xavier_institute_logs | All the news that's fit to glare at

All the news that's fit to glare at - locked

Who: Greg and Alric
Where: Outside Alric's room
When: April 19th, morning
What: delivering some news
Warnings: bad jokes.

Still yawning, Greg decided to let Alric know what he had just done. Checking the directory, he found the other guy's room, and knocked on the door.

He leaned against the door frame as he waited for an answer. It was morning, so while not super early for most people on a Sunday, it was early for Greg. He was in comfortable jeans and an over sized Kelsheen Mark band tee from a concert years ago. He rubbed at his face, fighting another yawn.

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Alric was generally the early-morning sort, himself, as evidenced by the nearly immediate response.

"Ah..! Just a moment."

True to his word, he opened the door several seconds later, eyebrows raised.

"Ah... Gregory." He'd surely been discouraged, already, from calling him Mister Deegan. "Is everything all right?"

He nodded. "Just wanted to let you know, I put us in for nominations for Student Council. After you and I talked about leadership and everything, I thought we'd make a great double ballot. You as Pres, me as Vice."

He grinned. Take the bait, take the bait, take the bait.... With the right question there were a million jokes he could make about vices. Putting on the pressure, vices being fun, Miami Vice.... If he would play the straight man, Greg could get his gag.

Alric tilted his head slightly at that, one eyebrow remaining raised.

"....a 'double ballot.' I'm not certain I follow; I was under the impression from Headmaster Munroe's announcement that votes were cast for each office individually, not in the... current American federal method."

...he's tempted to drop a line about presumptuousness being Greg's vice, but first things first.

"No one told me no," he said with a grin. "And that's how things get done, yeah?" he asked against the door frame. "By not letting presumptions stand in the way of helping others. Implications are just that, implications and impressions... how you read a situation and how anyone else reads it can be different."

"That's why there isn't just one leader on a student council. You and I have different views, different ways of seeing the world, and different ways of doing things. But we both want the same thing; to help people."

"That's why I figured you and I would make the best team. Because we can cover each other, keep each other on our toes, we can work together and between us, see a lot of different answers to each problem."

He shrugged. "Some people might say I should have waited to ask you, asked for a rules clarification... but you can get held up in questions and waiting so long that nothing ever gets done."

He held out his hand to him. "I'm good at getting things done, but I'm not the leader type, not for something this big. So, want to lead me?"

Alric looked somewhere between amused, skeptical, and puzzled at that argument, but he smiled politely nonetheless. He raised a hand in a placating gesture, partly soothing, and partly a sort of gestural let's slow down there a moment.

"...ahh. Well. You're certainly welcome to speak of our shared objectives, of course, Mister Deegan, and your desire to work with me is most flattering, naturally. So long as we do not lose sight of the fact that it's our fellow students, through the electoral process, who'll decide that. Although I do, of course, support you in your intention to pursuit the vice-presidential office, my concern is with the possibility of constraining the voter's choice."

He takes a brief rhetorical pause to let Greg sit with his train of thought for a couple seconds.

"In a sovereign executive office, it can be argued that a president requires above all the loyalty of his vice-president; but ours is, in truth, more... advisory in nature than executive. So, it seems to me in the best interests both of our respective campaigns, and moreover, of the voter's freedom of choice, not to construct... preemptive political alliances."

He pauses again, briefly, before continuing, smiling a little more contritely.

"That said, I would naturally be most pleased to work with you, as I hope you know already, and certainly don't mean to imply a rejection. Merely--to paraphrase you, yourself--a different perspective on the matter."

He considered. "Fair enough," he said, "though making it clear that we each have the support of another candidate could be more exposure, and bring more confidence, than each attempting it wholly separately. We could campaign together and those who presume we are in lockstep can vote that way, and others can vote for one or the other of us, what do you think?"

A part of him had learned to be just a bit skeptical of such a pitch; however, he had every reason, so far, to believe Greg was perfectly sincere, and he made no outward indication of any suspicions, merely smiling to himself.

"...mm... perhaps 'in parallel' would be more the description I have in mind, myself. Certainly, in matters on which we agree, I would be perfectly happy to acknowledge that agreement. But I consider it important not to needlessly create such a potential misunderstanding. You may feel that I stand too stubbornly on principle, but--particularly in matters of representation and governance--I feel principle is of crucial import."

