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

//Right. So... We don't have much of a discussion prepared for today,// Jono admitted, looking a touch sheepish. //This semester apparently hasn't been much good for that. But we haven't cashed in our 'movie day' get out of jail free card yet, either, so I found an old episode of the Y-People cartoon to show, and then we can discuss it afterward. How you felt about the situation of the young girl, your opinion on the animation, whatever you wish. It's topical, at least.//

He shrugged his shoulders, and then slid a Y-People VHS into an old VCR, because that was just how the 90s rolled, okay?

[Open!]

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"I'm trying," Kathy said, her hands falling back into her lap now that she was no longer in danger of snapping at Mr. Starsmore. "I'm just not sure how."

//Be patient with yourself,// Jono replied, gently. //Be kind to yourself. Take a few moments every day to recognize what you have accomplished. Don't let yourself get swept up in what you haven't. You have the rest of your life ahead of you, Kathy. Sit back, decide what it is you want to make of it, and then take every opportunity you have to become exactly that.//

He shrugged.

//Don't give up. Trust me, giving up is the worst thing you can do, even when it looks dire. Even when the world is crumbling around you. And if you feel like you can't stand on your own anymore, that's fine. You're not alone. You don't have to shoulder all of that weight by yourself.//

"It sounds so easy when you say it like that," Kathy said ruefully, understanding that Mr. Starsmore knew how very much it was not. "I feel like it's not something I should have to struggle so hard with."

//It's not something anyone should have to struggle with,// Jono replied, shaking his head. //But just think how bloody triumphant you'll be once you learn to overcome it.//

...

//I'm still working on it myself, half the time,// he added, gently. //It does help to surround yourself with people who can see the best in you better than you can. The ones who care will be there to remind you when you need the reminder, and thump you a good one when you need one of those, too.//

"For the first time ever, I think I've got people like that," Kathy said. "Though...I owe one of them an apology like this one."

Funny how someone who apologized like she breathed could have such a hard time doing so when it really counted.

And then there was Jono on the other end of the spectrum. More prone to scathing snark than apologies, unless an apology was actually due. He knew the over-apologetic sort well, though. Decided to maybe not point out that all of those sorrys were worth nothing if the sincere, deserved apologies never came.

Not yet, anyway.

//If that person is one of those people, then yes, you absolutely should. For both your sakes,// he replied. //Hell, even if they aren't. You can tear yourself apart for your own minor, self-perceived shortcomings until the end of days, and all you'll do is hold yourself back. But if you've actually, truly hurt somebody else, you own that mistake. You make it right. Running from that responsibility in shame doesn't solve anything, it just leaves too many troubles unresolved and too many people hurt for no good reason.//

Sorry, Kathy, but if you hurt that other person the way you'd hurt him, and that other person was somebody who had only ever shown you kindness and support, then you had a lot of ass-kissing to do, at this point.

She was very well aware of that, yes. Of all of that, really. Of how many apologies she owed, of how much butt-kissing was needed, of how useless most of her apologies were. They were a habit, reinforcing her lower social position and general submission.

"I know," she said. "That's why I'm here apologizing to you. Owning my mistakes."

//Good, then,// Jono replied, nodding faintly. //I imagine I was the easy one, hm?//

Just because he gave out his apologies sparingly didn't mean he didn't understand how much easier it was to do so when one had nothing to lose.

Kathy nodded. "At the absolute worst, I'd fail this class and never be able to take a class with you or Dr. Lecter again," she said, nervously twisting her hands at the idea of failing a class.

Which just went to show how important Minako was to her, when the idea of losing her was worse than failure.

"But you're not my friend. And while losing your respect hurts, it's not the same as losing one of the few really good friends I ever had."

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

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