Practical Philosophy, Thursday

[endsthegame]

The weather was okay. Overcast, but it wasn't raining, so as per his tradition, Ender had asked all the students to gather on the dorm lawn. There were pillows, blankets, bottles of water and sandwiches.

He greeted the arriving students with a, "Sit down in a circle, please. If we're going to talk, we should ensure we're all facing each other equally."

He shoved the sandwiches to the center of the circle, so everyone could access it.

"Welcome," he said. "My name is Andrew Skywalker. I'm an alumnus of this school; I graduated several years ago." That was all they needed to know, as far as he was concerned. "And you might be wondering what you signed on for. I'll give you the spiel I give my students every year I'm here - but this is the only class that is prepared or rehearsed to any capacity. That, after all, is the point of it."

"While 'philosophy' is in my class's title, we're not here to talk about the philosophers of old or the specifics of particular lines of thought in philosophy. In this class, we try to put our own experiences into a greater perspective through conversation and debate. Above all, philosophy is about asking questions about everything in the world around us - and about everything we feel about it. That means I expect some level of participation from all of you."

He smiled wryly. "That doesn't mean you always need to speak up about yourself," he said. "No topics are everything to everyone. If that week's subject veers too close to something you want to keep private, be my guest - just try and pitch in when someone else speaks. Ask questions."

"You can even ask questions of me, if you feel the need. And maybe together we can get to the core of our joint and individual experiences. Or maybe not. Maybe this is just going to be the hour this term where you get to sit around and gab." His mouth quirked a bit more. "That doesn't mean we're always going to be lingering on the existential questions - or staring at our belly buttons. It just means we're going to try and dig and come to some understanding about each other, ourselves, and the world."

He picked up a bottle of water. "So let's talk," he said. "How do you feel about where you are now? You've been on this island for close to a week; is it speaking to you, in a metaphorical sense? What kind of experience has it been for you? As for the rest of you, how has the past year treated you? Has there been anything that made you cry or made you think or made you wonder?"

"We can talk about that. Or you can bring up something else you feel is worth questioning. I consider most topics fair game, as long as they're brought up with regard for your fellow students. I can't claim knowledge on most, but I can claim an ability to annoy you with questions about just about anything."

He grabbed a sandwich from the bag. "Every week, we'll reflect on something that happened since we last met, but I'm always open to speaking about anything that comes to mind." He nodded at one of the students. "I've talked for long enough. It's your turn."

Comments

Sign In!

[endsthegame]

Sitting.

Re: Sign In!

[legionqueen]

Juillenne Milone (and Camden)

Re: Sign In!

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Prince Sidon

Listen to the Lecture

[endsthegame]

More of an introduction, really.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Well, except for the whole sitting part (although Sidon would admit that sitting was becoming increasingly more comfortable for him, though it still felt a bit unnatural), this was building up to seem like just the sort of class he would enjoy having right now. But, then again, he was never one to shy away from anything that would allow him to talk at length and passionately.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[always_someone]

Norman didn't bother with a pillow or a blanket, but he did help himself to a bottle of water and a sandwich. They came with kind of excellent timing, considering he'd just rushed here from blacksmithing class, and he was pretty sure he could down about four of each if he didn't check himself.

He... was not really made for swinging a hammer at hot metal, and the aches in his shoulder and back were going to get worse before they got better, he was sure. But that was probably to be expected anyway. This class seemed like it would be a nice follow-up, just sitting and talking and enjoying the outside.

He'd take it.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[bookbeltof_love]

Much like Sidon, Nina was all in on this class because she also enjoyed talking about things in great detail!

Nina snagged a blanket and spread it out on the grass before sitting primly on it, her hands folded in her lap.

Talk.

[endsthegame]

How do you feel about where you are now? Is the island speaking to you, in a metaphorical sense? What kind of experience has it been for you? As for the rest of you, how has the past year treated you? Has there been anything that made you cry or made you think or made you wonder?

Re: Talk.

[legionqueen]

Jules frowned. “I only just arrived two days ago. This wasn’t the island I was expecting to come to,” she admitted. “I’m told it’s fairly common for people to get stuck here, though. Which, if I’m being honest, is pretty unsettling.”

Considering she was from an island full of people with magical powers which was protected from the outside world by a magical barrier, that Fandom of all places was unsettling was saying kind of a lot.

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"That it happens, that people here are so accepting of it, both, or something else?" Ender asked, tilting his head.

Re: Talk.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

And here came Sidon, which was a practical force of nature of cheerfulness all of its own, especially considering his views on the last week were quite a bit...different from the views of some of his friends and others.

