Time to get working!

[xroyal_bratx]

Characters: Ishtar (AU1) and All the teachers/interested students that want to learn!
Setting: Big Library + branches out depending on what the teachers want to do with the lessons. Note that the library is only a starting point so feel free to take it beyond the library!
Format: Up to You
Summary: Ishtar sets up the program that Hei wanted to set up for a while, but he was feeling unwell, so she took over.
Warnings: TBA

[ As promised. In the library, there were signs giving off the subjects of the teachers and what they were teaching along with the name of the teachers. Ishtar tried her best to organize it so that the hug library was of good use. She spaced the areas off so that there weren't too many noises coming from one professor, and she even made sure to provide them information if they so need it.

She stretches a bit and prepared herself for what will happen next. She knew Hei was a lot better at this than she was, but she did her best. She hoped it would work out. ]

[ ooc: general mingle log for the teachers that volunteered for Hei's Teaching Program/School Program. For those who volunteered, there's a spread sheet provided here and for new teachers interested, just sign up at post here. Once you sign up go ahead and tag your subject line, or if it's not there feel free to create the subject like etc. For organizational purposes, I will link the specific threads later when they become too hard to find. Enjoy and I hope everyone has a blast. If any other questions needed, feel free to direct them to me or Final! ]

Comments

[savedbyasong]

"So he criticised the government but instead of punishing him the leader allowed him to keep working." Shion wondered at why that could be. "Why did he like him?"

[tohko_amano]

"His writing ability. Stalin liked it so much that he said it was beyond party classifications like 'right' and 'left'. Sadly, it seemed that the critics didn't share their leaders view."

[savedbyasong]

"Right and left?" Shion blinked at her, "So he was such a good writer that the leader did not mind the criticism?"

[tohko_amano]

"Either that, or Stalin just ignored the criticism and enjoyed the stories. Either way, Stalin kept giving him work."

[savedbyasong]

"I guess that was good of him, but I can't imagine his government were pleased with him for it." If such a person had wrote stories critising No. 6 they would have disappeared pretty quickly, before anyone even knew they existed.

[tohko_amano]

At that, Tohko sighed and nodded.

"The critics did rip into him quite frequently, and getting a lot of money for his work was difficult at the best of times. It got so bad that Bulgakov, in his despair, burned his first draft of The Master and Margarita when it wasn't accepted. He had to rewrite the whole thing from memory later on."

[savedbyasong]

"Did he manage it." Shion asked, hanging onto her words, like he would with a good story.

[tohko_amano]

Since history was just the story of the world to Tohko, it was a bit fitting that Shion was hanging on to her words. Smiling, she nodded.

"He did. While he died while rewriting the novel for the fourth time, he got it all down on paper, and it was eventually published. While it was heavily censored when it first came out, eventually, it was republished and restored."

[savedbyasong]

"Who restored it? Did they get into trouble?" Since Shion thought it must have been a very controversial book to be censured despite the leader liking the author enough to turn a blind eye to his critisisms.

[tohko_amano]

It wasn't that Stalin didn't turn a blind eye..he just didn't care. But Tohko didn't know enough to point that out.

"Lidiya Yanovskaya published the final canonical version of the novel in 1989. And don't worry. No one got in trouble. The critics that had held Bulgakov back had moved on or died, and his final work is now considered one of the best novels in Russia."

[savedbyasong]

"So everyone appreciated it, but only after he was dead..." Shion smiled softly, "That's quite sad."

[tohko_amano]

Tohko smiled, but hers was a little..larger.

"It is a little sad..but that's not quite true. Bulgakov got married two times, and his second wife was with him when he burned his manuscript. She loved the story and encouraged him to re-write it and ignore the critics. The Margarita in the story is based on her a little."

[savedbyasong]

"That's good, I'm glad he had people to help him."

[tohko_amano]

"So am I..but you know, Shion, people always have others that they can rely on and count on to help them out."

[savedbyasong]

"Not always." He said quietly, "But often. It's a good thing about being human I think."

[tohko_amano]

"Or just existing in general. After all, even non-human things have people to help them out. That's something that happens in quite a few stories."

[savedbyasong]

"True." He nodded, after all most his friends in the tower weren't actually human.

[tohko_amano]

Tohko nodded in return and, noticing that they were straying away from the lesson, tried to get back on topic.

"Well, now that you know the backstory to The Master and Margarita, your homework is to read chapters one through three and explain why Bulgakov chose to talk about religion and whether it helps or hurts his satire. For now though, you just have to write a two-page original story all on your own. If you don't have paper or pens, I'll give you some time to get them."

[savedbyasong]

Shion began to nod and then frose at the asignment. He had no idea what that meant... He wasn't even sure what satire was or how religion was connected or how he was to find this out from the first three chapters of a book.

He had heard such a question before, Explain the use of satire and irony in Jane Austin's Pride a Prejudice right before a knife had been plunged into Rat... Because Shion didn't know. He didn't know the answers, it wasn't like maths... or ecology.

He tried to control his breathing but Tohko was still talking, something about him writing... a story. He couldn't do that either...

He was physically trembling by now, and he had to get away, he couldn't do any of that, he would fail, he always failed.

[tohko_amano]

Back in her universe, Konoha Inoue had panic attacks that Tohko had helped him out with. Tohko could see that Shion was trembling..and instantly looked concerned and tried to put a hand on his head.

"Shion? What's wrong? Are you alright? You don't have to do the assignment if it bring up bad memories, alright? Just read the chapters, write the story and we'll discuss it next time."

[savedbyasong]

Luckily Tohko's touch brought Shion back to himself, as touch often did. Enough for him to hear her words anyways, and feel embarrassed at not being able to do this. Because it had been months, and Reno had helped him so much, and he shouldn't still be like this...

"I... I can't... I've never written..." How would he write a story? Him? The task wasn't one that made him panic like the question had, but the fact remained he didn't even know how to start.

[tohko_amano]

Tohko sighed and..smiled as she patted Shion on the head.

"Shion..all writers, before they became writers, had never written a single word on the page. They had to start somewhere, whether it was for good or ill. It doesn't have to be a good story..just..try and write."

[savedbyasong]

Breathing, breathing was good. He calmed down a little more and wiped the tears away that had gathered in his eyes. Still the idea of writing a story made him feel sick and he was seriously regretting turning up to this class.

"I... wouldn't even know how to start... what should I write about?"

Because he was a Turk, and Turk's didn't give up even in the face of the impossible.

[tohko_amano]

While Tohko didn't know much about being a Turk, she was happy that he was trying his best to be brave, even though the idea of writing frightened him so much. What had happened to him?

"Anything you want, Shion. The paper is your world and the pen is how you shape it."

[savedbyasong]

He stared at the paper for a long time, not sure how to start, not sure what to write. He didn't think he trusted himself to create a world.