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Post by SKYE JESSICA FORD on Sept 7, 2012 15:51:27 GMT -5
Adam was almost stupidly gruff and she didn't really know what to say to him, but his mentioning of sides made her think about the alliances. Really, at this point, Skye had to admit that she just really did not enjoy being told what to do. It was the main driving force behind her desire to leave Maple Hollow after graduating, honestly, because it was all such bullshit, and it was one of those things that she just knew was an institution only kept around because people had gotten used to it. Habits were hard to change, but they never actually tried to, especially not her side of things. Skye had to admit that she'd at least grown used to it, but it was weird coming from the family that she had. "Well, everyone just defends their own," she said finally, deciding that this was safe to say. The Fires were the greatest for this -- forever loyal. Except when they're not, she added to herself, thinking of Josh and Lark. "Yeah, people always think they're in the right. Let's just be glad you didn't actually get hurt." Maybe he had been a little, but he wasn't hobbling around or stuck on a hospital bed. Given the situation, she'd consider this all a success.
She just shook her head a little. "No, we saw what happened last time, remember?" She was sure it wasn't something that he wanted to remember, but she was also sure that he wasn't about to go running into that type of thing anytime soon, not just like that. Well... knowing the kid as well as she did (which wasn't that well, but a little) she figured that he would, actually, should the other guys provoke him. Knowing them, that wasn't too unlikely. Skye was more than a little bit miffed. "I'm sure one of the older Fires would be really glad to help you out, actually," she said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. At least they did take care of the little ones. She figured Thunders wouldn't care about the little niners' plights.
After giving it a bit of thought, she figured that she kind of understood what he meant. Politics was weird and really didn't make sense sometimes. It all more or less clicked in Skye's mind, funnily enough -- it made a lot more sense than things like Math... or any of the legitimate Sciences, actually. Those things had never worked out for Skye -- she'd given them up as soon as she was able. "Well, not exactly, it's more like... those are generally the people better equipped to go into politics. Or so they say. Not that they're that specific about your qualifications to do anything," she said -- anyone who could vote in Canada could also run for anything they so desired, "but I guess it looks better on everyone." She thought about it a little more, wondering how this sounded coming from a Political Science major, but then she continued, "And it helps that so many lawyers took things like that when they were in school. Political Science, I mean." Skye had no interest in being a lawyer, though. Her major was pure interest's sake, not a stepping stone on some huge long life plan. She didn't really have a life plan, which might be sad at this point in the game but she still felt she was just fine -- or at least fine enough. At least she had a job and it wasn't in retail.
"I don't actually know what qualifies you to be a governor, though..." That was more American -- and her grasp on that existed, but she was much more up to speed on things in her own country. "No, it's more like they'd offer to cut taxes so you -- or your family -- would have more money to buy video games with. That kind of thing." It was weird talking about this with Adam, but he'd at least proven to be a little more inquisitive than she would have otherwise thought.
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Post by ADAM EVAN RIZZO on Sept 8, 2012 18:55:11 GMT -5
Didn't actually get hurt? She had to be joking right? Still, he was glad that he at least managed to get up off of the ground and walk away from the scuffle with nothing more than a black eye and a few sore spots on his sides and legs. It hurt but nothing hurt more than his pride. Not only did he get beat down by four older Waters but he had a girl rescue him. He felt he should have been able to hold his own. A dark scowl played on his features and he looked flustered. "Yeah I remember." Not that he really wished to recall the memories but they happened all the same. He sniffed and looked a little impudent. "Probably. Like you said, everyone defends their own." It was nice to know that his element were loyal and willing to group together to defend one another. Almost like a pack of wolves, minus the fur and fangs. Fire, to him, seemed a lot more formidable than a wild animal.
He was genuinely interested in most of what Skye had to say, but all of it sounded so incredibly contradictory. "I think they should have qualifications. I mean, is a hobo allowed to come in off the street and try to be in the government?" To him these were legitimate questions, because it made no sense to allow random people off the street to try and take up political power. Not to mention, though they were now in Canada, Molly still kept up with the politics in the United States as well. She was always griping about one thing or another. Adam wondered if there was so much negativity, why allow certain people run for any position? "Oh, so that's how they know how to work the system so well then." It did not take a rocket scientist to know that there were a lot of slimy lawyers out there. There were plenty of them around after his dad was tossed in jail. Why defend someone who was blatantly guilty? "Well I'm not a fan of lawyers so they don't really look good to me in any way." And that needed no explanation because a lot of people despised lawyers. It's almost like they take on the occupation just to gather a group of haters.
