fandomhigh | Ethics [Thursday, December 2, 2nd period]

Anakin came into the classroom and shook a small pile of powdered sugar from his robe. Fandom weather was enough to make you sigh some days.

"This semester we've covered six of the seven deadly sins," Anakin began, listing them off on his fingers, "lust, gluttony, greed, wrath, envy, and pride. That leaves us with sloth." He gave the class a brief smile. "Though gluttony might have been more appropriate to discuss right after Thanksgiving, where the tradition seems to be to eat until you burst. Regardless, sloth was originally described as 'an uneasiness of the mind'," he continued. "Apathy. Melancholy. Joylessness. And importantly, the decision not to do anything about it."

He leaned back against his desk. "The modern view understands that the mind is more complicated than that and sometimes it is impossible to will yourself not to be sad. Instead, this sin now focuses on the failure to utilize your talents and gifts." He glanced around the room. "In a school filled with as many talented beings as this one, I think it would be almost criminal to not live up to the potential each of you has. Today, pair up and talk about what your plans for the future are, and how the classes you've taken and the people you've met here will help you in your greater life goals."

You know, a really easy subject.

"Oh, and Mister Starsmore, please see me after class."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Looming threateningly was one of Anakin's favorite things to do, after all. Frightening boyfriends brought him joy.

"Do I need to warn you about that?"

Jono was pretty good at looking threatening, too, Anakin. Not that he was stupid enough to try it here and now, but... He was somewhat desensitized to intimidating looks. He had to look at himself in the mirror without his wrappings on every day. So, instead, he squared his shoulders a little more, furrowed his eyebrows, and looked Anakin head-on.

//You know, it's been a few months since my last girlfriend left. She... she died, technically. And when Didi went, I lost something... something that made me whole. I'm not ready to love again,// he said, evenly, if a bit flat. //But Raven knows that. She's not... not the air I breathe, or th'wind beneath my wings or any of that nonsense. And I won't lie to her, she means too bloody much for me to do that. And I'm not using her in order to forget, either, if that's what yer worried about.//

He shrugged.

//I care. I'm just bloody terrified of caring for her as much as she seems to care about me. I won't hurt her. I don't want to. Hell, I'm worried as all hell that I somehow am already. But I can't rush how I feel.//

"Fair enough," Anakin said, nodding. "And as an empath, Raven will always have a bit more insight into how you feel than you'd probably prefer. It doesn't mean she'll always jump to the right conclusion about what those emotions mean."

//No,// Jono agreed, nodding and turning his gaze down somewhere toward his toes. //Has she... said anything to you about those insights, at all?//

Since he already knew that she'd said something, now he was kind of worried that she was feeling more than there was, or less, or... something. He wasn't sure what. He'd never exactly dated an empath before.

Anakin shook his head. "She doesn't go into those kinds of details with me, which is how I prefer it."

Harassing the boyfriend in question aside, of course. Anakin had a special kind of relationship with the concept of being a busybody.

"But Jedi also pick up on the emotions of those they are close to, and I know from experience that I've jumped to the wrong conclusions before."

Jono's eyebrows furrowed a little, but he nodded. He had... the capacity to be empathic, himself. But he was embracing that sloth vice for all he was worth, when it came to developing his abilities, and so...

//A person's own emotions are ultimately theirs to understand,// he said, carefully. //I suppose somebody just looking in would only really have their own experiences to go by, as a point for comparison. Things would get skewed a bit.//

"And even empaths don't always want to see what's right in front of them," Anakin said, then shook his head to clear his thoughts. This wasn't nearly as threatening as he'd been initially planning for.

"You're a smart guy and Raven is fully capable of taking care of herself," he concluded, "but I'm always willing to help her hide a body."

He was probably joking.

//Or most of one, at least,// Jono mused. And then he gave his shoulders a shrug. //I'm trying not to mess it up. Lord knows my track record isn't th'greatest. But if it boiled down to it, if I did hurt her, odds are, I'd hold still for you.//

Ladies and gentlemen, Jonothon Starsmore's sense of self-worth and/or loathing.

... He was kind of being realistic about it. He wouldn't be difficult to catch, because he'd most likely be in some dark corner outside in the middle of the night, moping.

"Then we'll get along fine," Anakin said with a tiny smile.

Ethics [Thursday, December 2, 2nd period]

Re: Talk to Anakin [12/2]

Re: Talk to Anakin [12/2]

Re: Talk to Anakin [12/2]

Re: Talk to Anakin [12/2]

Re: Talk to Anakin [12/2]

Re: Talk to Anakin [12/2]

Re: Talk to Anakin [12/2]

Re: Talk to Anakin [12/2]

Re: Talk to Anakin [12/2]