Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part II

[bigdamnprincipal]

There were chairs and tables set up all across the lawn; some were by the bonfire, for the people who wanted to be warm and central to everything else at the picnic, and some were set farther away from the action, for the people who wanted more peace and quiet.

There was no escaping the glitter though. Sorry, but not really.

[OCD is up! This is the picnic post for general mingling. Roommates, fake siblings and teachers are all here. Since it's outside, the picnic is open to all students, teachers, and townies!]

Comments

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[not_a_moonie]

"I would have been humbugging with you if I were here," Alana shared. "I mean,they kill a tree and drag it into their houses to stick things all over because a baby was born a long time ago. I don't get it."

That moment of cultural judgment aside, she gave Sparkle a thoughtful look. "Don't think I'd hate Coruscant, though. How was it?"

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[myownface]

"Yeah, Christmas is overrated. But Coruscant was pretty cool. The whole planet is a city, you know? And way cleaner than some of the places Atton's taken me to before. The Jedi temple is, like, hilariously over-glorified, and it's probably the first place I've ever been in my life where my writing is considered the posh stuff that the people with the fancy educations get over and above the common alphabet. Which... also meant I couldn't read a freaking greasy spoon diner menu written in Aurebesh, but whatever. The food's still good."

You'd asked, Alana.

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[not_a_moonie]

"It's so weird that the alphabet is common across so many cultures," Alana shared. "Lucky for me, and it means I'd be screwed in a greasy spoon on Coruscant too, but weird."

She dug a thumbnail into the orange and started to peel it. "See, I think Skywalker might have taken us there during that class about not dying last summer. I liked it but they all kinda blur together?"

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[myownface]

"Super weird, considering the alphabet isn't even really common across most Earth cultures," Sparkle mused, and then shrugged. "But convenient, anyway. You'd probably remember Coruscant if you saw it, though. Maybe. I mean, I only saw the bit with the Jedi temple on it, but the temple itself went on for freaking forever. I think it was probably even bigger than the island, you know?"

That was not hyperbole. Which was weird, for Sparkle.

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[not_a_moonie]

Alana had to think about it a minute. "Wait, that was the one with the apple slug stew," she finally remembered. "And I had to fix a speeder bike. Cool place, even though we didn't get to the Temple. It was like a insanely crowded version of a Landfall city."

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[myownface]

"... If Atton ever tries to feed me anything with 'slug' in the name, I'm going to punch him," Sparkle decreed, wrinkling his nose. "But yeah, speeder bikes, big crowds. Sounds about right. Landfall's a bit like that, then, huh? I thought it kind of reminded me of Toronto, except for the whole... spaceships and droids and I don't think anyone gets, like, a backyard or anything like that... thing."

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[not_a_moonie]

"It wasn't bad if you ignored the slug part," Alana confided. "And yeah, Landfall's like that. Cities, crowds, different species elbowing each other out of the way."

She sounded wistful.

"But we do have a little more green space, too, so I guess it's closer to Toronto. Except with spaceships."

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[myownface]

"See, I'd be okay with Toronto with spaceships," Sparkle decided. "Hell, I wouldn't mind checking out Landfall someday. Sounds like an exciting place. Much as I'm still getting used to the different species thing, cities and crowds are what I live for."

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[not_a_moonie]

"I like it a little quieter," Alana admitted. "Not quite as quiet as Fandom" -- because who wanted that? -- "But, like, not people in your face all the time. But sure,I'd take you home sometime if you take me to Toronto sometime."

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[myownface]

"Hey, if you want to see Toronto, why the hell not?" Sparkle grinned faintly. "I mean, I could probably arrange for somewhere to crash. We could hit up a hostel or something, those are cheap..."

Not that he didn't want to put you up with minimum fuss, Alana, but he didn't really get to just casually invite people over to crash in the group home. And that was probably for the best.

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[not_a_moonie]

"That's probably a lot more affordable than trying to book a shuttle to Landfall," Alana nodded. "Seriously,I'm up for it whenever. Usually I'm free on the weekend unless the island turned us into sentient sludge or whatever."

