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

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.

[myownface]

"Easier in some cases than others," Sparkle noted, frowning. "I mean, if I go back to Lewis' place, there's not really any explaining why I'm suddenly ten years younger. A few of these people, I've known for that long."

His contingency plans were a work in progress.

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"You might want to consider just telling one or two of them," Ender said. "Even if they don't believe it right then and there, they will when it happens. You'll figure it out."

Sorry, Sparkle. He was a million miles away today.

Re: Talk.

[myownface]

Sparkle could kind of tell, though he didn't call that to attention. He just kind of frowned, squinted a little, and shook his head.

"Right. I'll figure it out."

He'd tell one or two of them, but he didn't trust a single one not to sell him out to some freak show somewhere, or something like that. They were kids like him. They were desperate.

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]

"Is there any explanation for that that isn't 'it's magic'?" Karina asked, frowning. "Because, like, that's not fair."

Not that life was fair but whatever.

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"Call the island sentient, blame it on the machines that keep it going, maybe a local physics field that follows people," Ender said. "Nobody knows, unfortunately."

Re: Talk.

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

"I wish I'd known that before I'd ever set foot on this place," she said, trying very hard to keep the whine out of her voice.

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"We should take that phrase and engrave it above the school gate," Ender said.

Re: Talk.

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

"Where it'd be totally useful, I'm sure," she said, a touch dryly.

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.

[myownface]

"It's probably something they should've put in the brochure," Sparkle mused. "'Ever dream of spending the rest of your life wondering if you'll still be a chick when you wake up the next morning? Look no farther, Fandom High is probably the screwed-up high school for you.'"

Re: Talk.

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

"That's terrible," she said, laughing reluctantly. "But I'd have appreciated it. As a way of knowing it wasn't the school for me."

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.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Or be out on a date and suddenly I start singing my feelings!" Not that Kathy had ever been on a date, but there was always the hope, you know? "I do gymnatics! What if I'm at a meet and suddenly, I don't know, I turn into a boy?! I'll be immediately disqualified"

Priorities, she had them.

Re: Talk.

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

They were good priorities!

"Oh god, I know," she said, thinking of the sheer amount of Hero work that would screw over. "This is terrible and I don't know why people hadn't said anything before! Is there, like, a time limit? How long you have to be here before it gets you too?"

Because, if so, she was gone.

Re: Talk.

[spin_kick_snap]

"What, are they supposed to put that into the brochure?" Kathy yelped. "Who'd believe them? 'Coming to this school may turn you into a boy, child, pony, or anything else, which will then follow you for the rest of your life.' If you'd read that, would you think it was true, or just that the school prided itself on being weird?"

Which, in and of itself, would have been a nice warning.

Re: Talk.

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

"I wouldn't have believed them," she said, stressing the word. "But it would've told me that this was not a school for me. I mean, I knew it was weird but there's 'bizarre clubs' weird and then there's... this kind of weird. And, face it, who wants highschool weird stalking them their whole life? If they'd mentioned that... yeah, no way would I be here."

Re: Talk.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Even if they said that this was gonna follow me my whole life, I would have assumed they meant there was an alumni association that kept bugging you to stay involved with 'campus culture' and asking for donations," Kathy admitted. "But, yeah, I don't think there's anyone who wants to get stalked by high school weird. Especially this kind of high school weird."