Correspondence Scholarship, Class One [Tuesday Morning, June 10th]

[theexdisgracedacademic]

It took a while to find the classroom. The halls of Benthic were in turns stately and wild, and to catch snippets of conversation is to risk getting drawn into conversation (risky), or someone else's research project (perilous in the extreme). The little slip of paper with the classroom listing was even worse. The number didn't relate to any floor or door, and those that managed to get their nerves up enough to ask for help were treated to scornful chuckles.

"I knew that class was one big prank," chortled a passing member of the Stoats' Club, "even ol' Percy Winship-Widgon wouldn't fall for it, and he's only got half a lobe left to spare!"

As the starting hour for the class drew closer, and whispering doubts threatened to increase in volume, something important clicked into place. The classroom number might not exist on the walls of the building. But it did correspond to the table of contents in one of the many volumes of required reading. And that pointed to a section that referenced a paper that was also in the course materials, a seemingly unrelated architectural discussion of Benthic's construction…

Ah. The dome at the top of the building. Most students hadn't known that there was a room there. Had there ever been a room there?

Regardless. Members of the class made their way higher and deeper into the center of the great structure, and finally came upon a door, labeled with a lead plaque, and the numbers for the much-sought classroom. To squint at it, one would notice the numbers going funny for a moment. Perhaps they didn't look the same to other people. Though to look around, each member of the class would have noticed that they'd made the trek alone. There were no other people to see these numbers.

The room itself was too big for such a small class; three rows of university benches with shelf desks sat in the middle, facing a lecturing podium and a freestanding chalkboard. There were at least four independent layers to the board, and it wrapped a semi-circle around the benches, closing the space off into a much less agoraphobic classroom area.

Atop each bench were sets of goggles, and several silver atomizers. Atop the lecturing podium was a congratulatory fungal bouquet. If your fungiography isn't too rusty, those were ink-caps for success in scholarly ventures, amanita virosa for permanent consequences, and false-blemmigans to wrap the entire thing in a fantastically sarcastic tone of voice.

Class hadn't started yet, and the professor was absent. Students had a little time to introduce themselves to the others.

Was it true that if the professor arrived late, everyone was allowed to go? Surely it couldn't be, in a university setting. But whether it was mis or good fortune, there came the sound of yelling from the hallway.

The voice was a very unpleasant one. In some, it might've inspired fear. But any ear could detect an uncanny edge to the high timbre. "-certain that you could find a last-minute replacement!" 

"There aren't any others with your qualifications!" The second speaker's voice had a posh, Etonian lilt, and though he'd raised his volume, his emotions weren't half as compromised. He seemed patient, bordering on amused. "I promised to attempt to find another professor, but it's a very delicate matter-"

"What nonsense!"

"As you say."

"Absolute rot!"

"Indeed."

A sigh. "It's in here, is it?"

"Yes."

A louder, more beleaguered sigh. "Don't think that this is the end of this. We'll speak later."

"Good fortune and happy teaching."

"The next living creature to wish me that is going to learn their first lesson, and it'll be a keen one, I'll have you know that!"

Somewhere behind the chalkboard, a door slammed, and a pair of heeled boots tapped quickly toward the students. Then, a billowing silhouette of opulent white fabric rounded the corner, as their professor strode into view. Threatening a height of seven feet and staring from behind a semiotic monocle and a shock of gray hair, The Ex-Disgraced Academic all but stomped over to the lectern. Their eye seized upon the fungal bouquet, and their long, clawed fingers seized upon the accompanying card. With two passes of a roving eye, they found immense displeasure with whatever was written. They removed a pen from their breast pocket, scribbled something onto the paper. 

Then, the entire bouquet went up in sudden, twenty-foot flames, nearly high enough to singe the domed ceiling above them.

As the welcome gift quickly reduced itself to ashes, The Academic took chalk to chalkboard, and addressed the class.

