Ghanima Atreides (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
atreideslioness) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2010-06-07 08:43 am
atreideslioness) wrote in fandomhigh2010-06-07 08:43 am
Entry tags:
Surviving & Thriving -- Monday -- Second Period.
Today the Danger Shop was set up simply with pillows on the floor, for everyone to sit on.
"This week," Algren said once the students had filed into the classroom, "we're going to discuss a topic that seems to be near and dear to the hearts of most of the residents of the island in one way or another. We're going to discuss sexuality in this day and age, in Fandom's terms, more specifically." If he looked a little uneasy, that was possibly because he was having flashbacks of Sex Thru The Ages class.
Don't mind him.
Ghanima wasn't going to mind him. Captain Algren was a gentleman, and it was her understanding that they sometimes had Issues discussing these things in public.
It was a good thing that Ghani was a good Fremen girl.Not Dirty. OK, Dirty.
"The first thing to keep in mind is that it is always your choice what you do at this school," Ghanima said briskly. "With whom, or when, or even if. Consent is key, as is safety, and you must never feel pressured by your classmates or your family."
"No," Algren stated, having finally managed to wrestle a note that was somewhat firm back into his voice, "means no. And communication is every bit as important as consent. You'll find it especially difficult to perform safely without it." Yes. He said 'perform.' It was the easiest word for him to spit out, at the time. "Of course, because we're on Fandom Island, there are other things that one needs to take into consideration, especially in regards to consent. Some of you might not have had any experience with these things yet, some of you might already know first-hand what we're about to get into. This place seems to give us a plethora of opportunity to see one another in a state where we aren't necessarily in our right mind."
"We've gone over gremlin bites previously," Ghanima continued smoothly. "Any time someone appears to not be their proper selves, it behooves you to demure any advances. If they mean it, they will offer again at another date. But gremlins are not the only hazard to our sense of self."
"On occasion, the island finds it amusing to make us think we are other people, or even turn us into someone completely different in shape, deed, and thought," she said. "Please know, you are NOT responsible for anything you do over one of those weekends if you are transformed. We cannot undo what was done, we did not make those decisions, so guilt is only self-defeating."
"However, if you are one of the few who manage to hold on to your sense of self during one of these events? You are responsible for you. Like a gremlin bite, if you suspect that someone is under the influence of an outside force, you are duty-bound to resist temptation. If a 'new student' randomly shows up mid-term? It may be a classmate transformed. Wait forty-eight hours before even considering anything." Her tone was completely serious and without humor. "If something does not feel right, walk away. Pursuing a liasion isn't worth regret on both ends later."
"And," Algren added, his expression grim and his tone every bit as humorless as Ghanima's, "you might have already noticed the tendency of your fellow students to become viciously protective of their friends, should you be the sort to take advantage of individuals who are not in control of their own actions. If nothing else deters you, then keep that in mind. Your actions will reflect back on you."
How was that for reassuring?
"Moving along, you might have also noticed that sexuality," that word came out of his mouth surprisingly easily this time around, "is far more fluid around here than you might be used to at home. We are open-minded on this island. If you see two boys or two girls holding hands, there is nothing," a pause to let that sink in, "nothing the matter with that."
"You don't have to condone this preference, but you cannot condemn," Ghanima agreed. "It's more common here than you may think."
"And if you are very sure you do not want to go about kissing people of your gender, be sure to avoid the glitter. It has been known, on occasion, to provoke 'boykissy' or 'girlkissy' parties. How or why, I have no idea."
"The magic of Fandom Island," Algren noted. "Which is what we're going to blame for any morning where you happen to wake up, look at yourself in the mirror, and wonder why in the world you're not the same gender you were when you went to sleep the night before."
"What we're going to do today is break into groups," Ghanima replied, nodding at Algren. "Gentlemen, with the Captain to the far end of the room, please. Ladies, with me. This will be your chance to ask us any questions that you do not want to ask in front of the opposite gender, and we promise that anything said in the groups will be kept in confidence."
"For your homework after class, we ask that you go out with a classmate -- of either gender -- for lunch or coffee this week. Preferably someone from a world unlike your own. Talk to them. Get to know them. And afterward, think about the type of communication that would go into pursuing a relationship."
[OOC: The OCD wants to be your friend!
