Atton Rand & miscellaneous names (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
suitably_heroic) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2014-10-15 10:25 am
suitably_heroic) wrote in fandomhigh2014-10-15 10:25 am
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How To Get By In A Hostile World, Wednesday
"As some of you might have noticed last week," Atton said, "Fandom weird has a habit of following people around no matter where they are. My TA - also known as the guy with the dumb hair over there - thought maybe it was a good idea to spend some time strategizing how to deal with that. I mean, on a school trip, nobody's going to care because you won't see them again anyway, but if you're going to normal Earth college after this or whatever, it'll be a pain in the ass."
Coincidentally, he was teaching this in one of the normal classrooms this morning. Thinking ahead, and everything.
He walked up to the board and wrote down PROBLEM | SOLUTION.
"Sure, you could come up with stuff on the spot and handle it as it comes," he said, "But hey, sometimes it's easier if you plan these things out in advance. Take genderswap, for example."
He dutifully jotted down genderswap, then pulled a face. "...Okay, Sparks, you handle the writing from here on in." He tossed the marker in Sparkle's general direction. There. That was solved. "Genderswap," he repeated. "Also known as the process of the island turning you into another gender than the one you're accustomed to. Now, sure, you can lock yourself up in your room for the day, but that's a pain in the ass. There are, however, a couple of ways you can set things up so this is easier when the time comes."
"If you're going to college after this, it's probably the easiest," he added. "Just tell everyone you have a sibling people rarely see, if ever. Or a cousin, if you're worried your family is gonna show up and muddle things up. Another option, if you're comfortable with that, is just convincing everyone that every once in a while you like to mess with the way you present yourself. Or say you have a booty call. Or... well, the list goes on. Plant these seeds before the day comes, and you'll save yourself a whole lot of stupid on-the-spot lying you haven't actually had the time to think through."
He sat down. "Now, turning into a pony-- that one's a little harder. Might have to work to make sure that you know all the exits to wherever you wind up. Make sure there's a back door, if you're in a position where you can do that. Or do the thing you do with the genderswap thing and just say sometimes you like to play dress up. Sure, people'll think you're a little weird, but you can just cover it up later by saying there was a convention." Beat. "Or make sure you live alone, or room with people who do drugs regularly. Actually, that last one's probably the easiest on everyone."
Thanks, Atton. Sound life advice right there.
"Bringing this back to last weekend," he said, "the luggage-- that one's actually pretty easy. Take the day off. Make sure that whatever place you're in, it has enough room to house the luggage. Prep a story about getting a bunch of novelty bags by error - maybe push it off on those neighbors you don't like. Or make it an excuse to plan a vacation."
He shrugged. "Anyway, there's about a million of these things that can follow you around," he said, "I think it's time we put our heads together, put as much of them on the board as we can, and brainstorm up some solutions."
Coincidentally, he was teaching this in one of the normal classrooms this morning. Thinking ahead, and everything.
He walked up to the board and wrote down PROBLEM | SOLUTION.
"Sure, you could come up with stuff on the spot and handle it as it comes," he said, "But hey, sometimes it's easier if you plan these things out in advance. Take genderswap, for example."
He dutifully jotted down genderswap, then pulled a face. "...Okay, Sparks, you handle the writing from here on in." He tossed the marker in Sparkle's general direction. There. That was solved. "Genderswap," he repeated. "Also known as the process of the island turning you into another gender than the one you're accustomed to. Now, sure, you can lock yourself up in your room for the day, but that's a pain in the ass. There are, however, a couple of ways you can set things up so this is easier when the time comes."
"If you're going to college after this, it's probably the easiest," he added. "Just tell everyone you have a sibling people rarely see, if ever. Or a cousin, if you're worried your family is gonna show up and muddle things up. Another option, if you're comfortable with that, is just convincing everyone that every once in a while you like to mess with the way you present yourself. Or say you have a booty call. Or... well, the list goes on. Plant these seeds before the day comes, and you'll save yourself a whole lot of stupid on-the-spot lying you haven't actually had the time to think through."
He sat down. "Now, turning into a pony-- that one's a little harder. Might have to work to make sure that you know all the exits to wherever you wind up. Make sure there's a back door, if you're in a position where you can do that. Or do the thing you do with the genderswap thing and just say sometimes you like to play dress up. Sure, people'll think you're a little weird, but you can just cover it up later by saying there was a convention." Beat. "Or make sure you live alone, or room with people who do drugs regularly. Actually, that last one's probably the easiest on everyone."
Thanks, Atton. Sound life advice right there.
"Bringing this back to last weekend," he said, "the luggage-- that one's actually pretty easy. Take the day off. Make sure that whatever place you're in, it has enough room to house the luggage. Prep a story about getting a bunch of novelty bags by error - maybe push it off on those neighbors you don't like. Or make it an excuse to plan a vacation."
He shrugged. "Anyway, there's about a million of these things that can follow you around," he said, "I think it's time we put our heads together, put as much of them on the board as we can, and brainstorm up some solutions."