“Well! You’ve all successfully found yourselves in Benthic’s 1899 summer course on The Correspondence. I will be your Professor-” and here, chalk tapping, The Ex-Disgraced Academic wrote their full name on the board. It was a distinguished and somewhat melodic arrangement of syllables, as instantly memorable to the students as it was illegible to their players. “But you may all conform to the decency of good manners, and either refer to me as ‘Professor,’ or ‘Emissary.’”

This second title, they underlined twice, with great relish. “It would happen to be this duty upon which I ought to be spending my time focusing. Vital matters across the sea and on the roof wait for no man. But the Dean is currently embroiled in a-“ the Academic scrawled the words: 

PHALLUS-MEASURING-CONTEST

“-with members of the Ministry of Public Decency, and this class is the result!”

It was only at this point that The Academic turned around, to actually look at their students. The sneer wasn't a particularly kind reaction. “The study of this language is only nominally legal. I have been given impeccably strict definitions as to the limits of what may be taught in this class. Which brings us to the prerequisites before we begin The Correspondence in earnest:”

The Academic waved a gloved hand, signalling all the nerds of the class to open their note-books and begin the note-taking.

“Safety Precaution the First: A law is only a law if it is enforceable! Thus, you are highly advised to keep your course notes under lock and key. Anything you learn here might be made retroactively illegal.”

“Safety Precaution the Second! Correspondence symbols are highly flammable! The more flammable the surface, the fewer symbols a material can hold before combusting. Lead can hold precisely seven symbols. So imagine how careful you will have to be with untreated paper.

“Safety Precaution the Third! The threat will come for you-“ the next words rendered in large, block letters, “-IN THE NIGHT. If your housing is anywhere near a sorrow-spider clutch, start sleeping with an eye mask, as well. No more counting on your roommate in the lower bunk to have their eyes taken first: the study of The Correspondence will make your eyeballs like catnip to the sorry scoundrels.”

“And that brings us to the last and greatest peril to your freshly opened eyes. Safety Precaution the Fourth: When practicing, from now on, you will always wear your goggles. It doesn’t matter whether you are crafting poetry or practicing penmanship. You never write a stroke without eye protection, because you are always one mis-stroke away from permanent injury.” The Academic tapped a claw along the edge of their Semiotic Monocle. "I never take mine off. Easily solved."

The Academic tossed the chalk aside, and returned to the lectern.

“Today will be a warm-up. Practice writing sentences in English with no more than four words. One sentence per page, and do not use the back. I want twenty sentences from each student by the end of the period. If you notice another student writing a fifth word on any paper…” The Academic picked up the nearest atomizer, regarded the smoldering wreck of the bouquet…

…and then let loose on the nearest student; spraying water from the atomizer straight into their face.

“…douse them.”

The Academic placed the bottle back down, careless and casual as though they'd done no more than continue talking. "Get to it!"

As the class drew to a close, not a single eye was watching the clock more closely than the unblinking pupil of the professor. The second hand hit twelve, and they were to their feet.

“Well? Off with you! Haven’t you anywhere better to be? I certainly do.”

Comments

Class has begun

[theexdisgracedacademic]

Come up with sentences that are no more than four words. You of course don’t actually need to write twenty real sentences.

If your character slips up and writes a longer sentence, then it's an invitation to get sprayed by another student. The atomizers have been modified to behave less like a perfume mister, and more like a club soda bottle picked up by a cartoon character.

Re: Class has begun

[ticktopis_observatorium]

"The assignment is easy enough", the Chimeric Professor thought. Just a bit of practice in the art of prudence when handling highly flammable sigils and learn how not to overexert the support. Correspondent 101. So they start:

1. "All shall be well", of course.
2. "Look always to love", valuable advice.
3. "Long live the Fifth", that would be nice.
4. "The Correspondence catches fire", theme-appropriate.
5. "The Correspondence IS fire", emphatic correction.
6. "Yes or No question", always a favourite of all professors.
7. "Please don't douse me", when being closely watched by a companion.
8. "Please if you may", manners above all.
9. "Are question marks words?", rhetorical question, they know perfectly well they are. Douse them!
10. "Question Marks Are Words", written in the 'bored' caligraphy of one punished with writing several times.
11. "The weather is nonexistent", many times heard around London, probably.
12. "My tailor is rich", mandatory honor to the English teachers from Spain.
13. (to be continued)

20. "Did I do well", risking the Emissary's wrath, at the lack of a question mark.

