A few months ago Josh would've laughed if you had told him that his plan would've worked flawlessly. Even the immaculate planning that had gone into it had some holes in it, but those holes had been filled in with foliage made of doubt and a belief of the goodness of humanity: a testament to everything that Joshua wasn't. Though that's not to say that he wasn't ready to take advantage of it, already based on Peter's investment Josh was a millionaire, both his father and Peter had acknowledged that Josh knew how to handle his money better than his mother.
What they hadn't accounted for was Josh forcing his mother to believe that they where on the poverty level. The money was his to spend. He worked hard to gain Peter's and his father? Well his father's money was better off spent by someone who loved him. The memory of Peter put a bad taste in his mouth as he continued to walk the halls, moving discretely, but even he could tell you that there was no discreteness to be found in this big barren tunnel that they deemed a hallway. Either it was clogged like an artery with people or it was completely vacant -much like it was now-, neither situation allowed for much stealth.
Though has the ticking of his Rolex reached his ears he realized that now was not the time to be ranting philosophically about the potential sneaking opportunities to be found in the vacant hallway, now was the moment to focus upon building relationships and as he continued to walk to the principles office to alert them that the newest Senior had arrived he came across a flyer.
"ANTI-SOTF Club", he read out loud his voice monotone with an odd mixture of apathy and curiosity, "Now isn't that a quaint little idea. A game that is focused upon proving the futility of group think and relationships has a club dedicated to it...really it's noble of whomever started it."
SOTF.
He didn't have time for the novelty in a game that focused upon the killing of his "peers", it didn't matter either way as he didn't associate with the peers he had at school much less peers that where only connected due to birth year. The concept of SOTF was nothing new, a controlled evolutionary experiment such as this had been the subject of science fiction novels for ages. It was Lord of the Flies and Milgram's Experiment all rolled up into one tiny little package so sociologist's didn't have to worry about reading two data files. In Josh's mind the only thing that superseded his inquisitiveness of how SOTF effected the human psyche was his apathy for the game in general.
The irony that he would have this ideals and go to Southridge High of all places would be lost on him until later though.
A Meeting of the Minds
A Meeting of the Minds
"My man got too familiar and I’d ended up having to whoop his ass, man, you know. Because he would step across the line. Habitually. He’s a habitual line stepper.” -Charlie Murphy
V8 Relationship Thread
Slidin'
Lookin' for the opps, they been hidin'
I grew up 'round drugs, sex, and violence
We turnt off they street, we heard sirens
Since a juvenile, I been wylin'
Slidin'
Lookin' for the opps, they been hidin'
I grew up 'round drugs, sex, and violence
We turnt off they street, we heard sirens
Since a juvenile, I been wylin'
((Continued from Of Ice and Men))
"You don't sound impressed."
The voice struck out from the entrance into the men's washroom that Josh just so happened to be standing beside. The voice itself had a very unique quality to it, and if Josh had thought about it, it may have been a voice that he'd heard before. But Josh didn't seem the type to think about such things, and so the boy standing in front of him was likely a bit of an unknown to him, if nothing else. The boy took a step forward out of the washroom, and glanced at the flyer in his hand. Pausing for a moment to run his hand through his unruly red hair, he looked Josh in the eyes, a bitter smirk on his face.
"Noble...? Nah, not as much noble, as...well...necessary. Groups have a time and a place, man. In 'Survival of the Fittest'? They don't. Groups don't seem to do much except get people killed. Guy walks into a clearing with an Uzi and sees a tangle of people clusterfucking themselves around a campfire, what the fuck do you think is gonna happen?"
The boy shook his head.
"Nah. It's ironic, sure. But outside, where we aren't killing each other to survive? Groups show solidarity. How are we supposed to sit around and do fuck-all while there are people out there abducting us by the hundreds while the government does absolutely nothing about it? I thought the United States were a bunch of idiots, but man...let me tell you - I've almost got the proof, right here."
Pausing, he looked at the ground before looking back up at Josh.
"But hey, what do you care? You're just some sarcastic fuck who sees a flyer and decides to make a stupid little comment about it. You're the kind of person who wouldn't think that something like this'd ever happen to him. We're all safe and sound here in the good ol' U S of A, and that stuff that we see on the news, it's just some elaborate reality show. Isn't that right? Or have I pegged you wrong? Are you someone who really...truly...'cares'? Judging by the smirk on your face, I highly doubt that. But hey - maybe you'll get lucky. Maybe Danya'll decide to take his travelling circus on the road here to California, fuck over a bunch of surfer kids? And then you'll get to really test your theory of group dynamics. And when you make it out, and you're as fucked up as I am, maybe we can go compare notes or something?"
The kid's voice got rather sarcastic at the last sentence, and he straightened up a little bit, shaking his head again.
"But hey. I'm just a little bitter. Don't let me bother you. Just one word of advice...the next time you decide to disrespect something like Survival of the Fittest, or 9/11, or anything like that...take a look and see who's within earshot. You might be surprised at just who got fucked over by something like that."
