Powers, Identity, and The World; Embracing the Real You - Friday, Period One

[furnaceface]

Today, Rinoa was exhausted. She imagined her co-teacher was, as well, and most of the students. It had been a rather long week. But at least everyone, today, could focus on something other then their individual libidos.

“Welcome back,” she said, nodding at the students. “Congratulations on surviving the week, hopefully with your dignity intact.”

//And hopefully all of that is almost out of everyone's systems, just in time for the break,// Jono added, looking somewhere between tired and relieved. He didn't have to have his shields up like Fort Knox anymore. Good. That was exhausting. //If you have no idea what I'm talking about… lucky you. Otherwise, well, this week we're going to be talking about that. Sort of.//

Jono had no intention of discussing sex with the class this week, thank you. Or sex pollen, or anything along those lines, really.

“Sometimes, your body wants to be the one steering,” Rinoa said. “Or your powers, or your emotions, or something that Fandom cooked up. Sometimes what you know, logically, in your brain, is out-shouted by what your nerves are screaming.”

Fear was a particularly loud emotion. So was anger. And sometimes, powers had their own insistent demands.

//And that's something that a good many people with powers have had to deal with,// Jono noted. //I've blown my face off more times than I care to admit to. There are some things that are beyond my control. A lot of people when they're first coming into their powers might find that they're something beyond their immediate control, and wake up to a room that's been frozen over, or kiss somebody only to find that they've taken another person's memories or strength.// A beat. //Actually, that lack of control is fairly common, where I'm from. Young mutants first coming into their abilities are often overwhelmed. Puberty is bad enough - something I'm certain anyone in this room can relate to - without having to learn how not to set your own eyebrows on fire when you sneeze.//

“When I first received my powers, I fell into a coma,” Rinoa said, reaching up to touch her rings. “That’s not what typically happens, but it -- was complicated. The first time I let my powers out, I felt like I was flying. And then I discovered that my powers, once out, don’t ever want to go back in again. If you can fly, why ever touch the ground again?”

Rinoa shook her head. “What your body wants, what your heart is afraid of, what Fandom has convinced you are true, those aren't always what your mind, your rational self, would want. How do you navigate between the two? Do you have coping tips for the rest of us? Do you want to just vent, about the past week, or other times that your body wanted things that you wished it didn't?”

She gestured with a sweep of her hand. “Consider the floor open. You can talk about any of those things, or even tell us how excited you are for spring break. Just speak your mind, and respect your classmates - that’s all we’ll ever ask.”

[Open!]

Comments

Sign In!

[furnaceface]

In Control!

Re: Sign In!

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

Karina Lyle

Re: Sign In!

[notamascot]

Kaylin Neya

Lecture!

[furnaceface]

Rinoa and Jono are talking again, and the flowers seem to be gone. Be fidgety if you need to, or listen, or stuck bubblegum to the undersides of your desks, or whatever makes you happy.

Re: Lecture!

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

Was that totally a flinch when he mentioned waking up to a room suddenly being frozen over?

Yes, it was.

Karina frowned at her desk, rather than frown at him.

Re: Lecture!

[sarcastic-vamp.livejournal.com]

Carmilla almost had to laugh at the topic. Control. She was getting close to losing hers, which meant she either had to go to the mainland to find someone to snack on, or just pick one of her fellow students to visit. She was hungry.

Discuss!

[furnaceface]

It doesn't matter if you have powers or if you don't, sometimes your bodies will do things that your mind doesn't exactly agree with. How do you cope? Have you got any advice for how to keep your feet on the ground and your head clear in the case of difficult-to-control powers or, say, terribly insistent pollen? Or do you just want to get something off your chest? The floor's open!

Re: Discuss!

[not_every_mage]

"I didn't want to admit it when I started developing powers," Anders piped up. He wasn't sure this was quite what they were asking, but he still felt restless enough to want to talk. "There were a few years where I managed not to do anything I couldn't deny. Didn't even really let myself think about it. And then one day I got angry and accidentally burned the barn down."

he ran a hand through his hair. "That kind of thing's common where I'm from too, but I still wouldn't recommend it. Got me into all kinds of trouble."

Re: Discuss!

[furnaceface]

Hey, Jono would accept it if that's what Anders wanted to discuss.

//Where I'm from, plenty of people try to hide their powers as well,// Jono offered. //For some, it's easier than others. Usually it's in people whose powers don't have a visual manifestation. I envy them sometimes.//

Since they were sharing.

//But even powers that aren't immediately obvious require some level of control. Anger has a way of compromising that. Fear can as well. And, er, arousal.//

Look, his powers manifested while he was trying to get his girlfriend to lose her virginity in a coatroom. He couldn't ignore that one.

//Did you find that getting a better handle on your emotions helped any? Or learning your way around your powers more?//

Re: Discuss!

[angelo_wings]

It was completely on topic as far as Rinoa was concerned, and she wouldn't have minded if it wasn't, anyway.