Re: Class has begun

[theexdisgracedacademic]

The Academic realized that regrettably, they couldn't lead the entire class from the podium. At some point, it would be necessary to walk amongst the students. Oh, the indignity of it all.

Passing by the Chimeric Professor's work did tease a smile out of them, and number nine elicited a full laugh. "You aren't entirely incorrect." they tapped a long claw at 9 and 10, "Punctuation is something for which we'll need to account later. But we do have time to warm up before events reach a dangerous temperature."

They uncapped their own pen, found the bottom of the paper, and added: "Indeed; quite admirably accomplished."

Re: Class has begun

[ticktopis_observatorium]

This action earns a sincere smile from the Professor, more evident thanks to the still damp bandages.

"Thank you, Emissary. Always a pleasure"

Re: Class has begun

[ticktopis_observatorium]

13. "Roof feels like home", written in an absent-minded calligraphy.
14. "Scaled wings bear myth" slips in, in the most beautiful letter of them all.
15. "Arbor of the Roses, in mandatory red ink.
16. "Apocyan binds memories", a return to normalcy, yet a risky theme.
17. "Cosmogone makes nice sunrises", in a cheerful tone, as much as tones can be written.
18. "Writing at the dome" as a matter of fact.
19. "This is actually fun" sincere almost closure.
(Continues above)

Re: Class has begun

[leviathanlovely]

Purchased with "ill-gotten" gains was such a terrible way of phrasing where The Undistinguished Pupil had acquired the goggles required for the course, settling the protective eyewear carefully over their brackish hair, swishing their bangs just under in a quick handed motion.

1. "Catnip is a mint," In certain lights The Academic looked cat like, but no one was improper enough to point that out--

2. "Emissary is..." Shit, their hands curled the words in their thoughts quicker than they could pause. They twisted it after the first two words to make something factual and less impolite. "Teaching us."

One could only hope to avoid dousing, the mere thought sent a shiver down them in distaste. Assuredly The Pupil would look like a drowned rat amid their peers and worse yet if the jet even sprayed droplets on Belladonna then their focus as well as their composure would surely be in tatters.

3. "The Macaw preens itself" Belladonna currently was, as usual.

4. "It can get cold." One would suppose.

5. "Pet the little bat." A reminder of the cutest little bat their Deviless friend had.

6. "Flowers, from a Devil" And a rare gift, well thought out.

7. "My Coat fits well." It sure did.

8. "Please don't catch fire." A polite thing to ask your paper.

9. "The Urchin cut purses." They sure do.

These all felt pretty simple. The Pupil felt a bit silly to be writing like this but would continue... As they continued they got in their own head that perhaps they were doing this all wrong -- ANY sentences? Or were they supposed to avoid using the same word groupings..?

10. "Is this busy work?"

11. "What will tomorrow entail?"

12. "Dearly thank the host." The Pupils head was slowing down. They could continue to write simple sentences and niceties on the paper or they could get experimental with it and risk it coming across as babble... But as they looked out to see their peers scribbling away they pressed back into it.

13. "Bats consumed The Sun."
14. "Some hide in honey."
15. "Smoldering arms hold me."
16. "Dreams leave more want."

Never, ever has The Pupil wanted to scratch words out more, but such an action would be too notable (Surely!) As well as incredibly likely to strike a combustion (Surely! Surely!) So with a shift the shuffled the pages into the rest where (SURELY!) they would be lost amid the rest of the pointless words.

