods that buying organic is more important for than others, due to the amount of chemicals they retain or the types used."

He nodded at the paper. "In addition, as you will see, there are certain times in Baltimore during which very little is in season. Therefore, we will be traveling to Baltimore in August, so as to actually find something more than apples and mushrooms."

He held up the list. "I've included some simple reminders about how to choose the best of each; I will go into more detail once we arrive, and feel free to take notes. As our class activity today, instead of cooking, you will be choosing your own produce to bring back from a local farmers' market. At this particular market, most things are grown organically, and should be marked as such. Stay close and pay attention while I orient you, and then find the produce I assign."

He smirked. "It's in your best interest to perform well; once you've completed the assignment, you are welcome to relax in the August weather. If you need help, I will be pleased to answer any questions. You may also ask the farmers, of course."

He waited to see if there were any current questions, then nodded them through the portal.

"I would like you each to pick out one head of spinach, one bunch of grapes, one eggplant, several tomatoes, a few onions, several apples, a couple of parsnips, and one other item of your choice."

When you've all chosen your produce, Hannibal will grade you on your choices, and then you can all relax in the August sun!

He'll let you taste what you chose, what he chose, and some of the same items of produce he picked at random from the non-organic, non-local supermarket. (Feel free to not taste a difference and make him feel sorry for you!)

Entry tags:

Infinite Consortium, Monday

Liliana blinked slowly at the earnest young man in front of her, not unlike a cat watching human nonsense and feeling vastly superior to it all. "We don't buy, we sell," she explained, cutting through his impassioned diatribe. "We especially don't buy--what are you attempting to foist off on me, exactly?" She'd tuned him out rather quickly, yes.

"Magic cards!" the young man insisted.

"You can keep your magical cards, I am not a purveyor of cheap tricks and legerdemain," Liliana said, pointedly picking up her book again. That was your cue to leave, youngling.

But, of course he did not, continuing to harass her about this sorcerous deck of his or whatever, at least until she had her haunted armor bodily pick him up and remove him from the shop.

"Everyone had better be happy about this," Liliana informed the nearest rodent, writing this all down. "I could have had another shop zombie instead."

Anyway, back to her book.

Squirrel! Period one

Class today had been asked to meet at City Hall, where Jon met them looking a little extra rumpled. And possibly with a bite out of one sleeve.

"Hello." Jon looked around suspiciously. "Right. Well, if we have no more interruptions from certain parties this week, we can continue with class. One technique that is supposed to help with focus is organization. Obviously, organizing your own things is the idea, but I thought we could hone our techniques by helping out here first."

He led them to a little antechamber outside the basement where he'd put a number of boxes on old tables. "Part of organizing is also taking things in small bites," he paused to wince at his sleeve, "so we're not tackling the entire set of files, just a few of them."

Also, Jesse had vetoed students going into the basement for reasons Jon now understood. Honestly, he had had a bit of a flashback to the archives for a moment, which was pleasant for nobody.

"So, let's try some of our focus techniques - listen to music, do a little at a time, meditate in breaks, whatever you like - and let's see how many files we can organize."

Entry tags:

$sparky,
rey

Stark Industries- Sunday

The gremlins were sword fighting with coffee stirrers. It had been amusing when Rey had stopped to get her coffee, but now it had spread into Rey's area.

Now it was annoying, and she'd had to ask multiple times for them to at least let her work. So far, it wasn't happening.

[Open!]

Current Music: A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffet

Entry tags:

Fandom Museum, Sunday March 29

"Mortal weather is bullshit." Gregorith grumbled. At least it wasn't quite as cold as it was yesterday morning but this flip flopping of temperatures had him making copious notes on the proper way to treat corporate CEO's (who he was given to understand were at least partially responsible for climate change) when they arrived in Hell.

On the other hand maybe having someone with "boots on the ground" so to speak was a good thing. It was wonderful that the Universe did the heavy lifting when it came to judgement, but some first hand experience with the results of rampant greed and cruelty was giving him an all new perspective.

"Okay enough of that." he thought out loud. "Euterpe, play some Jimmy Buffet if you please." (He'd brought a device from home that functioned like an Alexa.)

A song about longing for the tropics fit his mood perfectly and accompanied him as he double checked the display upstairs commemorating some of the vacations Fandom students had taken.

Fandom Radio, Saturday, March 28

Good morning, everyone! I am Miss Lydia Bennet, you know why you are here: you're secretly as nosy as I am, aren't you? Let's get on with it.

At the school, Overcoming Obstacles had to put shoes on dogs, and I suspect the obstacle of the day is 'the dogs' unwillingness to wear shoes.' Combat 101 started on the bow, and good news! It does not sound as if anyone was shot.

*chittering*

Yes, I know the Danger Shop has safeguards, but I don't trust people. Cupcakes of the World(s) learned of the cupcakes of Ukraine. They've got honey in them! In the town, Mr. Henry of Skalitz mused on the weather at the foundry, Mr. Dooley could be found at the park taking photographs, and at the Trooper Station Detective Watts received flowers from Mr. Grant. Thus end my notes, so I shall be off for a cup of tea. Farewell, dear listeners!

Cupcakes of the World(s), Friday 3/27, Period 3

“Welcome to another week of cupcakes,” Stark said. “Today’s cupcakes come from Ukraine. Which is…here, on the map.” He pointed to where he’d added another little cupcake sticker on the map.

“These cupcakes are full of honey in the cake and in the frosting. They're like some cakes also from Ukraine. I have a recipe for those as well, if anyone is interested. There won't be enough time today but i may try to make one another time…”

“Does anyone have anything to add about Ukraine or the recipes or anything else or shall we get to baking?”