fandomhigh | 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!]

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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.

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...

With a smile like that aimed at her, how could Yeul do anything but smile back? The wave was appreciated and returned.

Yeul doubted it was out of place. Surely Professor Starsmore would not care about that sort of thing.

Rapunzel grinned wider. Then she held up her hands at about the level of her head and made a scary face. Well, okay, let's be honest: she made a "scary" face. And mouthed the word "boo".

It was therefore totally and entirely Rapunzel’s fault that Yeul, who was generally a very good student in that she paid attention to her lessons and remained focused, broke down giggling quietly.

All Rapunzel’s fault!

But see how little she minded?

Well, since Yeul's little giggling fit triggered one in Rapunzel, that made them even, didn't it?

That's totally how that worked!

Yeul, perhaps appropriately as her gigglefit had started first, was the first to calm down enough to lean over towards Rapunzel.

“You are going to get us in trouble,” she murmured.

Her eyes, however, were still brightly amused.

For just a moment, Rapunzel's eyes widened in worry, but then her lips curled upward again.

"No we won't," she murmured back, her voice still burbling with suppressed giggles. "We're practicing being social."

Totally class-related!

“Do you think that is really class related?” Yeul mused. “I believe he prefers that as an overall aim, though the professor has also stressed he does not wish to change anyone which is very considerate of him.”

"Well," Rapunzel said, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "Even if it's not, I doubt he'd say anything. He's so nice!"

Yeul looked pleased. "I think he is too," she said agreeably. "It is he who I've given my confidences to and his only reaction is to worry about me."

"Though I wish that he would not. It is not good for him."

Rapunzel smiled slightly, and a bit awkwardly. "I think he knows my secret, too, actually."

He'd given her some good advice, in that other world.

"As for worrying, well... it just means he cares, right?" Though Rapunzel agreed, she preferred people not to worry about her, too.

“It does mean that he cares.” Yeul glanced over to where he was before looking back at Rapunzel. “But there are times that worrying will not change anything and that’s the case of my situation, so I would rather he didn’t. It is one thing if it can be changed but another if it can’t…”

"Well, maybe nothing can change it, but sometimes people can do things to make it easier? Like, if you're sick, maybe someone can't change that, but they can bring you soup..."

Right?

"There is that," Yeul conceded. "And there is also the simple value of being with someone through something too."

Rapunzel nodded in agreement. "Even if you can't do anything to change things, you can at least make sure that someone's not alone, right?" Rapunzel aimed an unsure, but hopeful smile at Yeul. That's what friends were for, right?

"I will agree with that," she said, smiling back at Rapunzel. "Being alone makes everything harder to endure."

"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."

“I have not met a single person who has been unhelpful,” Yeul said earnestly.

She tilted her head slightly. “Is it a common thing, to have trouble asking for help?”

"Most people are too proud, or too afraid of inconveniencing other people," Jono replied, nodding a little. "Sometimes it's easier to keep things bottled up and never get that help, but that really doesn't improve anything. Especially not if one more person's help might be the difference between a bad situation and a life-or-death one, as is sometimes the way of it around here."

"That seems very uncomfortable," Yeul said earnestly. "For all involved."

Never mind that she was the last person who would ever ask for help concerning her particular... gift.

Living on the Outskirts, Friday, Period 2

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