17. "My Aunt baked scones."
18. "Try not to wince."
19. "The Docks are Dangerous."
20 "Watch out for Spiders..." Which elicits a final, low giggle.

The 20 quick, makeshift sentences were definitely simple for the most part, a grand departure from The Pupil's "genteel" behavior, it almost gave a funny insight into their tangential train of thought, just ignore the four papers scattered among the others. They leaned back to see how others were faring now that they were done with the supposed busy task.

Re: Class has begun

[theanachronistictailor]

Lines. Of all things. Granted, this did not follow the usual structure of lines--of writing the same phrase, copying the text until the letters became rote and thoughtless. This required a little more mental stimulation, but only a little.

It wouldn't do to be immature about this. It was simply that the classroom structure had always been an area in which the Tailor chafed, since their early years during brief stints in orphanage classrooms, and despite the years, little had changed. here they were, being quietly petty about something really quite easy. With their mouth drawn into a thin line, they tapped their pen to the paper twice in thought, and then wrote:

"Measure twice; cut once."
"Cut for seam allowance."
"Aim for the eyes."

Another two taps.

"Keep your mouth shut."
"Keep your eyes open."

No, that was too repetitive. They folded that sheet and put it to the side, and then rubbed their brow. This was not hard, for heaven's sake. Words, in an order, on pieces of paper.

They got by, their sentences often related to work, and then they wondered belatedly if double-words like 'can't' actually counted for one word or two. They pinched their brow over the goggles and then wrote, on the twentieth sheet, "Off to a great start." Wait. That was five. For god's sake.

Re: Class has begun

[stygean]

A little spray of water hit the Tailor’s head, which was more to say they felt the Surface’s waterfalls pass behind their neck. When they turned to see who to give a piece of their mind to, they saw the Scientist a few seats back smirk obliquely. Were those goggles enhanced for sniping or something? Before they could say anything, however, he had already put down the atomiser, and turned his attention back to the notes, one of which had a suspicious glow to it. The atomiser got picked up again, this time much more quickly. Looks like it wasn’t the first time either

Re: Class has begun

[leviathanlovely]

This time a giggle was failed to be stifled, it seemed the Star-Collared Scientist was something of a quick-draw!

Impressed, and a little disappointed they didn't get to draw first blood, (After The Emissary, of course) The Undistinguished pupil dawdled back to keeping an eye for another easy target.

Re: Class has begun

[stygean]

‘This Blemmigan likes bread’
‘Aim high hit low’
‘The Emissary is no-‘
Whatever was meant to be the rest of it, it swiftly became ‘noteworthy’. No point in starting a dogfight the very first day of lectures. The Scientist proceeded with similar amenities, pressing the tip well into the paper.
‘Wish I could fly’
‘I miss my home’
This ones were suspicious. A faint glow and a sizzle threatened to appear, soon smothered by the spray of water. The blemmigan remained caught in it too, flopping dramatically to the side and wailing about it. The offering of a wooden pencil to chew on seemed to quiet it down enough. Fire and water in the same day, what a luck to be an ornamental mushroom. An unwise idea started to form under the shock of ruffled hair. Could the Correspondence work in something other than English?
Preparing the sacrificial, non-soaked paper, goggles and atomizer, the pen carefully traced the last words of the Paradiso, ‘l’amor che move-‘. Before they could even consider wether to ignore the Academic’s instructions and finish with at least ‘-il sole’ or not, the paper chose for them, strikingly heating up and starting to curl up at the corners. The atomiser has never been employed faster, soon it will need a refill. This is a fun little experiment that will have to wait some more lectures to take place.

Re: Class has begun

[theanachronistictailor]

A blast of water, decidedly not from the Scientist's own atomizer, sprayed their cheek a second or so after their own atomizer had been deployed along the paper. The Tailor smiled, perhaps a little too politely. "Slow on the draw, was I? Too focused on my own work, there. I hope your other documents were preserved?"

At least a third of them were not. They had been soaked.

