Zane smiled, kicking her legs as she sat in her seat. She’d never really thought of what she wanted to be when she was older. She wondered what her older self would be like… looking at her paper, she pressed the pencil to it and started to write.
“Dear Zane, As of right now, I am not sure what I want to be when I am older like you. Not too long ago you were adopted by Reilan. He is a great Daddy and loves you a lot. You also now have a baby sister who is super annoying at times but is also really cute! She looks a lot like daddy. Daddy likes to cook a lot so maybe you are a cook like him? I don’t really like cooking too much but I love herbs! Maybe I can be a botanist or something! Oh! Are you a botanist?! I bet your hair is super long now too! I never want to cut it! It will be long and flowing; so beautiful! I hope you have more friends than you have now, though the ones you have are really good to you so I guess it’s okay if you don’t. I also hope you still write stories like I do now! It’s so fun, why wouldn’t you! I’m sure you are super busy being an adult, so I will stop rambling!”
Zane sat her pencil down and read through her writing, fixing errors before setting it on the desk. She didn’t really know if she liked it but it didn’t have to be perfect, right? Standing up, she moved to give it to the teacher with a small smile before returning to her desk.
Quentin listened to his teacher explain their assignment, his brows pinched a bit. Was this really an assignment? But what about reading another book? Darn the other juniors that could just shut their mouths and learn! At least this assignment would be pretty easy. He grabbed his pencil and began to write a list of nautical puns… hopefully his teacher liked them. 1. That man’s got sole. 2. You sure are crabby today. 3. He caught me with a left hook.
Finishing the assignment, Quentin smiled a bit. He had to admit, it was a little fun trying to come up with these puns.
You all passed! I will be making a new class ASAP~
For Freshlings: Lyra has safely, without reading the letters, placed them in a time capsule! They, when seniors, can RP them receiving the letter and re-reading over them!
Prompt Answer: Seray didn't mind English, it was by no means his favorite but it was quite alright in his standards.He had read the book and it was now time for him to share his book report.
"The book I chose was called "Life" so naturally I thought this was a good and decent book for me to read. It turned out to be about a Princess, whose mother was on her death bed. The Queen had made arrangements for her daughter to marry a prince of another land. This prince was wicked and cruel and the princess already was in love with one of the court jesters. However none of that mattered because she had to do what was right by her country and marry a prince to become king.
This whole book makes you think she is going to run away with the Jester but at the end when the night came for them to flee together she was faced with the reality of what would become of her country if she didn't step up and take rule of it. So she stayed and got married to the awful man and the Jester left never to be seen again. It was a tragic story but I think it thought me we can't run away from out problems and we need to always put the needs of the masses before the needs of the few. "
He knew it was a terrible unhappy story but it was... life.
Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2016 11:05 pm
Username: jinxgirl5 Nightmare: Jaden
Entry: Jaden felt really nervous when he slipped his homework to Lyra. He really liked this class cause he loved reading, and he liked Lyra. He would hate to disappoint her! He had picked his pictures cause he really liked those foods, but he hadn't given much thought to how hard it would be to start a sentence with a vowel. He had done his best though! He'd written his sentences in small, neat (for a freshling, anyway) script under the pictures he'd worked hard to color. He'd tried to stay in the lines as best he could, but he strayed in a few spots. He hoped it wouldn't count against him!
Despite its classical status in modern culture, The Nature of Love by Phinea Fallen, reads with a contemporary ease. The subjects of unrequited love, cultural expectations, and the divides between Above and Below create a poignant and timeless romance. The issues of prejudice that the protagonist, Marielle Grimm, faces in loving Joa, an Elf from Above, would likely be echoed today. Even though our two societies are now beginning to mingle, there are still many who would disapprove of such a union, and certainly, Joa's family would be just as stridently opposed to the match today as they are during the young couple's first courting.
This conflict of forbidden love is set against the backdrop of a sealed world. With portals closed, Marielle embarks on the path of a merchant. Her mundane trials to gain a permit that would allow her passage into Above, seem painfully mismatched with the slim chance that this might bring her closer to Joa. The single-minded bending of herself to this purpose, and the discomfort she struggles with in feigning interest in subjects she had little passion for, offer a subtle commentary on the structure of the world in Phinea's time. Her parallels between Marielle's lies to herself and the lies to her family as they support her in her career, without any sense of the true motives that drive her, are an easy commentary on how society can follow expectations without ever questioning the reasons the rules were put in place.
