Fifth floor common room, Saturday afternoon/evening

[kenselvren]

After yesterday's class on propaganda, a light had gone on for Jalian. This was how one person could change more than just their surroundings. She'd largely ignored movies and TV before, but now she was curious.

So, she was sitting in the common room, watching TV. She had a bowl of popcorn and was frowning at the screen trying to pick out which parts were stupid and which might be some form of propaganda.

So far the judgment had mainly come down on "both". For just about everything.



[OOC: Open post!]

Comments

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Oh, um," Ringo flushed slightly. "The only one whose actual birthday we know is my big sister Rika's. So we all decided that we'd just have her birthday, too." She grinned. "It makes things easy to coordinate, and it's kind of nice to share it with each other. Makes for a really special day, you know?"

[kenselvren]

Jalian nodded. "That makes sense. And it's good to have your own day to share."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Yeah." She grinned. "It was too bad I couldn't go home and see everyone this year, but knowing we got to eat the same cake was pretty awesome."

Ringo walked back over to the kettle and checked the water. "You still interested in some tea?"

[kenselvren]

"Yes," Jalian answered. "Please," she remembered to add.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Of course!" Ringo grinned, then looked worried for a moment. "Um, it'll be Japanese-style. Is that okay?" She'd made tea for Lucille once, and the other girl had been unpleasantly surprised by it.

[kenselvren]

"What's the difference?" Jalian asked. It was leaves and water; were there different ways to make that?

[soniaroadsqueen]

"The way the leaves are prepared, I think? I mean, you still just put them in water, I think, but they taste different." Ringo could try using some other style of tea, but she wasn't actually positive that it was just the leaves that were different. Maybe there was something you were supposed to do differently.

[kenselvren]

"I don't mind," Jalian answered. The tea here tasted different than she'd had growing up anyway, but none of it had been terrible so far.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Okay, then." Ringo grinned and went to make a couple of cups. "So," she said, looking back over her shoulder, "how have you been? It's been, like, forever since we caught up."

[kenselvren]

"The same." Jalian ate another piece of popcorn. "The vacation trip was interesting. I've been learning more about this timeline. You?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Mostly just going to class and practicing AirTrek." Ringo flushed slightly, turning her attention back to the tea. "And being a teenager, I guess."

That was one way to describe the whole thing with Kathy.

[kenselvren]

"I don't understand 'teenager'," Jalian said. "What's different about it than being adult or not?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"No real responsibilities," Ringo answered instantly. "Like, no one expects you to do anything, you can just try things and if they go wrong it's not a big deal."

She frowned slightly as she walked back toward Jalian with two cups of tea. "I never had a chance for this before I came here, so I'm trying to make up for lost time."

[kenselvren]

Jalian reached for one of the cups. "But everybody expects something. Even of children."

Nope, she wasn't getting it. Sorry, Ringo.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Well, something, sure, but it's not the same." Ringo frowned as she handed over a cup of tea. "Like, here at Fandom I'm pretty much expected to go to class, pay some attention, not burn down the dorms, that sort of thing. Which is totally different from being expected to lead a team, or fight off potential threats. I mean, if I make a mistake here, I might get a bad grade, but no one's going to die, you know?"

[kenselvren]

"Because you are not yet adult," Jalian said. "But how is a teenager different from a child?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Hmm, that's a good question." Ringo pursed her lips and blew on her tea, trying to cool it.

"Maybe because teenagers are interested in other stuff? Like love and, um, trying to figure out what to do when they are adults?" That didn't sound totally right, but Ringo had never really thought about it that much.

[kenselvren]

"I don't think ken Selvren have anything like that," Jalian said. "You are a child, or adult."

She sniffed the tea, which seemed fine, and took a sip. It was fine, though she couldn't tell much of a difference from other teas of this time.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"So people are age are considered adults?" Ringo asked curiously, sipping at her own tea.

[kenselvren]

Jalian made a cutting motion with her hand. "Those who have gone through their trial of womanhood are adults. I am adult. Most choose to become adult later."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"How do you know if you're ready to be an adult? Especially if you don't, you know, make a bunch of mistakes trying to figure out what that even means for you?" She sipped more tea, then cocked her head. "How did it work for you?"

[kenselvren]

"Even children make mistakes and decisions," Jalian said. "You just know it's time. I knew I would get no further as a child, and must be an adult. The Huntresses agreed."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Oh. Isn't it stressful, though? Having all the responsibilities of an adult? Don't you ever want to, I don't know, be a little more free?" Maybe Ringo just didn't understand adulthood.

[kenselvren]

"Less stressful than knowing what should be done and not being listened to," Jalian answered.

Not, unfortunately, that that had entirely changed once she was adult.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Well, I guess that makes sense." Ringo smiled sheepishly. "I suppose in some ways, I'm sort of cheating. Like, I'm being a teenager and stuff, but if I really needed to, I could probably reclaim my authority back home pretty easily."