"Ah. For the best, really, it's almost as though you were using flash paper with the rate at which your atomizer was getting used. Here, have mine."

They dropped it lightly on the Scientist's doused papers. "I should warn you, though. The nozzle seems to be a finicky. Not much of a mist to it."

Re: Class has begun

[stygean]

Somehow, the Scientist managed to scavenge something other than a snarl from his face. Wiping the droplets from his goggles, they picked up the mister, knuckles soon turning white.
‘Thank you, your concern is much appreciated’
The snarl metamorphosed into a grin. If that’s how the Tailor liked to play…
‘Say, that wasn’t much of a quick shot, wasn’t it? I suppose that the times I seemed to catch your face at the Department weren’t because of a job of yours, I must have been mistaken…’
Low blow and unnecessary, he was aware of it. But still, they couldn’t resist the temptation to poke back a little

Re: Class has begun

[tolpen]

In theory, any 20 sentences of the muster "Object is adjective" would probably be fine. The Mycologist would hand in an average result and wouldn't stand out from the rest of the class.
However, the theory is the ulcer on the body of reality. The Mycologist has just crawled out of his lab where he has spent double digits of hours cataloguing what little fo his samples haven't blown up into his face in the past week. The benefits of keeping a low profile in the literally first class with a new lecturer - one that is blatantly hating this position and perhaps the students along with it - do not even occur to him.

No. He is going to put on his goggles - The ones that's been on his head the whole time; the ones on the desk wouldn't fit over his pince-nez - and he is going to ace this assignment. He will do such a good job someone's sock-garters will snap.

After a short deliberation, he pockets all his pens again and settles for the mechanical pencil. Its main benefit is that it isn't water-soluble, unlike ink. He uses up the first three papers before he remembers he should try to make the text readable to other people.
1: This sentence is false.
2: Question no answer.
3: Answer no question.

The fourth attempt is legible only on technicality, but such is the fate of hands that cannot keep up with the brain. Still, he has taken some care and written each word to the centre of the page, the following one underneath it, crowning the end with a resolute period.
4: All falsehoods are untrue.
5: The truth is a subjective matter.

He watches the fifth sentence with a frown, and on the nest paper he clarifies:
6: Articles are not words.
7: Only words have meaning.
8: English is a silly language.
9: All Englishmen are redacted.

(Yes, he's written down the word redacted rather than any other adjective.)

10: Everyone loses in PHALLUS-MEASURING-CONTESTs
This one stands out a bit, because the Mycologist has managed to reproduce the Ex-Disgraced Academic's handwriting if not perfectly, then close to it. However, he has used it only for the three-compound word. Is this pushing it? Probably. But if he gets a face full of water for this, the douser is in the wrong.

11: Phallotoxins reign supreme.
12: Thou shalt recognise oomycetes.

That has been twelve sentences in around ten minutes, including re-sharpening his pencil. He has said everything important, he thinks.
The Mycolgist scans around the class for anything particularly inspiring, until his eyes land on the silver atomizer.
He jots down:
13: All reflections are doors.
14: Parabola is a cone.
15: Quadratic functions describe dreams.
16: Gravity defects within sleep.
17: No law is unbreakable.
18: Hide beneath my heart.
19: I regret nothing.

That... has gotten extremely unprofessional.
Fine, for the last one he writes down the ultimate truth of all academia:
20: I deserve better funding.

Re: Class has begun

[ticktopis_observatorium]

At some point when the Chimeric Professor's own creativity faltered, they looked around either for inspiration or diversion. Upon seeing the Mycologist's work, they got instantly drawn in. A hand rested dangerously on the atomizer at the 5th sentence, which became a heartfelt laughter at the 6th, which couldn't help but increase in intensity as the next followed. The 20th seemed close to kill them from the laughter attack. It seems the Professor is too prone to laughter, or perhaps in a really good mood today.

Re: Class has begun

[tolpen]

The Mycologist holds the Professor's gaze as his 5th creation is put under scrutiny. He patiently waits until the laughter subsides. Afterwards he offers: "Any point thou'dst like to debate?"

