Living on the Outskirts, Friday, Period 2

[furnaceface]

"Once upon a time," Jono said, speaking without preamble as he walked into the classroom looking fairly well-rested, even if he smelled a little like Mr. Clean, "there was this bloke who didn't stand a chance in hell of fitting in, back home. He was, on top of being a little antisocial to start with, a mutant, hated and feared by humanity because his genes were a little different. And, beyond that... Well..." He held up a photo of himself in his X-Men days for the classroom to see, face unwrapped and fire twisting violently around him. "... Frankly, he was a little terrifying. Even other mutants, people with the same problems as him, shrank away from him as though he was a monster."

He managed to deliver that line in a fairly cavalier sort of way. It still stung, but the point was mostly moot, these days.

"And then, through an accident of fate or by the power of Fandom or after tripping into some strange sentient mist - don't ask - he found his way here. Here, surrounded by humans, aliens, mutants, fairies... So many people who were other, it was probably absurd of him to assume that they'd consider him all that different in the first place. He continued to be standoffish, continued to assume that there was no way anybody here could come to accept him as anything but what the people back home made plainly clear they saw him as.

"And then he found love. He found love twice, actually, both times with people who weren't quite normal themselves, and both times with young women that only cared to see him for who he was, not what he was. He had a hand in saving the day right alongside people that he's still proud to this day to have known as friends. Hell, he was even voted Prom King the year he graduated, and he's still half-convinced that the entire senior class had been drinking the spiked punch a little early when that decision came about."

He smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"The point is, even when he went home, he held on to that. He was still a mutant, still different in a way that wasn't going to ever let him really fit in, but he wasn't entirely so hesitant to let himself be happy, either. And if, to this day, the only regrets he really has are the result of things that are well beyond his control, well... then his time here wasn't a complete waste, and it's really no wonder he ultimately chose to come back here to teach this class, is it?"

Come on. Like you didn't see that one coming, kids.

"So, how about you lot? Any 'oh, I'm actually not as alone as I thought I was' stories to share about this place since you came here? You don't have to go quite as in-depth as I did. I hardly expect visual aides or anything. But I suspect I'm not the only one in this room who was surprised to find that I belonged somewhere, after being so resigned to the prospect of spending the rest of my life hated, feared, and hunted for what I was."

[Open! Sharing and caring time is now!]

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Sign In!

[furnaceface]

Like a freak!

Re: Sign In!

[ultron_junior]

Victor Mancha

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[pulseof_life]

Paddra Nsu-Yeul

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[leavingthenest.livejournal.com]

Rapunzel

Before Class!

[furnaceface]

Comfy chairs! Tea! Coffee! Pastries!

... And leftover pizza from two days ago. There's a lot of it, please, eat it.

Lecture!

[furnaceface]

He's actually kind of handsome in that photo, right?

... Right?

Discuss!

[furnaceface]

Come on, guys. You know you want to tell the class about how you're loved and accepted for who you are, here. Don't you?

Re: Discuss!

[ultron_junior]

Victor shifted hesitantly in his seat before answering. He'd never experienced rejection on the scale Jono was describing, and Fandom had been correspondingly less of a change.

But there were a couple things he could mention, anyhow.

"I don't know if I have really good stories like yours, but my ... the easiest way to explain it is to say my grandfather," he began hesitantly, "came out for parents' weekend. My so-called 'father' is seriously evil, and I wasn't expecting much of anything from his creator."

"I'd kind of been avoiding the whole thing, because I thought it'd just be awkward. But Dr. Pym was -- actually sort of awesome to me, and I dunno if I would have even talked to him yet, let alone on good terms, if I had stayed in L.A. And, uh, also I'm dating this fantastic but totally normal girl. I hadn't thought about it a lot, but I ... pretty much assumed that would just never happen. So. Thank you, Fandom."

Re: Discuss!

[furnaceface]

Jono offered Victor a slight smile at that. He'd met Dr. Pym in his office that weekend, and he could tell that, for all that the man was notoriously the science-minded Avenger (or, at least, one of many of them), he also seemed genuinely concerned for Victor's well-being.

"Thank you, Fandom," he echoed, nodding. "This isn't really a contest to see who has the best story, Victor. It sounds to me as though you've found family you never would have otherwise, and you're happy with your girlfriend. I'd consider that a win, mate."

Re: Discuss!

[ultron_junior]

"Oh, yeah, it's completely a win," Victor told him, visibly relaxing. "Even if I might doubt it when I practically freeze to death every time I step outside."

He didn't point out Olive wasn't technically his girlfriend, both because he doubted Jono cared that deeply about his students' love lives and because he thought of her that way even if he wasn't ready to say it.

Re: Discuss!

[pulseof_life]

Yeul had the vague idea that this… wasn’t really a topic she could answer. Still, she would give it a go.

"I have told only one person the so-called thing that marks me as different," she said calmly. "It went well enough though it has led, on their part to worrying, which I am sorry for."

Jono.

"However, in terms of general acceptance and caring the people of Fandom have been very friendly and accepting of the fact that there are many things I have questions about and I have had no trouble when it comes to getting answers. I have only to ask and people are willing to help." Yeul considered that. "I appreciate that forbearance."

… She had lots of questions.

Re: Discuss!

[leavingthenest.livejournal.com]

Rapunzel didn't have anything to say, really, but she did have a gigantic, encouraging smile to aim at Yeul.