"This week," Algren said once the students had filed into the classroom, "we're going to discuss a topic that seems to be near and dear to the hearts of most of the residents of the island in one way or another. We're going to discuss sexuality in this day and age, in Fandom's terms, more specifically." If he looked a little uneasy, that was possibly because he was having flashbacks of Sex Thru The Ages class.
Don't mind him.
Ghanima wasn't going to mind him. Captain Algren was a gentleman, and it was her understanding that they sometimes had Issues discussing these things in public.
It was a good thing that Ghani was a good Fremen girl.
"The first thing to keep in mind is that it is always your choice what you do at this school," Ghanima said briskly. "With whom, or when, or even if. Consent is key, as is safety, and you must never feel pressured by your classmates or your family."
"No," Algren stated, having finally managed to wrestle a note that was somewhat firm back into his voice, "means no. And communication is every bit as important as consent. You'll find it especially difficult to perform safely without it." Yes. He said 'perform.' It was the easiest word for him to spit out, at the time. "Of course, because we're on Fandom Island, there are other things that one needs to take into consideration, especially in regards to consent. Some of you might not have had any experience with these things yet, some of you might already know first-hand what we're about to get into. This place seems to give us a plethora of opportunity to see one another in a state where we aren't necessarily in our right mind."
"We've gone over gremlin bites previously," Ghanima continued smoothly. "Any time someone appears to not be their proper selves, it behooves you to demure any advances. If they mean it, they will offer again at another date. But gremlins are not the only hazard to our sense of self."
"On occasion, the island finds it amusing to make us think we are other people, or even turn us into someone completely different in shape, deed, and thought," she said. "Please know, you are NOT responsible for anything you do over one of those weekends if you are transformed. We cannot undo what was done, we did not make those decisions, so guilt is only self-defeating."
"However, if you are one of the few who manage to hold on to your sense of self during one of these events? You are responsible for you. Like a gremlin bite, if you suspect that someone is under the influence of an outside force, you are duty-bound to resist temptation. If a 'new student' randomly shows up mid-term? It may be a classmate transformed. Wait forty-eight hours before even considering anything." Her tone was completely serious and without humor. "If something does not feel right, walk away. Pursuing a liasion isn't worth regret on both ends later."
"And," Algren added, his expression grim and his tone every bit as humorless as Ghanima's, "you might have already noticed the tendency of your fellow students to become viciously protective of their friends, should you be the sort to take advantage of individuals who are not in control of their own actions. If nothing else deters you, then keep that in mind. Your actions will reflect back on you."
How was that for reassuring?
"Moving along, you might have also noticed that sexuality," that word came out of his mouth surprisingly easily this time around, "is far more fluid around here than you might be used to at home. We are open-minded on this island. If you see two boys or two girls holding hands, there is nothing," a pause to let that sink in, "nothing the matter with that."
"You don't have to condone this preference, but you cannot condemn," Ghanima agreed. "It's more common here than you may think."
"And if you are very sure you do not want to go about kissing people of your gender, be sure to avoid the glitter. It has been known, on occasion, to provoke 'boykissy' or 'girlkissy' parties. How or why, I have no idea."
"The magic of Fandom Island," Algren noted. "Which is what we're going to blame for any morning where you happen to wake up, look at yourself in the mirror, and wonder why in the world you're not the same gender you were when you went to sleep the night before."
"What we're going to do today is break into groups," Ghanima replied, nodding at Algren. "Gentlemen, with the Captain to the far end of the room, please. Ladies, with me. This will be your chance to ask us any questions that you do not want to ask in front of the opposite gender, and we promise that anything said in the groups will be kept in confidence."
"For your homework after class, we ask that you go out with a classmate -- of either gender -- for lunch or coffee this week. Preferably someone from a world unlike your own. Talk to them. Get to know them. And afterward, think about the type of communication that would go into pursuing a relationship."
[OOC: The OCD wants to be your friend!
Listen to the Lecture
Re: Listen to the Lecture
Re: Listen to the Lecture
He was glad to hear a preference for the same gender was not condemned in this time, though. He'd been following the news of Wilde's trial at home, and thought it ridiculous an artist was being judged so unfairly.
Re: Listen to the Lecture
Re: Listen to the Lecture