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Practical Philosophy, Thursday

"I realize it's been something of a summer," Ender said lightly, "And that doesn't leave us with a great deal of space for reflection."

But the sun was shining. He'd even brought out sodas and cupcakes for the occasion, though the usual staples of water and sandwiches were also available.

"So I think this is a good moment for us to fall back to a question that's a cornerstone of, I think, most of our conversation, our ability to relate one another, and maybe humanity - perhaps, sentience in its entirely," he said, twisting the top off his bottle of water. "How are you doing?"

A pause.

That turned into a silence.

It was the question, after all.

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However you're doing.

Nina

Norman Babcock

Wayne

Keyleth

Okuyasu Nijimura

Shuri

Edited 2019-08-23 01:00 (UTC)

Lana Beniko

Have a cupcake. A blanket. Soda. Water.

How are you doing?

Nina had a cupcake, soda, and a sandwich that she was nibbling on as she thought about what to say.

She didn't really want to talk about the fake that she'd woken up every night this week with screaming nightmares.

"Most of, like, the summer was pretty fun and interesting???????????" Nina offered, after a bit. "Like, some of the worlds were sad and some were dangerous and most of them I wouldn't want to stay in forever, but I liked getting to see them. I... I really did not like last week. Even just being a toy was weird and unsettling, but everything else on top of it..."

Nina trailed off.

"I wasn't here for it," Ender said quietly. He and Ben... they made sure not to be on the island on Mondays. They had children to take care of. "Are you doing okay now? Or does it weigh heavy on your mind?"

"I don't think, like, I'll ever forget it," she said, with a bit of a shrug. "Okay is, like, a strong word????????????????"

"So what word would you prefer?" Ender asked.

Nina considered that.

"I mean, like, I guess 'continues to exist' is more than one word but also, not, like un-right..................."

"Well, continuing to exist is a good starting point," Ender said, "At the very least..."

Norman had himself a sandwich, and was looking kind of thoughtful as he picked at it.

"It's funny," he noted, "some of the summer was totally fine. I'd just hunker down inside and not worry too much about what's going on out there. But there were definitely weeks that I just... couldn't."

Like that one where Ender had made certain to get him off the island. It hadn't been the only one where Norman just hadn't been able to deal, either.

"I missed that last thing," he added. "I don't think I'd still be here if I hadn't. I used to think I could handle it when things got big and ugly, but this place has really made me question that."

"This place... has always had its own definition of ugly," Ender said wryly. "Some thrive with it. Some don't. I don't think it's usually applicable to the rest of the world..."

Norman hummed a little, and then lifted a shoulder.

"Maybe," he allowed. "Though some of the things I've seen back home wouldn't have been too out of place through that summer, either. Just... maybe it's more that I'm not used to it going on for so long, either."

"It's harder because it's become like a kind of background radiation?" Ender asked.

"It's harder because... because of a lot of reasons," Norman sighed. "There were moments where we got to catch our breath, and that was great, but it was less background radiation and more constant, horrified screaming."

He paused a moment, and then added, "There were too many places where even death didn't mean the horror went away. I don't know if I could do something like that again."

"How many years do you have left at the school?" Ender asked.

"This is my last one," Norman replied, hiking up a shoulder a little. "So it feels a little bit like running away when I'm a few steps from the finish line if I don't see it through."

Even if it meant he might have to do something like that again a few more times.

"Avoid the last few weeks of each semester, if you can," Ender said, tilting his head. "I know weekends are hard to escape on a budget, but that should get you through the worst in fall and spring, at least."

Norman nodded faintly. He supposed nobody would hold it against him if he ducked out a couple of weeks early for the breaks between semesters, right? Though the prospect of being gone in the lead-up to his own graduation made him squirm a little, too.

"That might be the best thing for it," he murmured. "I used to think I could be useful during things like that. Looking for answers, offering anything I find. But some things are bigger than I am." He paused a moment, and then added, "I think I'm at a place where I'm not ashamed of admitting that."

"Good," Ender said, nodding faintly. "Take it from me: we're all pushed past our abilities at some point in our lives, and it's rarely anything but destructive. Respect your own limits as much as you can."

"I'm still learning what those are," Norman noted. And then paused a second. "This summer's been good for that, at least."

When confronted with a question like 'how are you doing,' Wayne really had but one single, reflective, habitual, subconscious response, ingrained so deeply in his psyche it may never truly be uprooted.

"Good," he nodded. "N'you?"

"Good," Ender said, with visible amusement. "Anything else you'd like to share?"

"This went way better than my last term at school in Morioh," Okuyasu said with a genuine smile. "Sure last week was weird, but everyone seems to be alive so that's great."

"Is death dealt so easily where you come from?" Ender asked.

"Oh, I don't know about normally," Okuyasu said. "But things sure got really deadly recently, with the serial killer and all the rowdy people with special powers. There was a lot."

"The... serial killer," Ender said slowly.

As a prompt, mind you, not because he was especially taken aback.

Edited 2019-08-25 17:47 (UTC)

"I mean, we can't prove it, exactly," Okuyasu said. "He turned himself into someone else and then got run over by an ambulance. But he killed my friend and I think a lot of ladies."

He shook his head. "Was pretty nasty, over all. I think technically he killed me too, but I got better."

"That happens," said Ender, with the casual air of a man who had spent most of his life around Skywalkers at this point. "How do you feel about that?"

"I'm doing well," Lana said. "Like Okuyasu," she nodded to him, "everybody being alive is an improvement over my previous school, even if this summer has been occasionally...fraught."

"Which times were most... fraught, for you?" Ender asked.

"I did not like being in a leaky underground dome," Lana said firmly. "Bad enough the places where things were trying to kill us; the entire place itself trying to kill us was a bit much."

"Tense?" Ender suggested. "Or just annoying?"

"A bit of both, really," Lana said. "Annoying I can deal with, though." She was good at channeling that into Force work. "Expecting imminent death is tiring."

That's what he's here for.

I'm sorry, guys. When I reapped this class - which I generally love doing - I did not expect my life to go as haywire as it has, on every level. On the bright side, it's almost over?

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Your life is way more important than a FH class, friendo.

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Practical Philosophy, Thursday

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Sit, Eat

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Talk to the Teacher

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