selfhelp | [voice/written/action]

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[voice/written/action]

Hey, ah... Vision - I mean, Jonas - of the Young Avengers got sent home. Sorry, if you knew him.

[Why is he always full of bad news? Ugh... let’s try to be less depressing for a while.]

There’s something else I wanted to talk about today: since I got here almost a year ago I’ve noticed how there’s this huge range of cultural norms across the multiverse- which makes sense, different worlds have different standards, I get it. People who are accepted in one world aren’t tolerated in another. Luceti’s kind of an anomaly, where there’s really not much, if any prejudice. I mean, there’s the whole Malnosso versus Us mentality, but that’s because of what they do, not what they are. Basically what I’m saying is that I think that’s great, and I want to do my part to keep encouraging that universal acceptance here for the people who might not be able to get it back where they come from, open up discussions to people who might not be sure about who or what they are, um...

Okay, this is a really roundabout way of saying I want to start an LGBT club. If you don’t know what that means, here’s a breakdown:

[Below is a jotted list-

L = Lesbian = girls attracted to girls
G = Gay = guys attracted to guys
B = Bisexual = guys and girls attracted to BOTH guys and girls
T = Transgender = People who feel like they were born in the body of the wrong gender (or genderfluid)
*Q = Questioning = Anyone not sure about the above or if they apply

And then it returns to voice.]

Those are really oversimplified, and there's still a lot of other words people use to define themselves, but you get the gist of it. I’d really like to meet up with anyone who matches any those descriptions, or feels like they might, or are just curious about it. I’m gonna put up some posters with suggested meeting times and places, but if you have any questions or just want to talk about it, you can use the journal (it’s okay to be anonymous!) or come right to the school. I’ve got a table set up and I’ll be here pretty much all day. I don't know if this is going to go anywhere, but it's worth a shot, right?

One last thing- we’re looking to make this a safe place, so if you plan to come just to make fun of people: we have a Hulk.

[And true to his word, Billy will be at the school, curled up in a chair at a plain table littered with papers. He’s designing posters and doodling various symbols to use for logos. Come bother him if you like?]

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There's actually a word for that, too. I swear there's a word for everything where I come from...

Really? What word is that?

[Now he's curious!]

Pansexual! It's a popular one today, actually.

What's the difference between that and... [Give him a second here to double-check the word.] bisexual? Wouldn't they be the same thing?

Not so much. They're similar, yeah, but bisexual is basically someone who's attracted to both men and women- they recognize the genders, but don't necessarily prefer one over the other or mind being with either. Pansexual is more the idea that gender isn't what is attracting you to a person- you see who they are beyond their physical body, and that's what makes you want to be with them. It's kind of hard to explain without making it sound like bisexual people are shallow, but that's the gist of it.

A really simple way to put it is that pansexuals are totally gender blind.

Oh, okay. I think I get it now-- so if you're bisexual, you think about whether you're dating a man or a woman, but if you're pansexual, you just think about dating the person. Is that it?

[HUMANS ARE SO COMPLICATED, GOSH.]

Pretty much, yeah. It's not all there is to it, obviously, but it's an aspect that bisexuals don't necessarily ignore. Some lean one way or the other more, some don't even identify as bisexual but they've been in relationships with both.

It's all about respecting the identity that a person's decided to give themselves.

This is all a lot more confusing than I thought... does it really matter that much who you're in love with?

To some people, it does. It's a big part of one's identity.

Huh. I guess I can understand that.

... humans are strange sometimes.

[...What a weird way of phrasing that.]

Going by personal observation, I can tell you first hand that non-humans are also very strange.

Oh, I know. Both of them are pretty strange, just in different ways. It's just that I've never heard non-humans talking about this sort of thing before, that's all.

So... you know a fair number of non-humans, then?

[He's just so darn curious about the phrasing, really.]

Yeah.

... is that weird?

Not weird. Just unusual, depending on the kind of world you come from.

I keep forgetting that not all worlds have stuff like monsters and spirits. When it's a normal thing in your world, it's hard to imagine that there are places where they don't exist at all.

We've got some of those on my world, actually. And aliens, mutants, demons, vampires...

[Honestly he could go on for a while if he wanted.]

[All of those things sound familiar to Emil by now, except for...]

What are mutants? I don't think I've ever heard of those before.

Oh, uh. Genetic anomalies, I guess you could say? People on my world who've evolved to develop special powers.

Oh, you mean like magic or chi?

[Those things he understands, since they exist in his world.]

I guess that would make them kind of like elves from my world, since only elves or half-elves can use magic.

It's not always like magic, but sometimes it manifests like that. Some have fast healing, some can turn their bodies into metal or set themselves on fire, some are telepathic or telekinetic... there's almost as many powers as there are mutants, really.

... set themselves on fire? Isn't that dangerous?

[That does not sound like it would be safe.]

For regular humans, sure. But mutants can do all kinds of stuff without getting hurt.

That... sounds kind of awesome and kind of freaky at the same time.

[...Ouch. He's not sure how to take that.]

Is it any more weird than magic, though?

[Although for him it's one and the same...]

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