Editing (section) Autumn People 0 You are not logged in. The rich text editor does not work with JavaScript switched off. Please either enable it in your browser options, or visit your preferences to switch to the old MediaWiki editor <h2 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1"> The Seasons of a Life More Banal </h2> <ul><li data-rte-spaces-before="1">As recounted by <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Arthur%20Fishlips%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Arthur%20Fishlips%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BArthur%20Fishlips%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="381-1245055445df30c49c11dd" href="/wiki/Arthur_Fishlips" title="Arthur Fishlips">Arthur Fishlips</a> </li></ul> <h3 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> Childhood </h3> <p data-rte-fromparser="true"><img data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22image%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BFile%3AAutumn%20People%2006.png%7Cthumb%7C345x345px%5D%5D%22%2C%22title%22%3A%22Autumn_People_06.png%22%2C%22params%22%3A%7B%22alt%22%3A%22Autumn%20People%2006%22%2C%22thumbnail%22%3Atrue%2C%22caption%22%3A%22%22%2C%22width%22%3A345%2C%22height%22%3A345%7D%7D" data-rte-instance="381-1245055445df30c49c11dd" alt="" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/whitewolf/images/2/21/Autumn_People_06.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/345?cb=20191026203553" width="345" height="469" class="image thumb" data-image-name="Autumn People 06.png" data-image-key="Autumn_People_06.png" type="image" /> <!-- RTE::{"spaces":0,"type":"LINE_BREAK"} -->When I think of what my parents told me when I was a kid, I think of all the ritual phrases. “Keep your hands to yourself! Settle down!” The best things in life are the things you aren’t supposed to go near. What’s so bad about wanting to move a dead cat to the side of the road, or croaking in mud puddles with frogs? My parents were always trying to keep me away from cool stuff: slugs, worms, and snails were off limits. After all, I didn’t “know where they’d been!” My dad always said that I didn’t have enough sense to come in out of the rain. I think he didn’t have enough sense to come out into it. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">That’s where it all begins. All the best things in life are called childish: cartoons, comic books, games… even make believe. Children are the only people who realize how powerful “make believe” really is. Changelings know the truth: we all play make believe. Look at a guy walking in a suit to work, or some happy employee behind the counter a O’Tolley’s. I watch and learn; they look back at me like I’m some kinda freak. Banality makes us forget that we all play roles. If you take your life too seriously, you forget the unlimited potential you have. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Children don’t give in to the tedium of life. They don’t define their lives by their jobs or let themselves get trapped in regret. The most serious humans forget that throwing off the pain is as easy as dancing a jig in the moonlight or letting out an elaborate belch. Unfortunately, propriety discourages us from doing such things. Parents teach us all the things we shouldn’t do. Girls are supposed to be ladylike, boys are taught to hide how they feel, and all kids are told to “act their age.” I think the grown-ups are just envious. Children have inexhaustible energy and enthusiasm, and adults exhaust themselves trying to condition it out of them. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Other kids can be much worse about it than adults. In any large gathering of children, all the “normal” kids get together and reaffirm how normal they are. That’s where Banality begins. You hide, conform, or you stand tall. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">When you live like that, you don’t want to see the magic around you. It hurts. Anyone who has that magic automatically has something you don’t. When Autumn People are confronted with magic, part of them wishes it away. I don’t blame them. Change is the essence of magic, and when you see reality change drastically in front of you, it reminds you of all the ways the world can change without you. Witnessing Glamour involves admitting that the world can be much different from the safe world you know. Breaking free can be painful, and it’s sometimes easier to just hide. