fandomhigh | Powers, Identity, and The World; Embracing the Real You

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powers and identity

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

//So,// Jono said, leaning up against the desk at the front of the room mostly as usual, with the exception of the extremely large snake that was coiled around his torso, resting his head on his shoulder like he had been invited to do so. (He hadn't, and Jono had tried to coax him off before class, but you try arguing with a king cobra who had decided that he wasn't giving up his warm place first thing in the morning, thank you.) //This week, we're going to talk about those people who love you for who you are, not what you can do. And before any of you pipes up with the protest that there isn't any such thing, I'm not going to immediately counter and tell you that you're wrong, but I might ask you to take a moment and look a little closer.//

He spread his hands a little, as Rinoa nodded her agreement from her seat behind the desk. He'd decided to take point on the topic this week, and considering what it was, that had been a big enough step for Jono that she was going to let him do so.

//Look at your friends, here and on the island. Your family might be supportive, or they might have failed you in a hundred different ways, but family is a circumstance you're born into, and as much as I hate to say it, it doesn't guarantee a healthy, loving relationship right from birth. But your friends, those are important. They're the family that you choose, they're a bond that you forge through shared experiences, good and bad. They might be a shoulder to cry on, or somebody willing to go running headfirst into some terrible decision or other right alongside you. They might be the only people in the world who are willing to give you a swat to the back of the head when you need it the most, because god knows there are going to be people out there who are too busy trying to get on your good side to suit their own ends or who are too afraid of what you can do to ever want to try.//

The snake seemed somewhat amused by that one. Somebody needed that swat to the back of the head quite often, in fact.

//As for romantic love...// Jono would have shrugged his shoulders, but it was a miracle that he wasn't folding over in two at the weight of the cobra in the first place. So he just cocked his head to the side slightly, instead. //A lot of you are going to ask if anybody is ever going to love you that way. Wish I could guarantee a yes. I'm afraid I can't do that for anyone, human or otherwise. But you all deserve it. And if you keep your heart open -- no matter how often that heart gets ripped to tiny bleedin' shreds -- you have a chance. You can't control anyone else. Only yourself. And I'm telling you from experience… in the end, whether your life is defined by hurt or hope is up to you.//

He nodded to the room.

//Today's exercise? We're going to talk. Love. Specifically, what qualities you find most important in those people that you want to be close to. Family, friends, boyfriends and girlfriends. What is it that the people in your lives need to demonstrate to be good for you?// A beat. //For those wondering, yes, 'willing to swat him upside the head' is somewhere near the top of my list.//

[OOC: Open! And that 'hurt and hope' paragraph in there was taken almost verbatim from X-Men Legacy #264, wherein Jono demonstrates that he should teach FOREVER. I had to use it sometime.]

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What is love?

Celia Bowen

Elsa of Arendelle

Kira Yukimura

~~Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more~~

Kathy Li

Kaylin Neya

Raven Darkholme

Hanna Heller

Anders

One of those rambling Jonothon ones. Feel free to listen, to make faces at Jono, to make faces at that snake, to pass notes, to make meaningful eyes at one another, to doodle in the margins, whatever.

Yep, Raven was over here kinda staring at that snake. She hadn't seen a whole lot of snakes in person before, but she was pretty sure most of the ones she had seen hadn't looked quite so pleased with themselves as this one did.

Were most of the snakes she'd seen as handsome and deadly as this one? Unlikely! He had every reason to be pleased with himself!

Also Jono really was nicely warm.

"That's a big snake," Kathy mumbled under her breath ~~while her player paid $2 to MP~~.

Hannibal (purely coincidentally, of course, seeing as he couldn't hear that) took that moment to stretch himself up high, then blinked around at the students and curiously eyed the one that was curiously eyeing him.

Kathy took a minute to reflect that she had clearly meant to say huge snake. Gigantic.

Oo, this one looked like she appreciated him! Hannibal stretched out toward her curiously without letting go of his perch.

