Jono Starsmore (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
furnaceface) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2012-11-02 08:49 am
furnaceface) wrote in fandomhigh2012-11-02 08:49 am
Entry tags:
Living on the Outskirts, Friday, Period 2
"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!]
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!]
Re: Discuss!
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!
"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!
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.