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Changelings realize how much possibility they have in their lives. That’s how children are too: they really can become anything, but it means breaking free of many of the things they’re taught. Some of those ideas come from home, but conformity is something we learn in school. </p> <h3 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> School </h3> <p data-rte-fromparser="true">Sure, I understand the need for education. I’m not saying all schools are inherently bad, but I will say that school is the place where kids learn to obey. I saw all kids around me rewarded for conforming. The one question you’re never supposed to ask is “Why?” Some kids learn that too well. There’s a different set of rituals. You stand in line, raise your hand before you speak, take part in spirts you don’t like, listen through boring lectures, and sit still in your seat. When the bell rings, you run out to the playground. When the next bell rings, you run back. If you don’t stay within the system, or if you try to beat the system, you’re punished. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Sometimes you get so caught up in obeying a system that you never question it. That’s what school is. You aren’t supposed to question the assignments you do, you just do them. Don’t dare ask why you’re supposed to learn something. Just follow along. Don’t be late for class, pay attention, keep your mind on your work, don’t look out the window, don’t doodle, and don’t daydream. When you’re done, the teacher will grade you on your conformity. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">The Autumn People learn early on to define what’s “acceptable” and reject what’s different. It’s a matter of degrees. The soul chills in some people far more than it does in others. Every human has a touch of autumn, but only a few have it so badly that they hate the fae, seek them out, and destroy them. I never ran into that until I got into high school. </p> <h3 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> High School </h3> <p data-rte-fromparser="true">The social part of high school does have some advantages. If I hadn’t learned about cliques, I wouldn’t have survived. Most of getting by in any social environment involves finding the cool people and staying away from the people who aren’t. That’s how a lot of wilders find each other. They’re drawn together. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Unfortunately, the Autumn People band together as well. For instance, some Autumn People are the paragons of so-called virtue who make the honor roll. They get showered with praise and accolades because they conform to the system. High school football heroes, cheerleaders, student body presidents… it’s all so banal because the whole social framework is based around conformity. Don’t question, smile! If it wasn’t for finding the right clique of freaks, the right storm tunnels, and the best time to ditch class, I wouldn’t have made it out alive. Where did I go? Straight to college. </p> <h3 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> The University </h3> <p data-rte-fromparser="true">When I think of all those lecture notes I crammed through in college, and all the information that I forgot a few days later, I’m stunned. College is a time when a group of academics decide what you should learn and test your ability to withstand bureaucracy. Your measure of your conformity, your grade point average, is extended into a series of digits. The university becomes your whole life, and after that, it only gets worse. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">If you’re going to escape from college, you have to wade through a vast bureaucracy, beginning with a curriculum set by other people that defines what’s important for you. You need allies. I saw a lot of people around me who didn’t have them. Mindless sorority girls going for their “MRS.” degrees. Dorm rats who skidded through in an alcoholic haze. Brooding loners who desperately tried to paint and draw and ended up with a lot of paint stains on their clothes. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Now most of my motley is gone and I sit in this crummy apartment warming up fish sticks in the toaster oven and wonder what went wrong. If it gets really bad, I turn on the television. </p> <h3 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> Television </h3> <p data-rte-fromparser="true"><img data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22image%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BFile%3AArthur%20Fishlips%2002.png%7Cthumb%7C345x345px%5D%5D%22%2C%22title%22%3A%22Arthur_Fishlips_02.png%22%2C%22params%22%3A%7B%22alt%22%3A%22Arthur%20Fishlips%2002%22%2C%22thumbnail%22%3Atrue%2C%22caption%22%3A%22%22%2C%22width%22%3A345%2C%22height%22%3A345%7D%7D" data-rte-instance="381-1245055445df30c49c11dd" alt="" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/whitewolf/images/9/9a/Arthur_Fishlips_02.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/345?cb=20191026203631" width="345" height="227" class="image thumb" data-image-name="Arthur Fishlips 02.png" data-image-key="Arthur_Fishlips_02.png" type="image" /> <!