"Oh," he admitted, fairly gushing, "I think things have been absolutely wonderful! I have had the advantage of two truly exhillerating and spectacular adventures in the last month, and here we are, on the very edge of an exciting new summer here on glorious Fandom Island! The summers not only provide new friends to join us here, but also some of the best swimming I've had just about nearly anywhere besides my own home. I have an excellent new scar," here, his headtail twitched a little, but since he didn't quite have the mobility in his headtail as say, something like a lek, he turned his head to better show off the actual small chunk of flesh that was gone, "the most incredible, thrilling, heroic story you can imagine, I am absolutely and completely in love with the most amazing person I have ever had the honor to meet, and I simply cannot wait to see what still lies ahead. It has been a spectacular year, I don't think I've ever had a more magnificent one in my life!"

And he was almost eighty now, so, there were a lot of years to work with there!

He...had a feeling that Mr. Skywalker was aiming for something a bit more...introspective and perhaps even critical, but...that just wasn't Sidon, except perhaps...

His smile softened a little as he considered that, and he offered, a bit more mild but no less passionate, "It has made me very grateful to have had the opportunity to experience so many wondrous things in the company of so many dear and special friends."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

Well, Sidon seemed like a very positive person. Ender wondered vaguely what laid behind it, but he chose not to question it directly.

"So what do you think has been your most valuable experience among them?" he asked.

Re: Talk.

[always_someone]

Norman had actually, uh, done a lot of crying over the course of the past week, but he really didn't want to talk about that at all, especially not given some of his other classmates. So he sipped his water and sat quietly and listened and chewed on the inside of his own head a little before offering, "I kind of worry."

Well. There was a start.

"I mean. I kind of worry that... things here always seem to work out, eventually, no matter how weird or how dangerous they get. And there's a kind of security in that, that maybe... makes people feel safer, like they can just do things and it'll work out in the end, and it's great when it does, but just because everyone's alive and well in the end doesn't mean people don't get hurt along the way."

You know. Hypothetically.

Re: Talk.

[goldfishontherocks]

Keyleth shot him a worried look and made a little gesture with her fingers, sending a very light scent of lavender wafting in his direction. It wasn't much, but now was probably not a good time to talk to him and she was kind of hoping that little application of druidcraft would at least be soothing.

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"Fandom has a habit of tricking us into thinking decisions don't have consequences," Ender agreed. "For a little while. Are you worried you're becoming more reckless?"

Re: Talk.

[bookbeltof_love]

"Like, oh my gosh, some parts of being here are really, really great?????????????? Coming here, meeting so many different kinds of people, having the luck to be friends with so many of them and getting to, like, see their homes, is just amazing???????????????"

Nina was pointedly not paying attention to Norman, who at least sounded like he'd learned something from his sheer idiocy, but her smile faded a little anyway, as she looked at the rest of the class.

"But, like, I think the island is a bit... cruel, too, because if you mess up here, you can usually fix it and... and in a lot of homes and worlds and places, you can't. So it, like, encourages people to be careless because consequences don't matter here, the way they do elsewhere and that's kind of a terrible lesson for anyone to learn??????????"

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"I have a feeling you and one of your classmates have spoken before. If not, you probably should," Ender said, a wry smile on his face. "Though, thinking back to your classmate's words, it does make me wonder: what consequences are we talking about? Just harm to life and limb? Because in many worlds, that's not really a primary concern."

Re: Talk.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Naturally, Sidon was inclined to listen to all of his classmates share their various experiences, but the more Nina spoke, the more he had to admit that he grew particularly pensive. He had, of course, intended to speak with her a little after they'd gotten the kitten all set up later today, but this was....certainly giving him some food for thought.

And if she should notice his attention, he would offered her a soft and gentle smile, and an encouraging nod, his eagerness to get everything taken care of now growing. They really did need to talk, didn't they? He just hoped that, somehow, he might be able to ease her troubles, even if just a little bit, by doing so...

Re: Talk.

[goldfishontherocks]

"It makes me think all the time," Keyleth offered. "But that's inevitable when I'm here mostly to experience perspectives and situations outside what I'm likely to get in my remote little village. It's been . . . eye-opening, and sometimes uncomfortable, I can't lie about that, but I don't think that's a bad thing."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"Discomfort is usually where we start to learn," Ender agreed. "Is there anything in particular that's made you uncomfortable? Do you think you handled it well?"

Re: Talk.

[scoffs_at_tradition]

"Well, this is my first experience living anywhere outside my homeland," Shuri said, "but I've watched enough Youtube videos to know that this place is...unique and not just America being strange."

She paused. "But America is strange. Why do so many people want me to have a nice day?"

Re: Talk.

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina couldn't help but giggle at that.

"Do you, like, want to have a bad day???????????" she asked whimsically.

Re: Talk.

[unusual_sith]

"This island is definitely different," Lana said. "It's been good, but a little odd. It's thrilling to meet so many people I never would have had a chance to otherwise, and to learn so many new things. I sometimes worry I'm getting soft, though; it's not nearly as dangerous as life back home, and I have to stay sharp."

Talk to the Teacher

[endsthegame]

It's what he's here for, after all.

OOC

[endsthegame]