Adam snorted rather loudly to express distaste. "Probably the same qualifications as everyone else in politics: living and breathing, right?" At least, that's how it was starting to sound. He was not exactly eager to insult Skye's major but to him it did not make sense and seemed like a waste of time. He smiled a little at the video game comment. "I guess I'll vote for whoever gives me more money for video games. Sounds like a fuckin' deal to me." More money for entertainment? That was something Adam was certainly interested in. "Or a way to get out of school. That would be nice too." But he highly doubted they would do anything like that. Education always seemed to be a big point in those speeches Molly listened to. At least listening to the speeches and listening to his mom helped him talk to Skye about a little portion of politics without feeling like a stupid kid. With a sigh, he read through the sonnet again. "I guess I should get to memorizing this shit. Or at least make sure it's recited properly. My teacher is so anal about that."
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Post by SKYE JESSICA FORD on Sept 9, 2012 11:32:46 GMT -5
He didn't sound at all thrilled about being able to remember, but Skye figured that this did make tons of sense. She wouldn't have wanted to remember that kind of thing either, being pretty badly wrecked in a fight. It'd happened, though. He wouldn't have been able to deny that one if he'd tried -- though it didn't seem he had any lasting injury, she was sure that those guys had inflicted enough onto him to make him remember. Then again, she was a little biased because she was the typical Thunder in the way she always remembered those who'd wronged her before. Nobody got a pass. "It happens to everyone," she said as some kind fo consolation, not that it meant much, she was sure. Fights weren't uncommon at all at the Academy, though, and no one had won every single one they'd fought, she was sure of that. "Probably, but... Fires more than others, I think." Other elements typically rose to the occasion, except arguably Winds, but there was a loyalty in Fires that was almost scary, even to Skye, and she was on their side.
There was a part of her that kind of really enjoyed debates and things of the sort, and while she wouldn't consider this a fair debate in the slightest, she was actually a little interested in Adam's opinions on all of this, because he seemed pretty stubborn in his thinking. At least he didn't have the tone of someone who was trying to argue with her, though -- that was something she probably wouldn't have stood for. "If the hobo is a citizen who can vote, then yeah, actually," she said, though she was aware of how it sounded. "And considering the way politicians are sometimes, I'd probably seriously consider voting for him." She thought over his comment on qualifications, though, and how they should have some, absently pushing hair away from her eyes as she considered it. "Just... think, I guess. If there were qualifications what would we make them? Have a home, have a job, have something going for you in your life? Make a certain amount of money? It'd boil down to that in the end and that's a really bad idea when the country's already run by rich people." In the end it was better with no qualifications at all, she was pretty sure, because otherwise there was nowhere to draw the line. Though she couldn't fairly resent most wealthy people for the money they had, the system was definitely set up unfairly.
She very briefly smiled, though. "Yeah. They're pretty good at fixing it. But in the end it's all about manipulating public opinion." That was something she'd always known but had started really coming face to face with when she'd started her current job -- not that she thought Patricia, her own boss, did it nearly as much as some other politicians (or she'd be out of that office in a few seconds flat), but politics was always a weird game to play. "No, it's..." It seemed that she'd pretty much jaded him to it already, and she shook her head. "The lack of qualifications is mostly to keep it fair here. Look at America -- you need to be born in the country to run for President, and I mean, does that law even have a real purpose?" She didn't think someone who'd moved to America at a later point in their life, especially when they were very very small, was any less equipped to run the country than anyone born there. "And yeah, I guess it'd sound good." She tried not to impress her own ideas on him, at least. This was definitely getting into political opinion, and that was always touchy. She shifted a little though. "But more money in your pocket from tax cuts ultimately means less things you can have. Like healthcare. Benefits when you start working. Things like that."
She stopped after that, though, taking a couple of slow, steady breaths. Damn it, she was pretty sure she'd just spit a ton of politics at him, and it never seemed to her that most fourteen-year-old kids would really care much about all of that. Adam had been a pretty engaged audience, as far as it went, but Skye at least tried not to go off on tangents about these things. She just... had plenty of opinions. That was, ultimately, why she was majoring in Political Science -- not as a middle step to ultimately going to law school or anything of the sort, not to later go into politics herself. It was just what she was doing at the moment. Being opinionated had its downfalls, though, like getting into arguments or... winding up spewing out too many words at once like she had just done to Adam. Poor kid. He'd walk away knowing something he hadn't before, though, at least she hoped. That was always a plus as far as she was concerned. "Yeah, I... guess you should do that." She would have stayed just because she had the right to do so but, remembering that (if she had been correct earlier) he actually enjoyed English and wasn't willing to admit it, Skye figured she could bow out now and leave him alone. "I remember high school English, it was a pain. Good luck -- I'll... see you around or something.' Now was a good time to take her leave -- Skye could always find somewhere else to do her own homework.
(end thread! )
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