Journey to the Center of the Dome (Hito and Ciro graduation)

Joker sighed in relief as he felt his body regain its health. Really, he needed to look into making something to heal his wounds. There was only so much his daggers could do after all.

He watched a bit sadly as Aleena departed after a few comments shared with the man, Orysius, and a parting comment to himself. He had found her to be a fun companion and well able to look after herself. Sure she was a bit offensive at times but that wasn't new to Joker. His own closest female friend was surprisingly quite alike Aleena in terms of personality.

Turning to the man who was his 'teacher, Joker grinned, "So big man, have you words of advice for Joker too? Joker has to say he's never seen you before but if you've been watching us struggle and toil for the past.. how ever long it was, you would do well to forget Joker's actions during that drug incident. Joker doesn't like taking drugs, nor the affect that particular one had."

Orysius raised a condescending eyebrow at the mini speech Joker gave him, and perversely decided that would be his topic to preach about, "Well now, I'm sorry to burst your bubble but you see, that's what you should be working on. Referring to yourself always in the third person is your way of distancing yourself from your situations, running away no doubt from some more inner issues you have. You gotta stop living in those delusions of yours and, get this, be yourself."

Joker listened blandly and at the last his lips quirked up, "But you see, Joker is being himself, the himself at this stage of his growth. Were Joker to stop this way of being, he would no longer be Joker and lose all that Joker has, just as the drug earlier made him. Perhaps Joker isn't ready to learn this lesson yet, but Joker will acknowledge what you have said, for now."

Bowing politely to the man who saw more in Joker than he would have guessed, the Dream Weaver walked towards the portal that would take him back to wherever he belonged.

Behind him, Orysius threw a final shot at him, "The whole time you were normal, did you lose what was the most important thing in you?"

Joker waved airily over his head as the light bathed him and he found himself not in the Dream Realm as he'd thought but in his own bed at home with a hand knocking upon his door.

"Dear, are you still in bed? You'll be late to school and you know how bad that will look on your records. You have a reputation to uphold being part of this family," his mother's voice penetrated the thick wood easily and Joker sat up quickly but didn't move to get up.

Instead, he thought back to what he'd become. He'd lost his powers as a Weaver which he didn't mind so much. It was his thoughts that had scared him. He had become the person he hated most, a cold person uncaring of the people around him. Yet... he had still managed to keep his hold of Aleena. He hadn't abandoned her, had feared he would, but he had come through it with her by his side still.

Perhaps there was an easy truth in what Orysius had said, but even so Joker didn't want to give up his carefree ways just yet. His outward character might be shallow to those who knew him truly well, but it let him see and experience things he would never encounter without it.

Excellent, simply excellent! Let me give you my word.

To Ciroton, Aleena has been fantastic. I have enjoyed her sharp emotions and her antisocial tendencies very much. Tokumaru and, to a lesser degree, Orysius have both found her a very amusing character, and they both know she has the potential to be an obscenely powerful person. She has become something very interesting, and I hope to read more from her as the days go on.

To HitokiriChibi, Joker is a jewel. If there is one thing I can say at you graduating, it is that Joker has by far been the most far-out character I have ever read. When I first taught you, the concept was strange, then slightly annoying, then it grew on me. This thread, however, has shown me just what Joker has going for him as not just a character, but as a concept. He is an amazing concept--cherish him, use him, and never, ever let anyone tell you he isn't right. He is the Joker, and as his creator, this what you must maintain.

To the both of you, what you did with the concept was smashing. As a final lesson, I suggest that when you write in challenging environments, describe things the best you can so as to prevent reader confusion. I found myself a little lost at a few points, but not to a hindering amount. Also, and this may very well be the most important thing I ever teach you: always let your characters speak for themselves. Do not plan their dialogue, nor intend on the exact lines they will say. You can plan what direction the dialogue will go, but not each individual line. That is your character's job. If either of you would like me to go into detail on this concept, please feel free to PM me.

This has been a fantastic thread, and I have enjoyed it thuroughly. There is a deep crevasse in the face of our fair Dome's continuity, what, with Orysius replacing Tokumaru and hardly having taught your characters at all. But that is not the point. That has never been the point, and it never will be. Because, my friends, the Dome is not for your characters. Yes, the Dome is a place for your characters to come and receive training, but the Dome is truly about enriching the writers who bring those characters to life.

I have taught the two of you for at least a year and a half, and through my idle phases and BA reforms and teaching stability and lack thereof and homeroom spam and TAs and friends and enemies and on and on and on, I have watched the two of you grow as writers. You two have shown me why I am a teacher at the Dome--why I have struggled so hard to keep the Dome a place for writers and not just a mindless melting-pot for people to enroll as many characters as they can. I appreciate that you two have given me the opportunity to realize this. Thank you, so very, very much.

~Safer