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[myownface]

"Sludge probably doesn't travel well anyway," Sparkle declared. "But hey, yeah, we can pick whatever weekend. Maybe not right now, because, you know, there's sweet fuck-all to do in Toronto this time of year. But, I mean, I can look and see if there is something that'll make the trip worth our while. Could be fun."

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[not_a_moonie]

"Yeah, wait until it's not one giant ice cube and then we'll go," Alana nodded. "... unless that's going to take until way after you graduated. Don't wait thatlong."

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[myownface]

"Ha! Yeah, no, I graduate in the summer. Toronto's gonna be thawed out by then. The seasons there are pretty much the same as the seasons here. I think time is going a little slower or something? But whatever, all that means is I'll need to keep my fake ID longer when I go back home."

And... probably keep going to high school for a while more. Details.

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[not_a_moonie]

"Bummer," Alana commiserated. "Not that it will have thawed -- that part is good -- but that you aren't going to get credit for how old you actually are."

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[myownface]

Sparkle shrugged a little and shook his head. Whatever, right? No big deal.

"It's not all bad, I guess. I mean, I'd rather it be going slower than faster. I'm not in a big rush to be thrown out on my ass or something because I aged out of the system while I was away."

Oh god, he'd be behind bars within a week.

"Kind of works in my favour that way. Means I get more time to get my shit together than most kids do."

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[not_a_moonie]

"I didn't know it worked like that," Alana frowned. "Seriously? The day you turn 18 it's just bam, go figure your own shit out, have fun?"

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[myownface]

"It's a little older than eighteen back home," Sparkle sighed, "but yeah... you age out of the system, that's kind of it, unless you've got a good case for it, like, you're going to more school, you might get another year or something. You see a lot of kids try to make a go of it on their own for a while, and it's from the group home into the shelter or the gutter or jail. Fucking sucks. I'm not going to be that kid."

He crossed his arms over his chest, stubbornly.

"Whatever, I mean, really. It isn't like I wasn't getting by on my own before I was picked up."

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[not_a_moonie]

"Oh, no, I know you'll be fine," Alana said quickly, trying to sound more confident about Sparkle's prospects than she actually felt. "It's just -- that's rough, right? Having to figure everything out on your own? At home the foster kids who don't get into college have the army to take care of them for a couple years."

This was the one good thing about a near-universal draft.

She ran a hand through her hair. "Is there anything we should do to, like, help you prepare?"

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[myownface]

"Hell if I know," Sparkle replied with a shrug. "That was supposed to be Lewis' job, and he sent me here. Says it's good for me."

Because he hadn't spent a single night in jail since arriving on the island. Which was a big deal, for Sparks.

"Like, theoretically, I guess I should be looking at schools or something."

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[not_a_moonie]

"Like, school for what?" Alana mused. "Not that I know the answer to that one for myself, but I get another year."

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[myownface]

"Fuck, I don't know. I went to acting camp last summer. That was fun. Not sure if I want to make a living out of it, but it beats some of the alternatives. Doctor Lecter's cooking classes have been fun too. Those come with, like, job stability, I guess. Everyone's got to eat..."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"It's stupid, isn't it? How the hell am I supposed to know what I want to do for the rest of my life any better than anyone else my age?"

People who had been encouraged to get to know themselves and to pursue their passions their entire lives. Not the ones who really had no say in the matter.

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[not_a_moonie]

"You got me," Alana said, frowning at the ground as if an answer might be there. "Maybe you need to just ... pick something and figure that if you hate it you can do something else later? And cooking's probably safer money-wise than acting."

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[myownface]

"Cooking's safer, and I'm better at acting," Sparkle sighed. "Catch-freaking-twenty-two, right?"

He also enjoyed acting more, but he knew better than to think that having fun doing something was enough to ensure that you'd be able to make a living at it.

"Whatever happens, I mean, I still have a little bit of time to think. I need to figure out just how much of a difference there is between here and home, so I know how much time I have left. But this isn't like the panic zone yet or anything like that."

Re: General Mingling [Spring 2015]

[not_a_moonie]

"There's always one of those," Alana sighed. "I used to want to act, back when I was a kid. Don't know if I'm really good enough to make a living at it, but if I could pick any job..."

She laughed at herself a bit as she trailed off. "Probably I'll end up taking a computers course or something, 'cause it's safe."