He nodded. "Fair enough. We are short on time, so rather than argue details, you tell me what we should do. I was thinking a concert, speeches could help too, right?" Greg asked.

Alric chuckled at that, eyebrows raised.

"...certainly a speech--at least a brief one to indication one's intentions and perspective on the office one means to undertake--would be the more traditional approach. Although as I know well, you do not feel unduly beholden to tradition."

He said it just a bit playfully, but probably not really intended as a criticism.

"I... personally would be concerned with an election concert being perhaps a little too gaudy--but that's a matter of my own personal aesthetics, as much as anything. I would say you should do what you feel best conveys your personality, talents, and perspective to our colleagues."

"Well you play too, right? I thought it would be a great way to show everyone how well we work together, and... well... play together," he said with a grin.

"Understand, I'm certainly not against a concert--or simply playing music together, for that matter--but I'm not sure I would present it as a political statement."

"Music has power. It can move people, it can heal... and we can write political lyrics, if you want..."

"...political lyrics..."

Alric raised his eyebrows at that and chuckled.

"Perhaps it says too much about my feelings around politics, but I must confess that sounds dreadful. But you're certainly right that there's a power in music. But I like to think there are far better uses for it than politics."

"Just because you use it for politics, does not mean you can't use it elsewhere as well. Music isn't like paper, you use it up and it's locked into that thing or gone, music is like blowing into the wind. You create more air. Music makes more of itself when it is shared, not less by being used."

"True, of course, but I've found that there's an unfortunate tendency for politics to leech the integrity from all forms of expression; Platonic truth is sacrificed for vested interests. It is, perhaps, necessary, on some level, but there's something tragic about it, in the context of art. Not a fate to which I would wish to make anyone's music vulnerable."

"Then let's not let that happen. Just because other people fall down, does not mean we're stuck with that same fate..."

He thought about what he said, who he was, what he did....

"No comment," he muttered a bit darkly. Well, darkly for Greg.

Alric raised an eyebrow at that rather abrupt transition. He paused, just a tick, and reached out to rest a hand lightly against Greg's shoulder, with a maller, concerned, somewhat contrite smile.

"...my apologies. I didn't realize it was a sensitive subject for you. If you'd rather I not pry..."

He blinked, startled, then smacked his head, remembering he was not with his family.

"I... ah meant no razzing me about not being the one to talk about falling down, and managing not to do it. Luna and Domnic, Dad, Spark, Quilt... Fine... so everyone back home would have called me out on that, I;d be hearing about it for weeks..."

He shrugged. "We're family." It's what they did.

".....ah."

Alric eyed him a bit gaugingly, to make sure he wasn't just being deflected... but smiled a bit, contemplatively.

"...well. I can sympathize. My family is typically a little more subtle, perhaps, but it's something of a tradition not to pass up the opportunity to make light of one another's slip-ups."

Q.E.D.

".......Really. We went from me falling down....to slip ups...."

"My apologies, I thought I might try to raise your spirits. You seemed like you might be feeling a bit low."

Just because he's a bit more subtle about it doesn't mean he's ashamed at all or planning to stop.

Oho! It wasn't often someone met Greg... toe to toe as it were. Not when that someone wasn't a blood relation. He grinned at the implied challenge.

"I try not to let things get me down," He said, as if causally. "I mean, if I did, I'd be pretty lame."

Like he told Feliks, he joked about it when he had to, when he needed to, even if that one was a bit of a sore subject for him. Sore... given what little anyone knew about his leg, he could work with that...

"I try not to be a sore looser," he added. "I'll just keep doing the leg work in preparation for next year."

Tag. You're it.

Alric raised his eyebrows at all that, just smiling to himself a little, as usual.

"...at any rate. It would certainly be an honor to accompany you--musically, that is--whenever you wish. I merely prefer to keep my music as... expressive and uninhibited as possible--quite unlike politics, I'm afraid."

He pauses a tick.

"Although I wouldn't, of course, wish to step on your toes, either, so to speak."

He nodded. "Not like I need the help to fall flat on my face. Alright then...how about sometime after the election, no matter the outcome, we have a jam session. See what sweet sounds we can make together?"

Alric brightened a little at that (although just a little, we wouldn't want to be indecorous!), and nodded.

"Oh, certainly. It would be an honor."

"Rocking!"

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All the news that's fit to glare at - locked

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Wow, I don't have a face palm icon....

Travesty!

Re: Travesty!

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