Of course, the true tragedy comes at the climax of the book, when Marielle's hard work pays off, only to discover Joa's heart has been won by a beautiful Elf. Still, Marielle's commendable spirit does not let this break her, encouraging the reader to cheer for her as she tries to demonstrate her love. Selling all of her goods, and even her permit of trade, so that she is forced to stay in Above is an act of martyrdom, but still Joa is unmoved. It is small consolation that his new betrothed is repulsed by her lover's lack of compassion, and that Joa too suffers in love. The true victory from this moment is Marielle's revelation that her love for Joa is based on her mistaken impression of him, and not on the true man he had become.
Freed from her heart's burden, she works to regain her permit so that she may return home and begin exploring her true passions. This clarity foreshadows the events of our own world. Several of the book's passages directly mirror the opening of the borders, as if Phinea herself was looking into the future at the world to come.
The true glory in The Nature of Love is simply the swelling compassion it engenders in the reader, regardless of their Race or sex. Judging from its popularity, and the ten million copies that have been sold to date in Below alone, it is fair to say Phinea's masterpiece may have helped shaped the world she envisioned in her novel.
Yushika
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 6:38 pm
Username: C-C-CaFFIENE Nightmare: Esrael
Prompt Answer:
At first Esrael hadn't understood the book he had been assigned for this project. When he had first gotten the book in his hands and looked at the time 'A time before the darkness' he had been confused. After reading it, however, he understood completely why he had been given this particular book. When the Fallen had finished it he closed the book gently and held it against his chest, closing his eyes gently and letting a breath of hope out. The book was filled with images of bright days and things called...rainbows...it was absolutely an amazing read for him.
Esrael had always had a fascination with the world above. Their world was always filled with twilight and darkness and he had always had wild dreams of sunshine peering down from the skies, warming your skin. This book was all the proof he needed that he wasn't crazy. Who cared if it was only just words? At least someone thought and felt like he did and that was more than enough for him. "One day I'm going to see that thing called a sun, for myself...I just know it!"
Aloe frowned looking at the chimera boy, she had forgotten his name again. So she just went into her points on the debate. She said "My stand on this debate is "against" using magic for travel in the Boreas area." She paused and then went on to say "The magic melts the snow, which first of all reduces the amount of water the beings in that area can collect for the season. Next the animals of the area could be harshly affected by the strange changes in the area." Aloe paused again "Most importantly the rare snow flowers will be killed without the snow they need to survive." She stated clearly and waited for his response to her points.
Aloe frowned at Aren's harsh stand on the subject. "I stand against many of those points. We do not need to use magic to deliver goods, it may take longer, but it is possible to deliver good in other ways. Also, what of natural chain reactions, if the mountain water melts too soon, and kills the snow flowers, and effects bugs that are needed to pollinate other fruits and vegetables. Daydreams and nightmares alike need to survive??" Aloe sighed she wasn't used to speaking so much and to beings instead of plants who's wacky idea was this again??
Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 3:58 pm
Username: Geyser Eelborn Nightmare: Perigor
Entry:
Perigor was slow to get out of his seat for the coloring book pages, so by the time he got up, there wasn't a whole lot of choice. He frowned, leafing through the options until he found two that he thought he could make sentences out of--and that weren't too badly crumpled. He colored them up with brightly colored pencils and turned them in with the sentences written on the back.
Snow is too cold for Parodia. Summer is too hot for Prometheus.
Cockatriels like to bite. Cats have wings, but this picture doesn't.
He turned in the papers to Miss Lyra and walked back to his desk, where he started folding blank paper into cranes.
Entry: Talya was quick to spring from her desk and walk over to the papers. She picked two with pictures she liked--cats and jewels--and set to work carefully coloring them with her purple and pink crayons. The cat bothered her--it was labeled as a cat, but its tail was wrong, and it had no wings. Maybe the wings were tucked away--but the tail was weird... That wasn't really a problem though. It was only when she had to write sentences that she started having trouble. What words started with J, anyway?! She turned in her paper at the end of class, after racking her brain for ideas.
Cats are very soft. Cuddly cats are very warm.
Jewel is the name of my bunny. Juice is perfect for breakfast.
Nailed it. She smiled sweetly at Lyra as she turned in her papers.
Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 4:47 pm
Username: Geyser Eelborn Nightmare: Anchriesel
Prompt Answer:
The book I was assigned to read this month was Another Time, Another Place by Darina Lockham. This book was published about half a century ago in Above, giving me some serious misgivings about the applicability of its subject to my world and my life, but it proved a more interesting read than I expected. The novel is about a pair of would-be lovers, Carrella and Daeran. They make a pact in childhood to never marry anyone unless it is the other, but when Ella's family moves away to another town, their friendship--and their devotion to each other--is stretched. They must now live separate lives, still staying in contact with each other through letters, as they make new friends and fall in love with new people. They share their hardships with each other, their secrets and their misgivings, and despite being far away, they remain intimate.
