Practical Philosophy, Monday

[endsthegame]

Yesterday's revelation that they were releasing another movie about his life had not put Ender in the best mood. It was a harsh reminder that what awaited him back home wasn't always much better than what met him here-- at least at Fandom he could expect a certain degree of anonymity.

While he tried to keep the annoyance and frustration and numerous other emotions out of his work today, it was obvious he was quieter and more distant than he usually was. He picked a topic that was as comfortably distant from his own experience as he could find, without becoming irrelevant to their story entirely.

"This is our last class," he said. "Sooner or later, you'll find yourself at your last class, period. Fandom is a school and so your stay here comes with an expiration date. Are you glad about that? Relieved? Unhappy? When you leave, what will you carry with you of this place? Mostly negative experiences? Mostly positive? Why?"

Then he fell silent.

Comments

Talk.

[endsthegame]

Fandom. Leaving. What would it be like?

Re: Talk.

[myownface]

"You know I can't wait to get out of this hole and back into something I know my way around," Sparkle stated, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning. "But, I mean... At the same time, I'm not looking forward to the shit that might come with it. It's not like Fandom's weirdness doesn't follow people sometimes. I don't want to be the guy turning into a fucking horse or something while I'm walking down the street."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"If it's any consolation, it hasn't really followed me, Ben, or my sister," Ender offered. "But I've told you that before, and there's really no knowing how it works out."

Re: Talk.

[myownface]

"Yeah, no knowing," Sparkle sighed. "I'd rather start working on contingency plans for shit like 'wakes up as someone else' now, though. Better than being stuck for it back in boring, normal old Toronto, totally unprepared. I'm not gonna gamble my personal safety on you three not being touched by it in a totally different reality."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"That's smart," Ender said honestly. "Figure something out - even if it means convincing someone you've got roommates or weird pets. Or both."

Re: Talk.

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

"Tell me you're joking?" Karina asked, looking appalled. "The island's madness follows people?"

Re: Talk.

[myownface]

"Word through the grapevine says it can," Sparkle agreed with a frown. "Like the whole unwilling sex change bit, or when people turn into kids. I dunno about stuff like when our kids show up, but a lot of the 'changing into shit' stuff? It totally does. Hell, Alec turned into a panther cub while we were at the Baltimore zoo, once. Not even on the island."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

Ender nodded. "There's been reports of people turning into children or animals while away," he said. "The weather effects are limited to this place, but everything else seems fair game."

Re: Talk.

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

"I..."

Well, shit.

"I didn't want to know that," she said plaintively. "Except I think I should have known that before."

Re: Talk.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Nope," Kathy said, because that would help. "Nope, nope, nope-ity nope. My mother would murder me if I turned into a pony in front of her friends. Seriously. I would be glue and jerky within minutes."

Re: Talk.

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

"Me too," she said, shaking her head. "And if it wasn't my mom, it'd be pretty much everyone else. Like, how do you explain 'oh hey, my daughter is five again!'?"

Re: Talk.

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

"I will throw a party," Karina said, shrugging. "But honestly, I'd throw a party for graduating any highschool."

So... yeah. It kinda worked out to be the same thing.

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"Because you're proud of the accomplishment, or just because you're happy to move on?" Ender wondered.

Re: Talk.

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

"Because it'll be over," she said honestly. "I know we're supposed to care about highschool but it's not really going to matter in the long run for me."

Since she... already had her career.

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"It didn't particularly matter for me either," Ender said. So he wasn't exactly about to judge her on that score. "Some of us show up here with other obligations already in place."

Re: Talk.

[arsenicmauls]

"Gotta say, I'm pretty psyched for it," Gert said bluntly. "This might not be what you meant, but I guess what's weird is that on top of all the preparation for if I ever have to face vampire birds or whatever, I'll also take away all that classist stuff you get in this country with any high school diploma, even a weird one. Which'll be a help if I decide I want to go to college or get a normal job that isn't in food service, I guess."

She shrugged one shoulder.

"Apart from that, I get the begrudging respect of other adults who can consider me a fellow adult from then on, too." She twirled one finger in the air very, very wryly. "Yippee."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"What 'classist stuff'?" Ender prompted.

Re: Talk.

[arsenicmauls]

"You know, the opportunity to be perceived as smart and competent by the masses just because you happened to be in a position to attend a fancy boarding school," Gert clarified. "Or in my case, forced to."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"So you feel like you're-- what?" Ender asked, raising an eyebrow. "Co-conspiring with the system?"

Re: Talk.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Unless it comes to making choices about your own body and personhood," Kathy grumbled from her spot on the ground. "Then, not so much respect."

Re: Talk.

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm still pretty new here--" and not sure if she was staying past the summer or fleeing home where things were normal, "--so who knows how I'll feel in two years when I graduate. But if I were graduating at the end of the week, I'd feel...I don't know, relieved, maybe?"

This place was horrible and crazy, but also interesting. And Kathy was starting to feel the vague sparks of curiosity and a desire to be in the thick of things that even she wasn't aware of yet.

Re: Talk.

[myownface]

"Oh my god I've been here over a year now and I wish I was graduating at the end of the week," Sparkle groused, shaking his head. "Just up and leave all this bullshit behind. No, like, freaky bird-people trying to swoop down out of the silence to devour our fucking hearts while we escape to the dorms from a freaking inflatable toy."

He wrinkled his nose.

"Seriously, if I find out who arranged for more bounce-castles, I'm going to hunt them down and kick them in the fucking shin."

Re: Talk.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Who the heck thinks that's a good idea?!" Kathy yelped, trying not to sound shrill and probably failing. "A bounce-house? Those are fun for an afternoon, but not to sleep in! Why does the administration of this school think they're meant to be livable?"

Because they did not fit any definition that Kathy knew of. At all.

Re: Talk.

[makemyownway.livejournal.com]

"Traditional schooling isn't exactly gonna help me in my real life," Cade said flatly. "I get more out of the weekends I can shoot things. I'll be glad to leave."

That last part wasn't as true as it used to be.

Re: Talk.

[beautifulsenshi.livejournal.com]

"Okay, so, I went home for a weekend once, and came back to find a semester had passed? And it kind of made me sad, right, that I had missed out on people and stuff?" Minako offered hesitantly. "And, like, my mom thinks I'm still at summer camp, for the same summer as when I first came here a year ago. Which makes things really awkward, when I'm trying to talk about what I can talk about with her. So, it's no fun that way."

"On the other hand, stuff I learn here? We don't have classes like this where I'm from. If a yoma shows up at home, most people scream, faint, and get their energy drained. I've learned how protect myself here as just plain Minako, without needing superpowers, which is cool."

Beat. "But turning into a pony when home is, like, so uncool. It'd just be...rude! And, like, rude is a terrible terrible sin in my culture. You just don't do it!"