fandomhigh | Adventuring Survival Tactics, April 13. Period 4

The classroom was all paint-splattered walls and bean bags again this week. After everyone entered, the Doctor began his lecture.

"How many of you have watched Galaxy Quest?" He waited for a show of hands. "That line, 'Never give up. Never surrender. How many of you know that?" He again waited a show of hands. "Well I'm here today to tell you that it's only half right. Never giving up, that's a good motto, good idea, great in practice and the focus of today's lesson. Never surrendering? That's rubbish, that is. That's like saying you never need to tactically withdraw or avoid a situation. Playing life with proper tactics is the only way to help assure you'll win, in the long run. Last stands are for idiots like Custer. And we only remember him because of what an incredibly stupid ape he was." The Doctor paused.

"Now, what does it properly mean to never give up? I mean, there's lots of situations where conceding is to your benefit. Winning the war is more important than an individual battle, and that's not giving up, in the big picture. Think what would've happened if the British gave up just because some ruddy Germans were dropping bombs all over the country. Or if the Americans had said 'oh well, we've lost most of the Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, no way we can win now, let's just give up to the Japanese'. Sure, two World War II examples, but you catch my meaning." He started pacing a bit.

"Now let's say your entire race is wiped out in a war. Does that mean you have the right to just camp out somewhere, ignore the universe about you, and be a bloody hermit the rest of your life? Of course not. That's giving up, that is. So your girlfriend leaves you for the man you were having a homosexual affair with. Do you swear off all relationships forever and become a priest? No, again that's giving up and frankly, no one should take up a life of religion as a result of extreme trauma. Only messes with your head, in the end. Now think about this. You're all very gifted people. You'll be encountering lots of strife, because that's what the universe gives to people who are special. Heartbreaks, dead friends, lost bits of anatomy, torture both physical and emotional. I want you all to keep one thing in mind, when you do encounter all this. There is always something worth living for. When all seems lost, you're letting yourself be blinded to what is truly out there. This universe has a multitude of wonderful things, all worth fighting for. All worth living for."

The Doctor cleared his throat. "And that brings us to the discussion topic of the day. Try and figure out what it is you live for, in this universe of ours. What's that thing that keeps you going. And if any of you say your sodding significant other, you're taking the cheap answer and lying to yourself. I'm sure they're all well and good, but love is temporary and fleeting. Emotions are a rollercoaster, not a rock to stand on. Think harder."

And with that bit of, well, bitterness really, the Doctor clapped his hands. "Alright, get to it!"

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"So is saying family the same as saying significant other?" Dean asked. Because family was always his first answer and he never really had looked much beyond it.

"Familial bonds are much more real than the love for another," the Doctor replied. "In my early days of travelling, when my bones were old and weary, it was my granddaughter that kept me going."

"That's crap," Luke ~~whined~~ said. "I've been orphaned three times in a year. If I were living for my family, I'd never have left Tatooine. I live for me."

"Crap or not, it works for those it works for." The Dctor paused. "How exactly does one get orphaned more than once?"

Luke ticked them off on his fingers. "I grew up knowing that my father had died before I was born. The aunt and uncle who raised me were killed by the Empire, so I went with my father's best friend, who was then killed in front of me by Darth Vader." His eyes filled with pain. "And then I watched my father--who hadn't been quite as dead as I originally thought--die over Spring Break." He stared down at his hands. "That one didn't stick, but forgive me if I'm not exactly filled with the love of all things familial."

"That sucks," Dean said. "Really. But you got your father back now, right? And just because it hasn't been something you can rely on doesn't make that true for everyone else. For me, the only things that have been constant in my life are my brother and my father. It's the one thing I've always had."

"Sounds nice," Luke said a little wistfully.

"Family's important," Sokka added, with a nod. "It just is."

No reason. Just because it's family. As much as the boy's filled with fire, he is a member of the Water Tribe.

"Friends can become family," Luke replied, then frowned. "Sometimes a little more literally than originally thought."

Adventuring Survival Tactics, April 13. Period 4

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