And after a moment: "May I see thine? My eyes do not, ah, see that far."
He taps the side of his pinc- goggles. Ah yes, he si still wearing them. That would explain why the classroom is so dark, with the smoky glass and all.

Re: Class has begun

[themorbidsocialite]

The Morbid Socialite began the project immediately, starting off strong with some quick and easy sentences before quickly running low on ideas and pulling from a weaving, turning trail of thought for ideas. His focus was intense enough that, despite having the atomizer by his side and close at hand, he was too focused on his work to douse anyone else for small mistakes. Tularemia, as well, was too weak to fire the atomizer either, so there would be no water coming from the Socialite's desk.

1. “The cat balances well” - A simple sentence with proper grammar.
2. “Cannot turn back now” - A reminder of his commitment to this class and a begrudging acknowledgment of the boredom of doing lines.
3. “Only bats down here” - One of the first things they thought upon arriving in the Neath, although shortened to better fit the assignment.
4. “Do not spray please” - A request that would likely go unheeded.
5. “Lost in the dark” - Poetic and mournful and a frequent theme of his short stories, back when that was his occupation.
6. “Many faces, none familiar” - A reflection of his thoughts on the class around him.
7. “Until dawn, she sleeps” - Just something to fill the word count? Or to test the presence of commas?
8. “The ground replaces sky” - Another thought from their first arrival and another theme explored in their writing.
9. “Would you spray her” - With this, he instructs his stoat to run a tight circle around the page to catch any stray sprays of water.
10. “Deliver retribution swiftly, dear” - His hope, for if Tularemia gets sprayed, that she might remember her predator instincts. An unlikely to nigh impossible occurrence, as she’s truly non-confrontational, but his hope nonetheless.
11. “Cannot fathom the depths” - Just something haunting to fill the word count.
12. “Trapped in the house” - A recurring dream they keep having.
13. “Wedding Wednesday, come early” - It’s a wonder where he got this phrase, but the pair of intertwined wedding bands on his finger may speak the truth of the matter.
14. “Polite conversation makes good company” - A reminder to be polite, but what’s this? He seems to have used too many words! He realizes this too late and can only brace for the dousing to come.
15. “A mistake costs me” - He remains bitter about his own failure to count words before writing them.
16. “Would you really shoot” - He was tempted to draw the sentence into the next line, but these needed to be complete sentences, so he stopped it there and continued on.
17. “An innocent man doused” - The fortunate thing about mistakes is that they both teach and inspire us. For example, the Socialite’s bitterness at becoming wet seems to have inspired some iresome passages in their classwork.
18. “As well his stoat” - Tularemia, the poor stoat, was likely caught in the crossfire of the mistake.
19. “Eager minds learn quickly” - A reminder that eager minds both absorb more knowledge and are more quickly to fail, thus finding more opportunities to learn.
20. “No more mistakes today” - A statement of victory, proclaiming himself finished.

Re: Class has begun

[the_brash_devil]

The Brash Devil spent an inordinate amount of time working on his assignment, painfully aware of the time as it ticked on.

He worked slow at first, but as time went on he rushed to get it done.

It just needed to be done.

Who cares about the mistakes?

As long as he wasn't working on this anymore.

As long as people stopped glancing over.

Judging.

He knew they were judging and he just wanted this done.

Anyone looking at his paper could tell he wasn't practiced at writing in English. He could speak it as well as any devil, but reading and writing was another matter. Thus most of the mistakes were in the spelling. A few obvious one, though these weren't the only ones, were that:

-Since he is still learning, he defaults to writing in all caps like a child learning their letters and focusing on the uppercase ones.

