fandomhigh | Philosophy of Loss, Friday, 2nd Period

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Philosophy of Loss, Friday, 2nd Period

Didi sat cross-legged in an armchair when the students came into the room, and a table with drinks and snacks had been placed right by the door. The seats themselves might have reminded some of the students of a kindergarten, or a setting for group therapy: An assortment of cushions, low armchairs and beanbags had been dragged into a circle, with a few more traditional desks pushed to the back of the room for anybody who needed a little more space.

She smiled warmly at the group before she began speaking. "Hi, welcome to Philosophy of Loss. I usually go by Didi and I'm really, really not a professor, but I'm good being called whatever you're comfortable with."

It wouldn't be the first time she answered to a different name, after all.

"This class is going to be about death and what happens afterwards, especially how it's depicted in different cultures and different works of art. I don't plan on quizzing you guys, but some pretty personal stuff might come up during our discussions. Don't ever feel like you need to say anything if you don't want to. If you just want to sit, go ahead. If you can't express yourself in words but you can in art or music, I'd love to see it. And if you need to head out for a minute, the door's always open."

"Now, with that out of the way" -- she smiled again, more ruefully -- "it's time for the inevitable introductions. Name, grade, and your favorite fictional, religious or historic story about mortality, plus why you like it."

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Like we're all gonna diiiiiie.

Gwen Stacy

Dante

Raven Darkholme

Thorin

Kathy Li

Elsa of Arendelle

Frank Doyle

Kaylin Neya

Come in, pick a beanbag, grab a snack, listen to the lecture, etc.

Edited 2015-09-04 15:16 (UTC)

A full week of classes. A whole bunch of teachers he didn't trust one bit.

This one was... there was something weird about her. Something different. Made Dante quieter, somehow, slouching in his seat a little.

Frank stopped at the table, looked at the drinks, and decided to stick with his own before going to grab a beanbag. He did thoughtfully take a plastic cup and pour from his flask into it, though. When in Rome, drink as the Romans do.

Name, grade, and your favorite fictional, religious or historic story about mortality, plus why you like it! Didi totally isn't going to steal from this for syllabus ideas ;-).

Messy threading and cross-talk encouraged.

Edited 2015-09-04 15:19 (UTC)

"I'm Gwen Stacy and I'm a senior," she said. "I don't know if I have a favorite story or whatever, but um. They made me read Poe in school and I didn't hate it?"

"Hey, Gwen," Didi greeted. "I love Poe. Y'know, he said the death of a beautiful woman is the most poetic topic in the world. What do you think about that?"

Didi wasn't sure she bought it, herself. Seemed to her like there were a lot of better things to write poetry about.

She thought about it and said, "Eh. I'd think it would be someone who lived a good long life."

"Nice long lives make better stories," Didi had to agree. "Honestly, I think Poe was sometimes pretty creepy about the hot corpses thing. Fantastic writer, but sometimes he starts talking about drowning himself to be with Annabel Lee in the kingdom by the sea and you just have to roll your eyes."

Gwen officially wanted to be Didi when she grew up. Because she didn't know about the Death thing.

"Yeah, guy had some issues. You do you and all, but..." Which was like the simplest way to describe Poe.

Being Didi when you grew up would be awesome, except for the death thing.

"You do you," she repeated, nodding. "That's a good way of looking at a lot of artists. Everybody's just trying to be happy, but sometimes it doesn't make sense from the outside."

"I'm Dante, and for some reason this school thinks I'm a sophomore," Dante said.

He still felt uneasy in a whole new way, here. "And I got nothing."

Because he hadn't really heard a lot of stories like that. Downsides of a demonic education, right there. And while he was trying to make it sound belligerent, his heart wasn't in it this time.

"Nothing at all?" Didi asked, flickering a smile at him. Something about him was different, but she hadn't looked too deeply at what it was yet. "Not even the Inferno?"

She was pretty sure that wouldn't be the first time Dante heard that reference. She wasn't aiming at originality.

Dante snorted. "Never read it," he said. "I was wondering when that one was going to show."

At least he could be snarky about that.

"I like to get the cliches out of the way early," Didi informed him. "So, did you take this class on purpose, or did the office just kind of throw you in it?"

"Didn't know I was going to be in school until I got off the bus," Dante said, shrugging idly. That was nothing. "Turns out Baltimore has a really proactive educational system."

"It can, yeah," Didi nodded. "Well, I hope you come out of this knowing a couple good stories, at least."

Maybe she'd even make them read part of the Inferno.