-- RTE::{"spaces":0,"type":"LINE_BREAK"} -->My television usually sits in the corner. I don’t know why I keep it. I was watching the <i>X-Files</i> for a while, but now the TV sits in the corner with a “Kill Your Television” sticker across the screen. Television is one big advertisement for the ay other people want society to be. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">You know what it’s like to watch someone watching television. That screen starts flickering, their jaw drops, the eyes glaze, and the mind shifts into neutral. The lips babble back at the screen. The hands on the clock slowly turn. Once in a while, they see something wonderful, but they sit and graze through the channels, letting other people show them pretty pictures and listening to the droning voices tell them what useless product they need to buy. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Excuse me, I need to set fire to my television… I’ll be right back. </p> <h3 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> The Day Job </h3> <p data-rte-fromparser="true">We’ve all got our various crummy jobs. Working used to seem really exciting, but any job can become tedious. Eventually, you get to the frame of mind where your job is just something you suffer through, and you take on another personality when you’re working. Or maybe you try to get so wrapped up in your job that you don’t want to have to think about your life outside of work. We all have to go through it, and over time, it starts to turn you slowly mundane. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">I’ve drifted through a lot of jobs. Yeah, I could mooch off some faerie freehold, but I don’t go around those places much anymore. In fact, I don’t leave the house much anymore. It’s easier to just hide. After a while, you stop caring, stop trusting, stop falling in love. If your job really stinks, you don’t have the energy to move by the end of the day. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Of course, you can always sell out. </p> <h3 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> Corporate America </h3> <p data-rte-fromparser="true"><img data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22image%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BFile%3AAutumn%20People%2005.png%7Cthumb%7C544x544px%5D%5D%22%2C%22title%22%3A%22Autumn_People_05.png%22%2C%22params%22%3A%7B%22alt%22%3A%22Autumn%20People%2005%22%2C%22thumbnail%22%3Atrue%2C%22caption%22%3A%22%22%2C%22width%22%3A544%2C%22height%22%3A544%7D%7D" data-rte-instance="381-1245055445df30c49c11dd" alt="" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/whitewolf/images/1/1c/Autumn_People_05.png/revision/latest?cb=20191026203659" width="258" height="720" class="image thumb" data-image-name="Autumn People 05.png" data-image-key="Autumn_People_05.png" type="image" /> <!-- RTE::{"spaces":0,"type":"LINE_BREAK"} -->Lemme tell ya about corporate life. I had a roommate who used to work for a corp. He needed the money really bad, so when they offered him a salary that made his eyes bug out, he said yes. He used to be one of the noble sidhe. Now he’s in real estate. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Money always has its price. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">A corporate environment is one where the structures are more important than the people. The people are the cogs in the machine, and they turn until they’re worn down. If the structure made sense, there would be some slight justification behind it, but as the structure gets more and more complex, there are more and more ways for it to break down. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">First there are departments, gatherings of specialists who don’t know how to talk to the other departments. On the occasions when they do work with other people, the personal side of it is played down. All the employees live in a maze of cubicles and bureaucracy, so it’s difficult to walk through that maze to get to the other rats trapped inside. Even rats deserve better. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">The really bad corps make sure that other people monitor and supervise every aspect of what you do. Review cycles, process checks, process flows, procedures… they can all be summed up in five words: Conform, conform, conform, conform, conform. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Don’t think, don’t hope, don’t dream. Don’t talk about taboo subjects. Don’t talk about sex or religion or personal stuff because you might offend someone. Minimize personal contact. Get in, do your job, and get out. If you’re really unlucky, you’ll also have a dress code. They’ll start to mold you into a suit. