Meji's Report Card

[RobertMontrose]

So... What ever happened to Meji's project and her graduation anyway? I mean, she did more or less complete the project she set out on, and within the deadline to boot! I would think that even if she never showed up to submit her report, the academy would have bent over backwards to award her at least an honorary diploma.

As for higher education, perhaps she should be a [snerk] Doctor of Divinity [chuckle]?

[Graybeard]

So... What ever happened to Meji's project and her graduation anyway? I mean, she did more or less complete the project she set out on, and within the deadline to boot! I would think that even if she never showed up to submit her report, the academy would have bent over backwards to award her at least an honorary diploma.

As for higher education, perhaps she should be a [snerk] Doctor of Divinity [chuckle]?

We don't know for sure, but when the Senilisized Meji went to see her professor, his response to her project was ... unsatisfying. That, and the ensuing sequence with her bouncing him off walls, etc., was the last we heard of it. Presumably, after the big battle in Praenubilus Astu, she decided she had other things to do than argue about her grades.

[RobertMontrose]

Well, I'm pretty sure if I had ever come to my one of my professors' office hours mysteriously glowing and half-dressed to whine and bitch about mistakes in his or her curriculum, their first impulse would probably be to call security. Telekinetically lifting them into the air would probably make him or her even less likely to discuss my grades (especially if it happens to be a physics professor ) .

Given that the Academy is at the secondary school level, I find most teachers at that stage aren't terribly concerned with whether the material is right or wrong when it comes to grading. If she sat down to have a more reasoned discussion with the administration, she might actually get somewhere. If that doesn't work, given her statement after killing Ian that she could stop everyone's hearts in her general vicinity, she could almost certainly defeat the entire faculty, without injuries, with not so much as a microjoule of effort.

Personally, I'd think it would end up like how it did with Harvard giving Bill Gates an honorary law degree 30 years after he dropped out. Even for an institution that prestigious, there's still a lot of bragging rights to be had.

[Graybeard]

Well, sure, she "could," quote unquote, take on the whole Sashi Mu faculty, turn Yukiri into a human pizza, and make the rest of them into toppings. But why bother? Remarkably enough, Meji grew up some during Errant Story, and by the end, she had bigger things on her mind than passing the class, which was pretty much irrelevant by then.

One of the things about Errant Story that attracted a particularly thoughtful fandom during its long run, particularly the second half -- see practically all of the threads on the modern forum -- was the way Poe managed to pose subtle, interesting, and above all, thought-provoking behavioral and ethical questions that defied simple answers. I know of few if any other webcomics that did or do that half as well. It is therefore rather sad that this little throwaway happened just as it was finally winding down after its long run, because the question "so what does an all-powerful near-divine being do when she goes away for 'several very tense weeks', as Sarine puts it, to clear her head?" is one of those things ripe for serious discussion that unfortunately didn't occur. I devoutly hope that some day soon, Poe gets back to drawing the Errant World, and maybe sheds some light on that question. At the minimum, that she didn't bother hamburgerizing Sashi Mu (at least we can infer she didn't; Sarine would presumably have said something about it if she had) suggests that her priorities were definitely elsewhere -- and it would be fascinating to know where.

[RobertMontrose]

Call me crazy, but I think there's value in finishing what you set out to do, no matter how much interest you may lose near the end. I agree that she's definitely beyond the point of, "I'll show them, I'll show them all!", but I think she would at least return to settle issues, apologize for the earlier incident, and close out her academic transcript. I can believe that she would decline to attend the graduation ceremony for fear of literally outshining everyone else in her class, but honestly I'd like to see Poe make an Errant Tale surrounding Meji's graduation. I think it would be doable artistically, and it would tie up that loose thread.

Errant Story is, fundamentally, a bildungsroman for Meji. Most stories in that genre also include guides, which we have, but a true mentor is conspicuously absent. I think it is quite obvious that Meji wouldn't even have been in this story without the challenge Sashi Mu issued to her and her class, and she certainly wouldn't have lasted through the twist and turns of the plot without the education and training she already recieved from that fine institution. No ship can sail the seas without having first been built on land, and I think Sashi Mu deserves some credit for having helped shape Meji from a child into a fine young woman.

Furthermore, I think it would say a lot about how Meji has matured internally if she were invited as an honorary speaker at graduation, and she gave an address that was not at all bitter or concieted, but rather was gracious and deferential to the faculty, staff, and students of Sashi Mu, kind of like a famous person coming back to give the a speech at their old alma mater. She could say that each and every one of her peers has the potential within them to exceed her own acheivements some day with commitment, dedication, and a few good friends.

In the background, Poe could also use the names and/or faces of his favorite teachers, professors, mentors, and guides from his own life, who all helped to bring up an artist with the talent and vision to create such a magical world.