The tone and atmosphere of Another Time, Another Place is one of melancholy and nostalgia. Every important event in the novel takes place during August--August is when Ella's family moves away, when Ella and Dae each take new lovers, when Dae's brother drowns in the creek, and finally at the end of the novel, when Ella and Dae are reunited in their old age. The use of August is to evoke the passing of childhood and the resigned adoption of adult responsibilities. Wistful longing drips from every slow, deliberate word. The pacing is like molasses, but I think that actually enhances the feel--as though each chapter is a memory being savored by the characters at their reunion.
They both end up breaking that pact, of course--and although it torments them to think of the promise they broke, neither of them is angry at the other. I think there are two important lessons to be learned from Another Time, Another Place. The first one is that you shouldn't make promises when you are very young, because you have no idea where life is going to take you--which is sort of one of the most important messages of the book. It's all about where life takes you, and how nothing can be predicted. It's about how many different people can come into your life and influence you. The second lesson I learned from this book is that intimacy doesn't have to mean romantic intimacy. By far, the most significant connection that Ella and Dae share throughout the book is with each other, not with their eventual spouses, their lovers, or even their own children. The love between friends can be just as powerful, or even more powerful, than the love between lovers.
Entry: Coloring. Thian frowned. He didn't want to color. He didn't feel like starting a fight today either, so he did as he was told and chose two letters from the pile, writing in his sentences after he was done with his crayons.
One of those was a question, not a sentence, but he hoped it still counted.
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 1:07 pm
Username: Ember-babe Nightmare: Rhys
Entry: Rhys had recently grown to appreciate and like art a lot more since meeting Galan, but he never expected to get to make pretty things for english class!
R:
Right when you least expect it, dad picks you up so you don't get vinegar in your eyes. Rolling away from mom is a bad idea; she'll run down the hill and stop you with her foot and make weird faces at you.
S:
Samira is pretty. Sometimes I wish I could take Samira home with me, but when I tell my fiery dad that he just makes a funny face before laughing and telling me I'm too young for that.
The novel was Pedestal by Gray Norris. Pedestal is a distopic novel about a religious society hidden away in the hills. Children who misbehave are left on a holy pedestal in the center of town over night, and in the morning are found to be transformed into good children. This is seen throughout the town as a universally good thing. The protagonist is Thenim, a teenage androgyne who was left on the pedestal as a child, and whose little brother is about to be left there for his transformative experience. Something goes drastically wrong, however, and Thenim has to look for their little brother. Along the way, the nature of the pedestal and the ritual is called into question, as is Thenim's identity. It turns out that everyone in the town has an identical twin that lives in another city, and that the pedestal has a portal on it that activates at nightfall. Everyone who was placed on the pedestal was replaced by their brainwashed identical twin. The "good" twins live at a nightmarish factory where they are indoctrinated to be disciplined and quiet. Bad children taken from the community are made examples of to teach the next generation of twins to be "good."
This novel is soul-searingly depressing. I don't know what message I was supposed to get out of it, except possibly that governments will do anything they can to keep the populace under control. It also made me question what it means to be good or bad, though. Throughout the novel, there's this sort of disconnect between what we--the readers--think is good and what the townsfolk think is good. I guess that is supposed to teach us that what one people value another people might disdain. But I think that's a lesson I could have learned from just going to school here--I mean, it's pretty diverse at the Academy.
I don't know a lot about Below's history, so I can't say whether or not the fact that this novel was written by a Litch might have anything to do with it. I don't know. All I know was that this was a very depressing book and I'm not sure if I learned anything at all from it.
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Jaden felt really nervous when he slipped his homework to Lyra. He really liked this class cause he loved reading, and he liked Lyra. He would hate to disappoint her! He had picked his pictures cause he really liked those foods, but he hadn't given much thought to how hard it would be to start a sentence with a vowel. He had done his best though! He'd written his sentences in small, neat (for a freshling, anyway) script under the pictures he'd worked hard to color. He'd tried to stay in the lines as best he could, but he strayed in a few spots. He hoped it wouldn't count against him!
Username: Geyser Eelborn
Username: Geyser Eelborn
Username: Geyser Eelborn
Username: Geyser Eelborn