fandomhigh | Fandom Invasions Class #13 (week 14, Thursday period 4)

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fandom invasions

Fandom Invasions Class #13 (week 14, Thursday period 4)

The Danger Shop when everyone walked in was made up to look like a normal classrom. John was standing at the front leaning against a desk with a cup of coffee.

"Good day," John said. "Today we're just going to talk about one particular kind of invasion, the kind that can be the most insiduous and dangerous. And that's the kind that comes from within." He hit a button and the scenery behind him changed to a view of a very pink and kitten-plated office and a middle aged woman sitting behind the desk. "Sometimes, it's not really all that difficult to spot such dangers. This past summer, when Principal Washburn was on maternity leave, one such example was put in place as temporary principal. Delores Umbridge was, to put it mildly, incredibly unstable, a meglomaniac and a sadist to boot. Pretty much anyone who had any encounter with her came away with the knowledge that she was bad news. Subtle, she wasn't. If you run into something like that, the best thing you can do is keep your distance and go to a teacher or adult you can trust. There are some things you students shouldn't have to deal with."

He pushed another button and the scene changed to a young man with curly hair and pure black eyes trapped in a symbol on the floor. "Another example is one that is much harder to detect. The kind of danger that comes in the guise of a friend. There was an incident with some demonic possession last year -- and until someone who had precognitive visions had one about this particular student, no one had clued in that he was possessed.

"It's nowhere near as easy to figure out something is wrong with something that is that subtle. There are signs -- someone acting a little out of character -- either knowing or not knowing things out of the ordinary for them, or someone being cruel in a way that is not normal for them. Or, likewise, someone being a lot nicer than normal. That kind of thing can be a clue that maybe not all is well there.

"Of course," John added with a smile, "those kind of things could also just be normal teenage moods and it's sometimes hard to tell which is which. But if you do suspect that something is off, again, talking to a teacher or other adult you trust to get a second opinion is always a good option."

He touched the remote again and that scene faded as well. "And that's all I have to say about that. Since this is our last class before finals, I'm going to let you go early."

[ooc: ~~wait for~~ ocd's up]

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in the usual manner

Johnny Storm

Alex Russo

Savannah Levine

Michael Guerin

Meg Manning

Luke Skywalker

Hoshi Sato

Teyla Emmagan

Lucas Scott

Andros

James Sullivan

or take notes or talk to your classmates

Johnny listened intently to the lecture.

Alex paid attention to the lecture, hoping she never had to deal with something like that.

"Or evil facial hair," Savannah muttered as she took notes.

Michael had a puppy hidden under the desk. But he was paying attention anyway.

"Do we have a new student, Mr. Guerin?" John asked him.

"...yes", he said after a moment. "His name's Tether."

John tilted his head to the side. "So an actual dog then? Not a student under the weather?"

"Just a puppy", Michael confirmed, scooping the little dog up to show John. "I'm looking after him."

"Generally, pets don't actually come to class," John said. "Though we're overlook it this week. What's his name?"

"Tether", Michael repeated. "I didn't have anywhere else to leave him. Couldn't shut him in the room all day."

John came over and scratched the puppy's ears. "The final's probably going to be a little... intense for a puppy. Perhaps for next week, you can find a dog sitter." A slightly mischievious smile touched his lips. I know Dean's done his share of looking after his brother's dog when needed."

"I'm hoping Cable'll be back by then", he answered, watching Tether tilt his head into the scratching. "But yeah, I'll see if Dean's up for it if I've still got him next week."

"What if they start going bad in a more subtle way?" Luke asked, pausing in his extensive note taking. "They're not like Umbridge where you automatically get the vibe, and they don't get possessed by a book or an invasion or whatever. They just begin to...change. How far do you let them go before saying something? Especially if they have powers. Being a benign jackass isn't going to kill anyone. Being a telekinetic who starts having delusions of grandeur..."

Edited 2008-04-17 20:37 (UTC)

"It can sometimes be a judgement call," John said seriously. "Though obviously if someone seems to be having problems of any sort, trying to help them as best you can, or asking others to help is a good thing."

Luke nodded. "I'm going home to restart the Jedi," he said, "and it seems like we have a habit of turning dark side when no one's paying attention. There's not going to be anyone there to ask about it."

Terrified at the idea? Luke?

Maybe a little.

John nodded slowly. "I guess the key part of what you just said was 'when no one's paying attention.'"

"I don't want to be so paranoid that they all hate me," Luke said. "How do you find a balance? Or is this just trial and error like everything else?"

"Essentially, that's the only way we can do anything," John said honestly. "But making sure no one is heading off the rails or in trouble isn't necessarily being paranoid, at least it doesn't have to be."

"If they could've invented a dark side detector, I bet they would've have already," Luke said with a small smile. "I just wish the stakes weren't going to be so high if I mess up."

John shook his head. "The stakes are always high when it comes to people you care about. Whether they're delusional telekenetics or just moody teenagers."

Luke nodded. "Last time a Jedi went dark side, we ended up with a evil psychopath running the galaxy for almost twenty years. I'd like to avoid that."

Good goal, yes, Luke.

"So you're going to operate from a position of fear?" John asked. "Look at every student as a potential new psychopath?"

Luke shook his head vehemently. "My teachers trusted me when they had no reason to. I'll give the same courtesy to those I find."

John nodded. "You might do better to think less of dire destroy the universe situations and more of smaller wrongs. Like I said, most people at Fandom have good instincts for when something isn't quite right --- and if they didn't before they came, they certainly have it when they leave. If you deal with the small stuff, it won't get a chance to get big."

~~Until one of 'em gets possessed by a dead Sith Lord, puts me in a coma and blows up a planet~~. "That's good advice," Luke said, smiling. "I'll remember that."

Hoshi was taking lots of notes, in case she ever had to deal with something like this.

when he pings in

Luke was looking less than thrilled with the discussion this week, yes.

Not that his family had any experience with this. Really.

He's appearing a little thoughtful this week.

and we're done.

Ino won't be in class today because she's off in another wooooorld~

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Fandom Invasions Class #13 (week 14, Thursday period 4)

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talk to the TA

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OOC

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