-A difficulty with words that sound exactly alike as well as common mix-ups/spelling mistakes that even native English speakers make (there/their/they're, here/hear, through/threw)

-A difficulty with the silent E if it isn't to make a long vowel ("THEN WHY IS IT EVEN THERE?!") Similarly, often using the "silent E for long vowels" in situations that don't call for it (light=lite) or adding a silent E to a word that doesn't call for it (we=wee)

-Mixing the C with both K and S ("Why do you even have C as a thing if you have two other letters that do the same thing?! And why do you have words with BOTH C and K?!") As an aside, he is convinced you could replace "ch" with "kh" and remove "c" altogether; it's his biggest opinion on the written English language that he's developed while learning to read and write.

-Missing letters in words that require two letters together (all=al)

-A habit of completely forgetting certain spellings and attempting to spell them phonetically based on the spelling rules he does remember (chocolate=choklette because he remembers the "ette" suffix)

The long and short of it is that his work is full of misspellings. It isn't necessarily difficult to read, once you realize the situation and what his spelling mistakes were rooted in. What is important to note is the mistakes in the assignment's goal. Unfortunately, he was in such a rush to get this assignment over and done with that he stopped counting his words, which led to things like:

1. THERE AR FREE SAMPLS HERE
2. KLOSE THE DORE RITE NOW
3. LITE THAT WUDE FOR FIRE
4. STEME IS AL OVER THE PLACE
5. WEE NEDE MORE CHOKLETTE NOW
6. THERE KAT RAN AWAY TUDAY
7. THE MAN PADE TUE MUCH FOR IT
8. HE CAN HERE THE CRIES AND SCREMES
9. SHE NEW HE HAD THE PAPRS
10. THEY WENT THREW THE DORE

Once he was done (and soaked) he slammed his pencil down and silently glared down at his desk, nails digging into the surface. He refused to look up, teeth clenched as he waited for the inevitable humiliation.

(OOC: I'll still roleplay the soaking from the individual sentences)

Re: Class has begun

[ticktopis_observatorium]

(OOC: Please allow me to say how much I LOVE this. Masterful interpretation. And Maven's response is too good as well. Just a cute couple struggling to learn how to write each other's mother language yet showing how much they love trying despite all. Perfect)

Re: Class has begun

[theliedpiper]

(ooc: I love him so much. Ok onto tormenting him <3)

The Brash Devil sat a row or two in front of the Piper, but they straightened up and adjusted their homemade glass bottle goggles-slash-binoculars to peer at what he was writing. It had to be something cool, right?

It wasn't, but it was funny, which was even better. And it called for a spraying.

Their bottle was almost gone by now, so they picked the Tailor's and gave the Devil a quick spray in the back of the head.

Re: Class has begun

[the_soft_hearted_maven]

Maven went to work on her assignment right away. It wasn't very hard; really, if she wanted, she could get away with writing very basic phrases, which is what she started with.

1. The tree grows high
2. The sun shines bright
3. The butterfly flies low

Already there was a pattern to her sentences. It was too easy to think of four letter sentences if she just did it this way. Pursing her lips a bit, she tried to think of something more challenging and different. Phrases from books. Snippets of advice. Stray thoughts. Her motions became mechanical where she wrote down as soon as appropriate phrases came to mind.

4. Watch out for spiders
5. No treats before bed
6. Look always to love
7. Glory be to God
8. Flowers need the sun
9. Always respect your elders

The handwriting on the above one was mildly more squiggly than the rest, as if it pained her to write it. The next few seemed to get... well, the best word would probably be 'melancholic,' almost as if the above phrase had triggered something but could not stop in her flow of writing.

10. She loved her family
11. Do not harm them
12. Why did it happen
13. I still miss you
14. I love you dearly

She abruptly stopped. She stared at the pages, strongly debating if she should go back and redo those. After a moment she decided to set them aside for now and she'd redo them if she had time. For now she focused on filling out the rest with whatever randomness came to mind. It wasn't too hard to come up with four-word phrases when you get into the swing of it.

