Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-24487330-20140819174713/@comment-24487330-20140821231200

"Alright," Lan said, turning to face Skailyn as he took a seat next to him, "ya listening? Pay attention now...

"So here's how it goes: There was once a kid by the name o' Lan Garfield. This kid, when he was growin' up, he was always gettin' picked on 'n' made fun of. What for, ya ask? Was it because he was a Faunus? Naw, that wasn't the worst part. See, the Faunus kids used ta pick on 'im too. Ya know why? 'Cause Lan was a big kid, and I mean he was a good eight inches taller than all the other kids. Taller, wider, fatter...You name, he had it, and no one would let 'im hear the end of it.

"But one day, Lan got sick o' kids teasin' 'im. He went ta his dad 'n' asked what he oughta do, 'cuz he'd never fought back before. He said, 'Well, Lan, there're two things you can do. You can go ta school tomorrow 'n' beat the livin' daylights outta those kids what're makin' fun o' ya, 'n' then you'll get kicked outta school 'n' have everyone hate yer guts. Or...you can learn ta be happy with who ya are 'n' stop lettin' everyone else tell ya who ya oughta be.' Wanna guess which one little Lan did...? That's right: he stood up tall 'n' got tough, didn't let anyone make 'im feel like a freak just 'cuz he was bigger than the other kids.

"There's a point ta that story, Skailyn...The point is that I look at you 'n' I see me as a kid all over again. So I'm gonna tell ya somethin' just like my dad told me. People're always gonna judge ya because you're different than what they expect. You can try ta make those people happy, but that's probably just gonna make ya miserable...You can get all up in their faces for it, but all that'll really do in the end is make ya some enemies...But the smart thing ta do is ta be proud o' who ya are, ta love who ya are, and let everyone else say whatever they want, 'cuz at the end o' the day, all they've got is just words, and they're not gonna tell ya what ta do or who ta be. All o' that...is up ta you."

Lan clapped a hand on Skailyn's shoulder and gave him the purest of smiles, a bright expression that could chase clouds away on a stormy day, and finished, "As long as you're true ta yerself, that's somethin' ta be proud of, and no one can ever take that away. And ya might've caught me off-guard before, but now that I know, ya better believe that I'll try my damndest ta respect who ya are. That's a promise, one friend to another."