That sounds just like us. on Potions

Mary Brooding-Hawthorne

May 08, 2022 10:59 AM

Wildly responsible [Intermediates.] by Mary Brooding-Hawthorne

Things were . . . better. Professor Brooding was hesitant to say that things were good but they were better. She tried not to think about how easy and beautiful things had once been because it was just too much to try to get through the day and also compare it to a happier past but here they were. Zeus' condition had improved tremendously - largely with Tabitha's help - and her own marriage was on better terms than it had been for awhile as well. Since those were the two biggest points of stress in her life, having them largely improved, if not resolved, was a big load off her shoulders too.

It was Tabitha's recent interventions into Zeus' healthcare that had inspired part of her lesson for today and she beamed at the students as they came in and took places at tables around the room. Today, each table was set with a number of prepared potions, a cheat-sheet of sorts, and a box with a number of items inside such as a roll of tape, a metronome, and other small things.

"Hello, all," Mary began, slipping into her Professor Brooding-Hawthorne persona to address her students. "As you know from the syllabus, the last unit we'll be covering for the year will be about medical potions, dosages, et cetera. To get us started on that unit, we're going to be discussing and learning about the placebo effect." She waved her wand to enliven a piece of chalk to take notes on the board at the front of the room as she spoke. "The placebo effect is based on the brain's ability to cure or improve conditions because it is tricked into doing so. It can also work the other way - someone can be so convinced that they're sick or injured that they truly feel it and present symptoms. We'll cover more on that in Advanced classes when we look at psychosomatic illnesses and more. For now, the important thing to remember is that the brain is your most powerful tool. It's part of the reason a bowl of warm soup makes you feel better when you're sick, and you suddenly feel scratchy and itchy when you know you've been exposed to something that could really make you feel that way.

"In front of each of you, you have a number of annoying items or items that can cause minor ailments such as using tape for a surface skin injury when you pull it off or a metronome to cause a headache. There's nothing intended to cause significant harm and if I see anyone whacking each other or themselves with any of these tools, you'll be receiving detention. Please remember that it is not acceptable to hurt people and since each of you is a person, it is not acceptable to hurt yourselves either." She looked around the room, noting whether anyone looked especially squirmy about that and making a note to follow up with them if that was the case. Not wanting to linger unduly long, she continued: "Working in pairs, you'll take turns experiencing a minor affliction while your partner uses the paper I've provided to identify which solution would be the best cure. There's quick remedies in very low dosages for headaches, allergies, skin wounds, and more. Some of them are fake. After about five minutes, you'll take note of how the afflicted person is feeling and then look at the bottom of the vial to see whether it's marked as a placebo - a mix of inactive ingredients - and take notes on whether it was effective."

Professor Brooding-Hawthorne smiled around the room, enjoying knowing which was which. There were a good mix of actual remedies and false remedies but some tables had all of one or the other available to them. Depending on how far into the activity students were able to get with the remaining class time, they'd have fun - or not - discovering that for themselves.

She waved her wand, sending small sheets of information about their homework, an essay on the placebo effect, around the room. "Go ahead and begin and I'll walk around to answer questions as we go," she told them.

OOC: Hello, and welcome to potions class! Serious injuries and ailments would not be left unchecked and the professor is watching closely to ensure everyone is safe. Please tag her in the title of your post if you believe it would call her attention over. Posts will be graded on realism and contribution to the back-and-forth with another student or students, rather than on the student's actual success or not with the task. Enjoy!

22 Mary Brooding-Hawthorne Wildly responsible [Intermediates.] 1424 1 5

Valentine Duell

May 09, 2022 5:37 PM

That sounds just like us. by Valentine Duell

It wasn't that Valentine didn't like the medical sections of the potions class, she did. They were really a good thing to know. it was just that... well, it was a lot harder to play 'mad scientist' during these lessons than most of the rest. Cackling manically while brewing up some healing drought of one sort or another just didn't seem quite right. Oh well, she would manage.

This was one of the classes in which she was doing okay. Her grades were usually pretty good and most of the time it was actually fairly fun. There had been some not inconsiderable though about pursuing some form of potion related field after graduation, but none of the normal routes there appealed to her very much. Particularly not the medical ones. She loved to help people, but she also knew deep down, that there was not way she would be able to face the pain and suffering that healers had to on a day by day basis. The wonderful people that went into that field were much more resilient than she was in that area.

Unfortunately, that meant this might be her last year taking classes from Professor Brooding-Hawthorne. Val didn't much like that thought, she liked the potions professor. With what she was going to have to do next year, she could afford to take a class she that she didn't really need just because she liked the professor. Although it was really, really tempting. Granted, that was all assuming she got what she needed on her CATS.

For today though, Valentine listened to the professor's instructions then turned to her table-mate with a smile. "Are we ready to get started? Would you like to injure yourself first, or should I?"

2 Valentine Duell That sounds just like us. 1490 0 5

Rosalynn Tellerman

May 13, 2022 8:41 AM

I'm going to take it on faith that you are not using sarcasm by Rosalynn Tellerman

Rosalynn did not particularly like potions. Sure, it was maybe one of the more stereotypically witch scenes she could play out in what was actually her real life, but for every time she got to intone 'double double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble,' she had to cut up rat tails or measure out nettles or do some other gross or tedious thing.

For this class, she had taken to working with or at least near Valentine Duell as much as Valentine Duell wasn't already claimed by one of her actual friends, just because the older girl liked to cackle while she brewed and that was all manner of dramatically entertaining, and Rosalynn enjoyed joining in with it. It was important that people could have fun while they learned.

Today was one of the days, she actually got the spot next to Valentine, though it didn't look like brewing or cackling was on the agenda for today's lesson. She did have to giggle though, when Val asked which of them would be injured first. "That is not something I ever expected would be seriously asked during class time," she marveled, shaking her head. As minor as the injuries would be, she could not imagine that this would fly in muggle school. "I can go first," she offered, picking up the tape dispenser and pushing her robe sleeve back far enough to put a bit of the tape on her arm. She'd started shaving her legs this year, but her body hair matched her skin tone pretty well so she didn't bother doing so with her arms. She mildly regretted that as she yanked the tape off and a few hairs pulled free of their follicles. "Ow," she complained, wincing. "Got some of the hairs."

The spot where the tape had been was very faintly red and stung a bit, but she imagined it would heal itself in not terribly long even without intervention, but she held it out toward Valentine, and said, "Doctor, my arm hurts and has a bit of a rash. Can you fix it?"

1 Rosalynn Tellerman I'm going to take it on faith that you are not using sarcasm 1520 0 5