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">The suit is the uniform of conformity. Everything you do is given a veneer of respectability by being dressed up in formal clothes. A suit is just another type of make-believe, except that over time, you become that role. All the feelings you have about your job become complications that you have to put aside. Your emotional feelings (like being trapped) don’t have reasons attached to them, so you have to set them aside. After all, those emotions are harmful to the work environment! Your feelings are something you have to set aside to do your job. Doubt and skepticism are disloyal. The only emotions you should feel are team spirit, team pride, and empowerment. All of these emotions become as starched and molded as the suit you wear. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">But what the hell, I’d be making more money, right? I’d have security, and I’d allegedly have more time for other things if I have a nice secure job. I can make commitments that will hang over my head for years to come: car payments, a marriage, a lease, children. Build the walls around me, and I’ll be empowered. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Every day will be Autumn. I’ll be sheltered from the world, safe from any bad emotions, safe from any dangerous ideas, and anything that’s new or different that’ll come along will be kept away so that I can keep up my car payments, go back to the same home every day, feel the same guilt every night, and swill down a nice glass of expensive alcohol to make all the bad feelings go away. Then, when Winter comes, I’ll be safe in my nice house and won’t have to acknowledge anything outside of my little world. </p> <h3 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> Comfort </h3> <p data-rte-fromparser="true">So, what’s the goal of this whole system? Settling down. I guess I’m supposed to get to a point where I don’t feel the call of the road anymore. I’ll have a nice safe little apartment filled with junk I don’t need. Then I can block out all the possibility in the world, sit in my safe world, and stare back at the TV screen. Of course, if you don’t make it, you’ll be bitter and living in a crappy little apartment like mine. If the Autumn People get to you, that’s the future that’s waiting for you. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">That’s not my life. I fight and I lose. I hope and hope dies. But I never give up. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Excuse me. The fish sticks are done. </p> <h3 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> Hearthfire </h3> <p data-rte-fromparser="true">There is a way out. It waits in the Dreaming. It burns in your faerie blood. If you have the right clique behind you and can keep the hearthfire burning, you can survive against the cold. If you can resist the conformity and keep warm, if you can fight off the webs that constrict you and keep your imagination alive, you can survive. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">You know what? I’m really tired of them looking at me like I’m a freak. I know that they’re the real freaks. The people who want to limit your freedom and trap your mind… the blue-haired old ladies with their beehive hairdos and tight-pursed lips, the television evangelists who say that you’re sinful, the uptight parents who label records, and all the repressed people who condemn sex and freedom… they look like the freakish ones to me. You’ve got to see the Autumn People for who they are. </p><p /> <!-- Saved in parser cache with key whitewolf:rte-parser-cache:10069 --> Loading editor Insert: – — … ° ≈ ≠ ± − × ÷ ← → · § • Sign your name: --~~~~ Wiki markup: {{}} | [] [[]] [[Category:]] #REDIRECT [[]] <s></s> <sup></sup> <sub></sub> <code></code> <blockquote></blockquote> <ref></ref> <div class="references-small"></div> <references/> <includeonly></includeonly> <noinclude></noinclude> <nowiki></nowiki> • (templates) Symbols: ~ | ¡ ¿ † ‡ ↔ ↑ ↓ • ¶ # ¹ ² ³ ½ ⅓ ⅔ ¼ ¾ ⅛ ⅜ ⅝ ⅞ ‘ “ ’ ” ¢ $ € ₦ £ ¥ Characters: Á á Ć ć É é Í í Ĺ ĺ Ń ń Ó ó Ŕ ŕ Ś ś Ú ú Ý ý Ź ź À à È è Ì ì Ò ò Ù ù  â Ĉ ĉ Ê ê Ĝ ĝ Ĥ ĥ Î î Ĵ ĵ Ô ô Ŝ ŝ Û û Ŵ ŵ Ŷ ŷ Ä ä Ë ë Ï ï Ö ö Ü ü Ÿ ÿ ß Ã ã Ẽ ẽ Ĩ ĩ Ñ ñ Õ õ Ũ ũ Ỹ ỹ Ç ç Ģ ģ Ķ ķ Ļ ļ Ņ ņ Ŗ ŗ Ş ş Ţ ţ Đ đ Ů ů Ǎ ǎ Č č Ď ď Ě ě Ǐ ǐ Ľ ľ Ň ň Ǒ ǒ Ř ř Š š Ť ť Ǔ ǔ Ž ž Ā ā Ē ē Ī ī Ō ō Ū ū Ȳ ȳ Ǣ ǣ ǖ ǘ ǚ ǜ Ă ă Ĕ ĕ Ğ ğ Ĭ ĭ Ŏ ŏ Ŭ ŭ Ċ ċ Ė ė Ġ ġ İ ı Ż ż Ą ą Ę ę Į į Ǫ ǫ Ų ų Ḍ ḍ Ḥ ḥ Ḷ ḷ Ḹ ḹ Ṃ ṃ Ṇ ṇ Ṛ ṛ Ṝ ṝ Ṣ ṣ Ṭ ṭ Ł ł Ő ő Ű ű Ŀ ŀ Ħ ħ Ð ð Þ þ Œ œ Æ æ Ø ø Å å Ə ə • {{Unicode|}} Greek: Ά ά Έ έ Ή ή Ί ί Ό ό Ύ ύ Ώ ώ Α α Β β Γ γ Δ δ Ε ε Ζ ζ Η η Θ θ Ι ι Κ κ Λ λ Μ μ Ν ν Ξ ξ Ο ο Π π Ρ ρ Σ σ ς Τ τ Υ υ Φ φ Χ χ Ψ ψ Ω ω • {{Polytonic|}} • (polytonic list) Cyrillic: А а Б б В в Г г Ґ ґ Ѓ ѓ Д д Ђ ђ Е е Ё ё Є є Ж ж З з Ѕ ѕ И и І і Ї ї Й й Ј ј К к Ќ ќ Л л Љ љ М м Н н Њ њ О о П п Р р С с Т т Ћ ћ У у Ў ў Ф ф Х х Ц ц Ч ч Џ џ Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь Э э Ю ю Я я IPA: t̪ d̪ ʈ ɖ ɟ ɡ ɢ ʡ ʔ ɸ ʃ ʒ ɕ ʑ ʂ ʐ ʝ ɣ ʁ ʕ ʜ ʢ ɦ ɱ ɳ ɲ ŋ ɴ ʋ ɹ ɻ ɰ ʙ ʀ ɾ ɽ ɫ ɬ ɮ ɺ ɭ ʎ ʟ ɥ ʍ ɧ ɓ ɗ ʄ ɠ ʛ ʘ ǀ ǃ ǂ ǁ ɨ ʉ ɯ ɪ ʏ ʊ ɘ ɵ ɤ ə ɚ ɛ ɜ ɝ ɞ ʌ ɔ ɐ ɶ ɑ ɒ ʰ ʷ ʲ ˠ ˤ ⁿ ˡ ˈ ˌ ː ˑ ̪ • {{IPA|}} This field is a spam trap. DO NOT fill it in! Edit summary Preview Mobile Desktop Show changes