Duel 03, text

[andtherevolution]

sooo. last week was my birthday! 🎉🎉🎉 i didn't really do anything BUT i was wondering a couple things

1. how do you get a license? a driver's license i mean. a bunch of kids in my class are getting their permits and i shooould be old enough for that now. i know you have to take a test but what do you do after that??

2. driving's a pretty adult thing isn't it? i know kids do it here but back home you couldn't get a license until you were at least 18. so i was wondering: what kind of things are "adult" back where you guys are from? what's something that makes you really grownup? i guess what i mean is, at what point do you stop being a kid?

Comments

[craftpunk]

I like to think it's living on your own,
living the life you never would have when you're held back by parents.

Also, I did lots of cocaine, when I first started this whole adult thing.

[andtherevolution]

...soooo. was that before or after the helmet?

[craftpunk]

Before.

I wasn't exactly uninitiated to the lifestyle before I ascended.

[bookkeeper]

Happy belated birthday! I guess no one really knows when anyone's birthdays are in this place.

1. I guess you find a place here that will let you take a test. Maybe they have driving schools to help you practice before you go on the road.

2. Depends. In Canada, it's 18. In the States, it's 21. I like to ask myself: when did I start being a kid.

[andtherevolution]

haha yeah. this is my second time here but it's about a year? if you add both times. that's close enough to count right?

1. ehhh i'm not sure i have the cash for that. but i might be able to get somebody to teach me for free! that's just as good. probably.

2. yeahhh idk why it's different here. i mean you can join the army and shoot a guy but you can't drink? not that i care about that stuff but it just seems w e i r d.

anyway...

"when did i start being a kid". that's kind of a funny question isn't it? that's sort of like a chicken asking when it became an egg. no offense.

[bookkeeper]

Close enough, yeah.

it is just as good, you could get some really good advice on what not to do or in my case, advice on what to do.

honestly, it's kinda backwards when you think about it, yeah

no, see, I don't think you're understanding the question. I grew up the opposite - too fast.

[aberranthubris]

Happy belated birthday. Perhaps you should do something now to celebrate.

It's hard to pin down any point where you stop being a child, but I suppose taking command of your own life is a good place to start. A point where realising that no one else is responsible for your decisions or your actions is no longer a tragedy.

[andtherevolution]

maybe! it'll be a lot easier now that everything's calmed down at least.

and... hmn. if that's what being an adult is an about then isn't every kid here an adult? we don't really have parents watching us or taking care of us here. we're all sort of just on our own.

[aberranthubris]

After rain comes sunlight as inevitably as rain will follow every sunlight eventually. You should take your happiness where you can find it.

I hope that the community would take responsibility for our own. But you do raise a good point. And I think it is the most pressing social matter that we have actually. Children should be allowed to be children. Work is a matter that belongs to adult world. It's a problem that I've been worried about since being ported in. From what I can see the adults in the imPort community do try to take care of the children as much as they can,
though.

[vanto]

Happy birthday. As for adult things — nothing particularly special? It depends on where you grow up.

There were cadets at the Academy who never grew up.

[andtherevolution]

thanks. and that's what it sounds like - like every place has its own definition of "adult"

and cadet? oh! you were a soldier back home right?

[vanto]

I mean you have the "legal" side in which you hit a certain age but being an adult is an entirely different issue.

Yeah. Well, an officer. Probably for the best, physical fighting was not my forte.

[deadkord]

Never, if you can help it!

[andtherevolution]

but we can't right? don't get me wrong - i don't want to be an adult RIGHT NOW. but a friend and i were talking about how things change whether we like it or not. so i guess what i mean is that it's going to happen someday. i just don't know when that someday is.

[khajidont]

For me, getting here felt like a pretty big step in growing up

Anyway I can help you with the license thing. I got mine a long time ago. Once you pass your first exam you're allowed to drive with one passenger and you have to keep your Learners permit for a year before you can get your license proper

[andtherevolution]

really? thanks jaime!!! that would be great. i really REALLY appreciate it. oh but i have to pass the test first - i'll give you a call when i'm done ok?? you can just study for that on the internet right?

and i can imagine. when you first get here there's nobody to really watch over you right? you learn to stand on your own feet pretty quickly. or starve i guess.

[khajidont]

Yeah you can study that on the internet! Do you have a car you can practice on? Cuz if you don't you can use mine and I'll give you a couple of lessons

When it comes to growing up though it's different for everyone. Some people half my age had been living on their own for years by the time they got here but I guess I got lucky. Coming here was the first time I've ever been away from my family for more than a couple days at a time. It took some getting used to

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[bragnificent]

nice 🎉
I got a car actually if u ever wanna practice driving
w/ me in it tho obv I only lend her to friends, not acquaintances

and idk when u can join the army? vote? stop needing to forge ur parents signature on stuff?
does it matter

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[andtherevolution]

thanks but i got a guy already. i'm surprised you offered tho. do you give driving lessons to every birthday girl around here?

and idk. don't you think about that sometimes? what you're going to do after you get out of school i mean. i know it may not seem like a big deal HERE but some people get stuck in this place for a long time.

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[ghoulking]

Congratulations, Utena-chan.
There are driving schools to teach you how to drive, and after you'll need a test, yes.

I'm not very useful when it comes to "grown-up" things. Even in my world, where things were so different, I still can't really tell the difference.

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[andtherevolution]

but you own a cafe right?? that seems like a pretty "grown-up" thing to me! i wouldn't say you're useless at ALL

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[knaval]

what does age have to do with it ?

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[andtherevolution]

huh? do you mean driving or growing up?

[codeoracle]

ok, first--birthday. celebrations are happening.

[She isn't too sure if she should be more hesitant with contact considering recent conversations, but reservations never really held Futaba back before. Normalcy was the best policy here.

and second. how old are you that you can get a permit?
never bothered to look into it here, back home driving wasn't a huge thing and you had to wait to be 18 anyway.

[andtherevolution]

[huh. well. this is a surprise. but it's a good surprise? maybe? is there a word for something that's good and awkward at the same time]

15! ✧*｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و✧*｡ and i know it's not a big deal back home but it's kind of cool isn't it? just jumping in a car and going wherever you want... it's something i'd like to try out here if i can.

but let's talk celebrations. did you have something in mind??