fandomhigh | Ethics [second period]

Anakin stood a little stiffly in front of the class. The lightsaber battle with Vader had taken something out of him.

"Today we talk about envy," he said quietly. "There's always something that someone else seems to have that we want: clothing, grades, family, love, looks, acclaim...their achievements remind us of something we don't think we have enough of." He smiled wryly. "To some, apparently, our island..."

He began pacing as he warmed to his subject. "A wise man once said that envy is the art of counting the other person's blessings instead of your own. An entire industry has sprung up and flourished exploiting the idea that we envy those who have achieved fame." Anakin made a face. "With the equally charming dark side that we'll take joy in watching their failures."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "So today we'll be gossip mongers. Come up with a story about one of the people in this class, in the school, on the island, or on Nemesis Island. It doesn't have to be true. It just has to be something that would get people's attention. Then pass it on. We'll see the ramifications of envy for ourselves."

He was kind of counting on the students choosing to start rumors about people they didn't like. He knew human nature that way.

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"You could put name tags on them? Or make them wear different colors."

"We could broadcast it over the radio," Peyton suggested, giggling herself. "But you know they'd wear each other's tags or colors or whatever, just to mess with everyone."

"Plus, there's people who don't listen to the radio. Like me."

"I probably shouldn't. I didn't really, until I found out that my exploits were being broadcast and..." She shook her head. "Yeah, it hasn't been a great week. I mean, I do my own podcast, so I guess I should have been prepared, but I really wasn't."

"My problem's more technical--I keep burning out the batteries on my headsets. Must have gotten a bad package or something." She pondered the situation. "Okay, go back to ignoring it. Who cares what a bunch of AV guys have to say, anyway? What kind of podcast?"

"Huh, odd." Peyton thought about that for a moment "Maybe. Odd, though."

She smiled at Molly. "Just whatever I feel like. Music, of course. Sometimes I talk about my art or my life. I pretty much always have my webcam on if I'm in my room."

"Don't you feel, I don't know, all exposed?"

"Not when I control it," Peyton said. "But hearing about myself on Fandom radio? That... freaked me out a bit."

"Yeah, you've got to ignore them," Molly decided, nodding firmly. "People'll believe what they want to believe, but if you don't know, it can't hurt you, right?"

"Well, after Saturday I'm not so sure about that, but overall, yeah," Peyton agreed. "I don't really care what people think about me. Well... much."

Molly leveled a look at Peyton. "Look. As long as you're a good person, that's the important part."

Somewhere in another dimension, Michael Carpenter was smiling for no apparent reason.

"Well... I can be a bit of a bitch," Peyton admitted with a smile. "But I try to be a good person."

She wanted to make sure her mom would be proud of her.

"Hey, who can't?"

"Bitches of Fandom, unite," Peyton drawled.

"Do we lose cred for admitting it, or do we get more for owning it?"

"I'm all for cred for the owning it," Peyton said firmly. "And anyone who disagrees, well... too bad for them."

Ethics [second period]

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