And Kathy, not thinking properly, clearly, stretched out a hand towards him. Petting a king cobra? TERRIFYING BUT SO AWESOME.

Hannibal eyed her hand a bit dubiously, but she didn't seem dangerous, so he let her touch him. Hm. That wasn't too bad, really. He flicked his tongue out to scent her.

Jono didn't think that Hannibal would hurt any of his students, but he really couldn't help but facepalm all the same.

Seriously, who the hell thought it was a good idea to pet a king cobra?

//C'mon now, luv. No petting extremely venomous reptiles without at least asking first.//

What was wrong with the students here?

What are those qualities that you find most important in a friend or loved one? Feel free to list anything from the shallow to the profound. This classroom is still your safe space, and respect above all is still the rule.

Celia was quiet for a very long time as she mulled it over, carefully avoiding the eyes of her classmates -- catching the wrong person's eye today might result in a loss of composure, and while Celia was willing to cry in front of a lot of them, she wasn't willing to cry in front of the whole class.

"Kindness," she finally said, her voice soft. "Humility. A capacity and willingness to learn. I -- I was brought up, very clearly, to believe that I wasn't...that love was a currency that I needed to prove I had earned. Here it's been different. I didn't know love wasn't merit-based until I realized I had been lied to about what it was my whole life, if that makes sense."

She tugged lightly at her cuffs, a nervous habit she still hadn't broken.

Edited 2015-03-13 12:07 (UTC)

Elsa chewed on her lip for a minute before answering the question, as well.

"Patience," she said, softly. "Gentleness. Somebody who knows the difference between when I need distance for my own sake, and when I'm trying to put space between myself and everybody else because I've convinced myself that that's what's best for them. I get frightened and I run, far too easily."

'Someone who doesn't care about what I can or can't do," Kaylin said, thinking about Teela and Tain and even Clint. "Maybe somebody who sees something in me I can't see for myself."

"I don't know," Raven said softly. "I don't think I'd want someone who didn't care at all what I can do. But definitely someone who knows that isn't the only part of you. And someone who encourages you to try the stuff you think you can't do."

Kaylin considered, then shook her head. "No, I'd still say I wouldn't want them to care about it. Or at least not think it was important to who I am."

She made a face. "And I'm not sure I'd want someone to try and get me to do something I don't think I can do or don't want to."

"Someone who makes me want to be better than I am," Anders offered thoughtfully. "Someone who inspires me and challenges me, but only because they care. Someone who sees my faults but doesn't feel they make me unlovable."

He dragged a hand through his hair, the tiniest bit of a smile on his face. "No one admits to falling in love in the Circle. We pretend it's all a game so the Templars won't tear us apart. So being in a place where I feel I can is still new."

"That," Kathy agreed, snapping her fingers as Anders put her exact thoughts into words. "Encourage me take risks and explore life in a different way that I normally would. But someone who makes me want to try, rather than insist that I should."

Once she pings in!

After she'd spoken her piece, Celia had stayed quiet, but she was very much there to assist anyone who needed her -- provided they didn't mind a little introspective distraction.

They're about! One is looking a bit distracted, and one is being weighed down a few inches at a time by a rather large reptile, but they're about!

Rinoa couldn't stop feeling sick. They were talking about love, and trust, and relationships, and this morning, she'd lied to Squall.

It was for a good reason. It was for the best of reasons. But she still felt like she was going to be ill.

Rinoa modded with permission! Hannibal modded with permission! It's a modstravaganza! I HAVE GONE MAD WITH POWER.

Also, your class is lucky you just had to deal with Jono blathering on about love with a snake on his shoulders. If I had followed canon, the wall would have exploded inward, next.

Hannibal would like it known that he is perfectly happy to smack Jono upside the head! Whether with hands or a tail.

"Somebody needed that swat to the back of the head quite often, in fact."

Somebody. I'm not gonna say who. Oh, I think you might know him VERY WELL.

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

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