"I ... had a similar experience," she said, softly. "Not the situation itself, exactly, but the denial. I was fighting off possession by a more powerful Sorceress, but I didn't tell anyone for weeks. I thought if I said it out loud, that would make it real, and I couldn't bear for it to be real. So I pretended that if I ignored it, it would go away."

She lifted a shoulder. "It only made things worse," she said. "I'm guessing that was the case for you, too."

Re: Discuss!

[spin_kick_snap]

"I spent a lot of time denying it, too," Kathy said. "Which now feels ridiculous because, I mean--what can I really do? Run fast and bounce a lot? But when I first accidentally started doing things I couldn't explain? I spent a lot of time hiding and picking fights with anyone who tried to tell me that I was developing powers."

...Sorry, Evan.

Re: Discuss!

[pasunereveuse.livejournal.com]

"My control is ordinarily very, very good," Celia offered quietly, with a hesitant little smile. "I've been brought up to be precise and calculating and in control of my powers, because there are...consequences when I can't."

And she wasn't going to talk about it explicitly, the -- past week. Nor was she going to bring up Rapture, even if plenty of people in the room probably knew what she meant. But she did offer, "I break things when I'm angry. That's the most common thing. Usually glass, or china -- something easily broken. Windows, teacups, lamps...and then, when I've composed myself, I put it back together."

She shrugged her shoulders, still a little restless (it was fading, though), and added, "I don't know how to fix that, aside from controlling my temper, and making sure that I don't hurt anything that might feel it." And she'd really been mostly successful, until fairly recently.

"I think it's mostly that I wish I could control everything, and then when I can't keep my own emotions in check, that...makes it worse. Any advice on that front might be welcome."

Re: Discuss!

[furnaceface]

//Emotions are the hard part,// Jono replied, nodding faintly. //I've done things I can't take back when I've been overwhelmed by emotion as well. Sometimes it doesn't matter how much control you think you have over your powers. I might not last out, outright, but, say, if something were to hurt me and I were to scream right now, most people in this room would end up with some nasty nosebleeds.//

He'd given a demonstration of that in Rapture, too. A few people in the room would know how ugly that could be.

//I'm afraid I don't have a guaranteed solution for those moments when you're slammed with feelings you can't control. Saying to avoid those situations is no good, because there's no telling when they might come up. Learning new methods to stay calm might help some, though.//

Re: Discuss!

[angelo_wings]

Rinoa bit her lip. "Anger is natural," she said. "Sometimes it needs to be released. It sounds like maybe you're so used to controlling your emotions, that you don't let them out at all until they overwhelm you, and at that point, everything comes out."

Rinoa was not the type to repress, but she knew plenty of people who were.

"Have you ever tried letting it out in small doses?" she asked. "Deliberately, as a release valve. You know that you're getting upset, so you find something small and delicate and choose to break it. Something that you wouldn't miss, or could easily repair."

Re: Discuss!

[sarcastic-vamp.livejournal.com]

Carmilla shrugged. "You just have to go with it," she said. "Do what needs to be done and get over it."

Re: Discuss!

[furnaceface]

//Just go with whatever it is your body is telling you to do?// Jono tilted his head at Carmilla, curious about that answer. //Is there any situation where that might not be the acceptable answer?//

Such as, oh, this past week? Jono could come up with a few easy examples of 'just do the thing' actually being a terrible idea.

Re: Discuss!

[angelo_wings]

"How do you define 'what needs to be done'?" Rinoa asked. "What your emotions insist upon, or what your head dictates is right?"

Re: Discuss!

[hexentotchen.livejournal.com]

"Running. Training. More running. More training."

Hanna had had a very tiring week.

Talk to the TA!

[furnaceface]

When she tags in!

Re: Talk to the TA!

[pasunereveuse.livejournal.com]

Aside from drumming her fingers lightly against her desk, Celia wasn't showing any signs of her lingering -- whatever one might call that.

She was a fairly modern-thinking Victorian, but she still wasn't going to use any of the modern terms she'd heard to describe what had happened to her libido last week.

Talk to the Teachers!

[furnaceface]

When they tag in!

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[furnaceface]

Jono was here and looking... actually pretty okay. He was well aware that it was probably mostly the pollen (or Pam), but being shamelessly flirted with at the party last night still felt good.

Anyway, he was here, and about as ready for Spring Break as anybody.

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[angelo_wings]

Rinoa was here, feeling a touch out of sorts. She hadn't minded the week of locking herself up with Squall; it was just that, as always, she didn't like it when she had feelings or thoughts that didn't come from her own self.

So she was a touch more reflective than usual as she waited after class.

OOC!

[furnaceface]

No, seriously, the local RCMP have been asking for information leading to the whereabouts of Old Man Winter.

"Old Man Winter is wanted in relation to a series of storms over the past two weeks leaving behind massive amounts of snow across NS. Old Man Winter -- His known associates include Shubenacadie Sam , Jack Frost, Mother Nature and Frosty the Snowman."

Elsa is relieved. She's safe here, at least. But she should probably never go to Kentucky.

Re: OOC!

[spin_kick_snap]

I think they need to add the Snow Miser to their list of suspects!