Also, maybe a little wave wouldn't be out of place? Rapunzel hoped not...

Re: Discuss!

[furnaceface]

"Really, there's no shortage of people here who are willing to offer help if you ask for it," Jonothon agreed. "I'll be doing a lesson on asking for help, actually... sometime."

His syllabus was a bit fluid, these days.

"I am glad to see that you've been meeting the helpful ones, luv, and that people have been patient with your questions."

Re: Discuss!

[walkswithcoyote]

Mercy looked at Jono, took a really deep breath, stood up, and shifted.

In seconds there was a coyote backing out of a pile of clothes. She stood there a moment, shivering a little from nerves, then grabbed the clothes, slipped out the door and came back in as herself again.

"So... I'm a walker. I started turning into a coyote in my crib when I was a baby. It was too much for my mom to deal with so I ended up in Montana with a pack of werewolves."

She was trying really hard to sound calm about it all, but she was definitely a little shaky. "Wolves kill coyotes who intrude on their territory in nature, so things weren't always great and they spent a lot of time shoving my face in the fact that I wasn't pack and didn't belong. A couple of them tried to kill me on more than one occasion. Don't get me wrong. It wasn't all bad, some of it was great, but I never fit.

"Then I got sent away - sent back to my mom's and found out she had another family. They didn't even know I existed either. They were good to me, but there was no way I could be myself there - not and fit in at all - so I ended up here. And I think maybe I found somewhere I can fit. If I'm brave enough."

She sat down, then stood back up again quickly. "Technically, I'm not allowed to talk about this - they can kill me if it gets out in my world, like literally kill me, so if we can keep it in Fandom, I'd appreciate it."

Re: Discuss!

[furnaceface]

"Anything and everything that you say in confidence in my classroom, stays in my classroom unless you're the one who takes it out of it," Jonothon replied, turning a look at the other students in the room that had more than a little bit of steel behind it.

Did anyone in the room want to test that? They'd regret it. End of story.

"And I have faith in you, Mercy. It took courage to get up and show people here what you've been hiding for so long. And I've seen you show backbone before. You should be proud, luv."

Re: Discuss!

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

Sholeh gasped and stared. She'd never seen anyone that could do that! She was caught on the edge of amazement and trepidation.

"Are--are you--" Sholeh realized at the last moment that asking if someone was a demon might be rude, even if it were phrased, 'are you a demon, too?' "What does being a walker mean?"

There. That was a good compromise.

Re: Discuss!

[pulseof_life]

Yeul thought that Mercedes must have been the most adorable baby coyote ever once upon a time.

That was hardly the sort of thing to bring up right now though. "I think," she said softly, almost diffidently, "that people will look out for you and keep your secret here."

Re: Discuss!

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

Watching others get up and talk made Sholeh want to confess, too. She was tired of lying to people, tired of pretending her sisters were far away, tired of keeping who she was a secret. People had told her how hard it was to keep others from noticing their oddities, but no one had ever told her how hard it was to keep from telling.

::Should I...should we--::

*No, Sholeh.* Zhahar's voice was firm. *You know we can't.*

::But people wouldn't hurt us! You know they wouldn't! Mercy just changed into a coyote and no one cared! And you heard Mr. Starsmore!::

=Doesn't matter kid,= Zeela said, though she sounded more resigned than anything else. =We can't take that risk. Just in case. Besides, have you thought about what our mothers would say?=

Sholeh thought of their mothers' rage in the face of breaking the code of silence and shuddered. ::We wouldn't have to tell?::

*So you'd lie to our mothers instead of these strangers?*

::They're not all strangers!:: Even as Sholeh protested, she knew she had lost the argument. Her head bowed and her eyes dropped. ::Some of them are our friends.::

=We're different, Sholeh,= Zeela reminded, now sounding very sad. =We're demons. This is the way it's always been.=

*And the way it will always be.*

Re: Discuss!

[pulseof_life]

Yeul would be the first to admit she did not know Sholeh well and so, when the other girl looked down, distressed, Yeul was unsure if she should say something.

Asking if she was all right, when she was clearly not, seemed beyond awkward.

Instead, a couple of minutes later, a few brightly-wrapped Halloween candies were set (unsubtly) on Sholeh's desk.

She knew better than anyone that a few sweets would not change someone's circumstances, whatever they may be, but they were still a little bit of kindness that she hoped might make Sholeh feel a tiny smidgen better.

Re: Discuss!

[furnaceface]

Jono didn't have telepathy or anything resembling it, but he really couldn't help but notice how torn Sholeh seemed to be, and how quiet. It was always during those lessons where he asked people to share that she seemed to get like this.

"Would you mind staying a little after class today, Sholeh?"

Said quietly, while the other students were distracted with their own stories, of course. The last thing he wanted was to drag unwanted attention to her.

Talk to the TAs!

[furnaceface]

When they tag in!

Re: Talk to the TAs!

[makemyownway.livejournal.com]

Cade was going to sit over here and not share.

Re: Talk to the TAs!

[walkswithcoyote]

Mercy was still pretty shaky at the end of class, but she wanted to catch Cade before he left. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Talk to Jono!

[furnaceface]

Who is acting completely casual as he sits at that desk. But that photo of himself is face-down on it all the same.

OOC!

[furnaceface]

Mixing up my syllabus order again.

I suspect this might continue to be the case until the end of the semester. MY SENSE OF WHIMSY (and/or my availability around my job) DEMANDS IT.