Joel Miller (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shivving) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
entrancelogs2016-10-01 04:33 pm
shivving) wrote in entrancelogs2016-10-01 04:33 pm
open; the potions master
Who: Joel and YOU
Where: The potions classroom, around the school
When: Throughout the event
Rating: haha...we'll see
Summary: Will include options to interact with Joel in or out of class, as well as a mingle style toplevel for Potions classes (just don't let Professor Grumpy catch you talking when you should be working!
The Story:
Potions Class
The structure of Professor Miller's classes is more or less the same, whatever year you're in. There's a short lecture on the day's potion, followed by a practical section where students work in pairs or small groups to craft their own. First and second years get fairly basic lectures and potions alike, and a lot of individual attention, with Joel wandering around the classroom, checking on everyone's work and occasionally offering help or advice. By the time the students reach sixth or seventh year, however, they're left more or less on their own when making potions. Joel's always available for help if they want to ask, though, and if anyone gets too rowdy or doesn't seem to be doing their work, it won't be too long until he's there to glare them into behaving.
Unlike other professors of the subject, Joel's always been more interested in the practical uses of potions than their theory or history. Whether this is good or bad is a matter of interpretation, but it does mean less essays for his students to write (and for him to grade). Win/win, right?
Office hours/outside of class
The dungeons are dark and creepy and that's just how Joel likes them. Even when he's not teaching class, he can be found there often, preparing lesson plans (to the extent he ever bothers preparing lesson plans) or just poking at some of his own weird experiments. Worried about your grade? Have a question about a new potion? Just want to chat? Good luck with that last one, but technically his door is open.
Wildcard
Contrary to popular belief, Professor Miller does emerge from his cavelike existence - almost daily! He eats in the Great Hall and even goes outside occasionally.
Where: The potions classroom, around the school
When: Throughout the event
Rating: haha...we'll see
Summary: Will include options to interact with Joel in or out of class, as well as a mingle style toplevel for Potions classes (just don't let Professor Grumpy catch you talking when you should be working!
The Story:
Potions Class
The structure of Professor Miller's classes is more or less the same, whatever year you're in. There's a short lecture on the day's potion, followed by a practical section where students work in pairs or small groups to craft their own. First and second years get fairly basic lectures and potions alike, and a lot of individual attention, with Joel wandering around the classroom, checking on everyone's work and occasionally offering help or advice. By the time the students reach sixth or seventh year, however, they're left more or less on their own when making potions. Joel's always available for help if they want to ask, though, and if anyone gets too rowdy or doesn't seem to be doing their work, it won't be too long until he's there to glare them into behaving.
Unlike other professors of the subject, Joel's always been more interested in the practical uses of potions than their theory or history. Whether this is good or bad is a matter of interpretation, but it does mean less essays for his students to write (and for him to grade). Win/win, right?
Office hours/outside of class
The dungeons are dark and creepy and that's just how Joel likes them. Even when he's not teaching class, he can be found there often, preparing lesson plans (to the extent he ever bothers preparing lesson plans) or just poking at some of his own weird experiments. Worried about your grade? Have a question about a new potion? Just want to chat? Good luck with that last one, but technically his door is open.
Wildcard
Contrary to popular belief, Professor Miller does emerge from his cavelike existence - almost daily! He eats in the Great Hall and even goes outside occasionally.
no subject
Which was better than could be said for her first few weeks of stirring her size 2 cauldron solo.
"Oh, I thought so too!" she nodded, "The greenhouse gardens are just the coolest, there's so many plants you'd never ever see in muggle backyards!"
Pulling on gloves and potting little herb gardens was a pleasing sort of messy, and she was glad to have classes that were lots of practical, doing-sorts of things instead of just piles and piles of reading and writing and memorizing work.
no subject
They nodded as they listened. "There were some class projects that involved growing plants in muggle school. I enjoyed them." They look thoughtful. "I am also interested in the magical properties of different species of flora."
It seemed like useful knowledge, and there was something about caring for other living creatures that appealed to Legion.
"Did you know plants share resources?"
no subject
"You mean like... water and sunlight?" She nodded vigorously. "We learned about that in science class. People share resources too, though... or at least, we're supposed to try and play fair and nice with the important stuff! Like food and oxygen?"
Ugh. She felt a little out place, trying desperately to sound like she could keep up with one of the smarter students.
no subject
"Yes." They smiled a bit at what Coraline said about plants and people. "It's nice, even if we are not very good at it."
Their work on the potion slowed almost imperceptibly as they began to lose themselves in thought.
"I like the way plants are so good at helping each other."
no subject
"...Plants don't have to think about things as much as we do. They're just there, they're plants. They don't have to talk or any of the complicated stuff, they just get to focus on growing!"
"(Maybe we should just try to be more like plants..." She concluded with a thoughtful sigh, finishing up with her ingredient prep. "Okay then!" Coraline pushed up thee sleeves of her robe, turning her attention back to the potion at hand. "whhat comees next?"
no subject
They'd read some stuff that suggested plants did a lot more thinking than people believed, but they weren't sure how true that was yet, so they didn't mention it.
Maybe it was better that plants didn't have to worry about those things though?
Thinking just made people seem more likely to hurt each other...
"Oh!" Legion blinked, then looked at the potion. They'd forgotten what step they were on...
no subject
"Well it's at a 'rolling boil' now, right?" She asked, finger on the line of step 3. Coraline held up the mortar, which now contained about as close to powdered beetles as they were going to get. "Should I dump the beetles in, or sprinkle it bit by bit?"
no subject
"Sprinkle, I think." After a moment of consideration they nodded. "Definitely sprinkle."
It occurs to the that potions are intended to be drunk, and they make a face as they look at the beetles.
no subject
"Ooookay then, here goes-"
She started adding crushed beetle powder by the finger-pinch, humming a little as the surface of the water began to glitter like black beetle eyes, then erupted into a hiss and fizz as it frothed up almost to the lip of the cauldron. Coraline had to lean away from it with a grimace, adding the rest of the powder with her face turned away at arm's length, trying to hold back an oncoming sneeze.
Was it supposed to do that? The directions didn't quite say what to expect.
no subject
Fortunately, it didn't take them long to calm down.
"I think so."
From their tone, it sounded like they weren't entirely sure.
"We did everything it said, right?"