TEST DRIVE MEME - MARCH

[thewatchers]

TESTDRIVE MEME
IC Comm | Network Comm | OOC Comm | Navigation

Winter quarter is nearing its conclusion as Finals and Spring Break are quickly approaching. The library is bustling as students frantically prepare, but campus is also buzzing with excitement in anticipation of the school-funded Spring Break trip to Provence.

The administration, however, is not unsympathetic to the stressors of being a student. Comforts such as therapy animals, snack stations, and de-stressing events are being held all over campus to keep students as relaxed as possible and help them prepare for their finals. Daybreak Academy needs their students to succeed, and they spare no expense in helping them do so.

A. STUDY SESSIONS

With the approach of exams, the Hall of Pythia is enforcing 24/7 quiet hours. While it has quiet a few study rooms available, many students will find that the rooms are being booked up at an alarming rate. To account for this, classrooms and media rooms in Theater Lenormand are also being opened up for student use. Many others are spilling over into local restaurants and cafes, coming together as groups to review course material and prepare for their upcoming exams.

During these times, Faculty are expected to take a more hands-on approach as well. Faculty are strongly encouraged to host their own study sessions and rigorously review the exams and what to expect. Faculty are all given first priority for open classrooms and are able to hold after-hours lessons and Q&A sessions as they wish. While it’s not, strictly speaking, mandatory, Faculty can expect it to come up on their annual performance review if they don’t make themselves available to students.

B. THERAPY ANIMALS

Animals have proven to reduce stress, a thing sorely needed during the lead up to exams, and Daybreak Academy has provided three types of therapy animals upon request to aid with making study times much more bearable: The rare Armenian Aralez who is generous with it’s doggy kisses, About six huggable corgi-sized Wooly Bugs with their incredibly soft wool, and a pair of languid Temple lions that don’t mind being used as pillows. Try not to get too distracted from your studies.

C. FASCHING

Also known as Fastnacht Best described as ‘Bavarian Mardi Gras’, Fasching is much like it’s New Orleans and Brazilian counterparts - a celebration of the excess and to live it up until good catholics go give it up for Lent. Least that’s the intent, but like most modern holidays it’s an excuse to cut loose and have fun, and thanks to a sizable German population in Soliel, there is a bit of Fasching in early march with Beer Gardens, Masked Parties, and Live Bands along with decadently rich desserts from both German and French Cuisine. Have fun, but remember there is a curfew.

D. STORYTIME (text)

Hi everyone! This is the Folklore Club! If we could just take a moment of your time…

Daybreak Academy sure is a big school, isn’t it? And the students and staff here come from all over! Here at the Folklore Club, we research myths, legends and stories from all around the world to examine their similarities and differences.

It would really help us out if you told us what your favourite myth or legend is! Don’t be shy - we’d love to see it! Especially if it’s something that we’ve never seen before! And who knows, maybe you’ll meet someone who loves your favourite story too!

[ The results are, naturally, public. ]

Comments

[soft_focus]

...But I don't know any then...

[Unfair now she can't participate!]

[redcarmen]

You don't know any?

No Greek myths? The epic of Gilgamesh? The story of Ryugu Palace? The legend of King Arthur?

[soft_focus]

Is an 'Epic' also a story that's old and only maybe true?

[That's a 'no' on the recognition.]

[redcarmen]

An epic is a specific type of narrative poem, recounting the deeds of a legendary or historical figure. So, yes.

[soft_focus]

Oh.

So it has to be a poem to be an epic...

And myths and legends can't be poems then?

[redcarmen]

Myths and legends are just describing the stories themselves, they don't need to be in any particular form. An epic can be a legend, but a legend doesn't need to be an epic.

Like the Epic of Gilgamesh is a story about the Sumerian king, Gilgamesh. He was a real king, but the story makes him a demigod as well, has him facing supernatural threats and gods and goddesses. Because it's based on a real figure, but doing great deeds that were likely fictional, it would be categorized as a legend. And then because it's in the form of a narrative poem, it would also be an epic.

[soft_focus]

Oh...like how a tiger is a type of cat...

[Not quite. But, close.]

Is it just the demigod part people don't know about now? Why do we know he was real but not that part?

[The whole 'supernatural isn't common knowledge' bit hasn't quite landed despite attempts to explain thus far.]

[redcarmen]

That's just the way things go with ancient history. We can find some records that mention the name, so we can guess he really existed, but we don't know enough about his life to say more. Most stories like the ones in the Epic of Gilgamesh are fake, though.

Or at least, they're widely believed to be fake.

[soft_focus]

Umn...I guess if someone lost all of the other story parts, that makes sense...

How old does something have to be before it's a myth? How does everyone lose so much of them all, until they don't know what's real?

[redcarmen]

Things weren't so easy back then. Not everybody could write, and even when they did, papers break down and even tablets can have their writing worn down. Records get scarcer the further back in history you go.

[soft_focus]

...

Will that happen to the books we have now?

It was really short, but I liked the red dog books I was given.

[You'll be long gone by then kiddo.]

[redcarmen]

That specific book, yes. Probably. It'll wear out over time. But modern production means that other copies can be made, and most books nowadays are preserved, thanks to several preservation and archival organizations. A lot of libraries all over the world are concerned with preserving books, in fact.

[soft_focus]

Oh!!

...so it was just too late then... [She's talking about Gilgamesh again. Rip Gilgamesh.]