15. Clean that up please
16. You should read that
17. That looks really nice
18. Should we get tickets
19. An entirely magnumient tomeration

She snorted slightly at that one, not sure it would count since it contained two made up words, but it was a phrase that she'd once heard a certain Master say that stuck with her. It was fine if it didn't count, she was almost done anyway and she could stand a dousing if so.

Speaking of... The entire time she worked she was painfully aware of The Brash Devil struggling. She glanced at him as he worked. This was a remarkable amount of patience he was showing, but still.

The only reason he was here, enduring all this was because of her. She wanted to do something to break the tension.

If the above didn't count for a dousing... She supposed this called for the thing she hated so much.

Lying.

20. The world is quiet here

"Oh... oops," Maven was not over the top or obvious as she said this, nor was she particularly monotone. She struck the balance she wanted, making sure only to express slight contrition and an embarrassed little break in the voice as she vocalized her mistake, "I meant to only write the first part of the phrase, but I finished it out of habit." She glanced at her soaking companion and shrugged, a cringe on her face over the 'mistake.'

Re: Class has begun

[theliedpiper]

While not really paying attention to the Maven - she was very nice and probably writing something very boring - the Piper did catch her slip-up while spying on the Brash Devil. Two-for-one soaking special! Who knew going to class could be so fun?

Re: Class has begun

[theliedpiper]

Four-word sentences? That should be easy.
1. Rats rats rats rats
2. Mushroom rats rats rats
3. Swamp water tastes yummy
4. Tailor has nice eyebrows

...Maybe "stream of consciousness" wasn't the best writing style if they were going to be turning these in.

5. Writing sentences is easy
6. Look what I wrote

Hmmm that was even more boring. Maybe if they played around with the size? They were here to learn how to make flammable music. It might help to see if bigger or bolder words changed anything.

7. Dubiously rattling massive marimbas

Not even a hint of smoke, unlike one of the other students nearer the window. Sad. They tried letting their ink blot out wetly, widening each individual letter.

8. Nightmares plunged under shadow

Was that a sizzle? They couldn't tell. It might have just been the leftover mist from the Tailor getting sprayed. They'd keep at it, just in case.

9. Red stockings are comfy
10. That cheese is mine
11. Shut up stupid mandrake
12. The mask stays ON
13. Proper hydration is important
14. Pupil's bird is cool
15. Too many 'is' sentences

It was getting boring again, so they switched to writing in cursive.

16. Swirly swirly pretty letters
17. I hope something catches fire

...Oh. That was five, huh.

Re: Class has begun

[theanachronistictailor]

And like that, the Piper's spiky hair was drenched. The atomizer they had drunk half the contents of was now pointed in the direction of their ear, though the wielder had deemed fit to lift their arm enough as to not directly to render them deaf.

The Tailor hadn't even appeared to look up from their own papers, as they corrected their final sheet, but they lowered the still-dripping item back to the table. "Do I really have nice eyebrows?" they asked lightly, all innocence. Was there a hint of a smile? No, couldn't be.

Re: Class has begun

[the_dye_stained_socialite]

The pawn listened carefully, then took a moment to think on their sentences. They grabbed a secondary notebook, and began to write. For this exercise, there was care taken to write it in large and legible english, no coding, and no shorthand. Though the thought of Correspondance shorthand was a lingering idea they would need to come back to later.

"Professor has pointed ears."
"Do humans have claws?"
"Weird things happen here"
"Cats spill many secrets"
"Conclusion: Professor's a Cat-Hybrid?" They frowned. How many words did that count for? Did it count as four, or six?
Hastily, they added "Ignore that last one."
"Pick better seats Thursday" Hm, maybe it wasn't smart to write their own name.


ooc: "moon misers is bugs"

Re: Class has begun

[theliedpiper]

"Thursday? Isn't the next class on a Tuesday?" The Piper asked when they'd gotten up to stretch their legs (and drip their soaked clothes somewhere besides their own seat).

Maybe they'd heard the date wrong. Surely no one would have told them the wrong date on purpose, right? ...Right?

(Ooc: the Piper did not realize Thursday was a name lol)