"Oh, I do have one," Dante said, his foot wobbling some under the table. "What's the difference between sex and death?" He managed a smirk. "Only one of them you can do alone without looking stupid."

Didi snorted a quick laugh, more because she appreciated the effort than because she agreed with the joke. (She'd seen stupid and beautiful examples of both masturbation and suicide.)

"Nice. And if you don't know the difference, probably we shouldn't invite you to any orgies."

"Promise, I know the difference," Dante said, holding his hand over his heart. "Scout's honor."

There. Now it was back to comfortable.

"I'm Raven Darkholme," Raven said. "And I'm a senior this year. I've . . . never really thought about it all that much? But the first really good story about death I can think of is Citizen Kane. I know a lot of people these days think it's boring or a cliche or something, but it was really astonishing when it first came out, and the actual story -- that this man lived so long and did so much and had so many joyful moments and regrets, but what he thinks about and calls for in his final moments is his childhood toy? I think that's really powerful. And a lot more true than most people want to admit."

"That's good," Didi nodded. "It's funny, I hadn't thought about it as a story about death, but you're right that it is. And you're right that sometimes it's the littlest things that mean the most at the end."

"I am Thorin, son of Thrain. A junior, I believe," he said, frowning at the question. "I am a descendant of Durin the Deathless, the eldest of the seven first given the gift of life of my kind. He roamed the land for centuries before passing into the halls of Mahal. He was so named for he has returned to life several times over the years to assist his descendants in their struggles."

Like that squabble over that one ring thingy.

"I hadn't heard that story," Didi told him. "Thanks for passing it along. So, this ancestor -- when was the last time he came back?"

Kathy was quiet for a long time, trying to figure out what story she liked that was about death. Honestly, she vastly preferred stories about life, about underdogs overcoming impossible odds and bringing about happy endings.

Honestly, it was like her mind went blank as soon as Didi asked the question.

"I'm Kathy Li and I'm also a senior," she said eventually. "I guess my favorite--or, at least, the one I can think of right now anyway--is Ray Bradbury's ~~meta for-~~The Halloween Tree. Also I like the movie better than the bool, but the screenplay was written by Bradbury, so I hope that's okay?"

They'd condensed eight characters down to four and made one of them a girl.

"It's about three friends who go on a magical journey through the world, trying to save their friend's life. They learn about different cultural rituals about death and Halloween and in the end, sacrifice years off their own life to save Pip's. I liked both that they learned things on their trip, but in the end, it was all about the strength of their friendship, too. And you're never quite sure what the old man's deal is, which is cool."

"Good choice, Kathy," Didi nodded. "And it's always totally fine here to like the movie better than the book. Some stories just work better on film."

"I'm Frank Doyle, and despite all the times I've said that this week, I'm still a junior," Frank said. "I'm a big fan of Poe's Cask of Amontillado, although I think it would be more believable if it were The Cask of Gin. If nothing else, I'm pretty sure Fortunado would have been much happier while the whole wall-sealing thing happened if he wasn't stuck with just some fancy wine. Go with a fancy liquor, I say! Or any liquor! And I like it because of the lesson; if somebody's a murdery jerk, you're better off not going off to get drunk in his basement. There are much better places to get drunk and not murdered."

"That is a take on Poe I can't say I'd heard before," Didi said. "And lesson noted. It's usually better to avoid murdery jerks in general, drunk or sober."

"I'm Kaylin Neya and I'm a sophomore," she said, not looking particularly happy. When she found out who had signed her up for this class there were going to be some serious repercussions.

"I don't know what mortality is, but if it's about people who might not be mortal, well, the Barrani pretty much don't die unless someone kills them - and good luck trying! - and Dragons live like forever. There's all sorts of stories about all of them."

Edited 2015-09-05 03:04 (UTC)

"Hey, Kaylin," Didi said, "Mortality just means death. And I'd love to hear a dragon story, if you can think of one."

"You mean like how the Dragon Emperor and the other dragons fought the Barrani and now he's in charge of all of Elantra and eats anyone who annoys him?" Kaylin didn't really pay the best of attention in any of her classes, so her knowledge of history and mythology from her own land wasn't exactly her strong suit. Unless it had to do with the laws of the land. Those she knew by heart.

"Exactly," Didi nodded, smiling because the girl seemed uncertain, not because she was a fan of dragons who ate people. "Thanks, Kaylin."

She is around after class, scarfing up leftover lemon cookies. Anybody who comes into her vicinity might get nabbed for the TA slot.

I haven't taught a class in freaking forever. It feels weird. Please let me know if I forgot anything obvious!

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Philosophy of Loss, Friday, 2nd Period

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