The kid grinned a sick sort of grin at Josh, the type that might give shudders down the spine of anyone with a soul. Whether or not Josh had one was debatable. In any case, the kid moved to walk away, before stopping, as though he'd forgotten something. With a small grin on his face, he slapped Josh on the shoulder, a hearty slap, but not too hard.
"Oh, right. Name's Adam Dodd. You may've heard of me. Sorry to burst your idealistic little bubble. Maybe we'll run into each other again sometime...and welcome to Southridge."
Adam passed by Josh, not really waiting for any kind of a response, walking down the hall with a slight limp until he was out of sight. To Josh's right, someone else had been watching the whole exchange. The tall, lanky kid whose locker was right by where Josh had originally picked up the flyer watched Dodd wander down the hall, and then looked at Josh, his eyes looking to be slightly glazed over, though giving the appearance of someone who was tired more than anything. Pushing his glasses up on his nose and brushing his long brown hair out of his face, the second teen scratched the neatly trimmed beard on his face and then glanced at Josh.
"Dude...was that...Dodd? It musta been, man...whoa. You know who that dude is, right?"
((Adam continued in Determination))
"You don't sound impressed."
The voice struck out from the entrance into the men's washroom that Josh just so happened to be standing beside. The voice itself had a very unique quality to it, and if Josh had thought about it, it may have been a voice that he'd heard before. But Josh didn't seem the type to think about such things, and so the boy standing in front of him was likely a bit of an unknown to him, if nothing else. The boy took a step forward out of the washroom, and glanced at the flyer in his hand. Pausing for a moment to run his hand through his unruly red hair, he looked Josh in the eyes, a bitter smirk on his face.
"Noble...? Nah, not as much noble, as...well...necessary. Groups have a time and a place, man. In 'Survival of the Fittest'? They don't. Groups don't seem to do much except get people killed. Guy walks into a clearing with an Uzi and sees a tangle of people clusterfucking themselves around a campfire, what the fuck do you think is gonna happen?"
The boy shook his head.
"Nah. It's ironic, sure. But outside, where we aren't killing each other to survive? Groups show solidarity. How are we supposed to sit around and do fuck-all while there are people out there abducting us by the hundreds while the government does absolutely nothing about it? I thought the United States were a bunch of idiots, but man...let me tell you - I've almost got the proof, right here."
Pausing, he looked at the ground before looking back up at Josh.
"But hey, what do you care? You're just some sarcastic fuck who sees a flyer and decides to make a stupid little comment about it. You're the kind of person who wouldn't think that something like this'd ever happen to him. We're all safe and sound here in the good ol' U S of A, and that stuff that we see on the news, it's just some elaborate reality show. Isn't that right? Or have I pegged you wrong? Are you someone who really...truly...'cares'? Judging by the smirk on your face, I highly doubt that. But hey - maybe you'll get lucky. Maybe Danya'll decide to take his travelling circus on the road here to California, fuck over a bunch of surfer kids? And then you'll get to really test your theory of group dynamics. And when you make it out, and you're as fucked up as I am, maybe we can go compare notes or something?"
The kid's voice got rather sarcastic at the last sentence, and he straightened up a little bit, shaking his head again.
"But hey. I'm just a little bitter. Don't let me bother you. Just one word of advice...the next time you decide to disrespect something like Survival of the Fittest, or 9/11, or anything like that...take a look and see who's within earshot. You might be surprised at just who got fucked over by something like that."
The kid grinned a sick sort of grin at Josh, the type that might give shudders down the spine of anyone with a soul. Whether or not Josh had one was debatable. In any case, the kid moved to walk away, before stopping, as though he'd forgotten something. With a small grin on his face, he slapped Josh on the shoulder, a hearty slap, but not too hard.
"Oh, right. Name's Adam Dodd. You may've heard of me. Sorry to burst your idealistic little bubble. Maybe we'll run into each other again sometime...and welcome to Southridge."
Adam passed by Josh, not really waiting for any kind of a response, walking down the hall with a slight limp until he was out of sight. To Josh's right, someone else had been watching the whole exchange. The tall, lanky kid whose locker was right by where Josh had originally picked up the flyer watched Dodd wander down the hall, and then looked at Josh, his eyes looking to be slightly glazed over, though giving the appearance of someone who was tired more than anything. Pushing his glasses up on his nose and brushing his long brown hair out of his face, the second teen scratched the neatly trimmed beard on his face and then glanced at Josh.
"Dude...was that...Dodd? It musta been, man...whoa. You know who that dude is, right?"
((Adam continued in Determination))
Josh was not used to being told off. Though has he stared at the fit red headed boy as he walked away Josh sincerely resisted the urge to go up to him and punch him in the back of the head, truly it was easy to claim someone's logic was stupid without allowing them to defend themselves. Truly if killing a dozen people meant that you had the license to be a douche bag...well Josh almost wanted to reveal that he was behind the now infamous Carbon Monoxide leak that had occurred only a month or so prior.
"Yeah, I suppose it was a bit presumptuous of me to think that I wouldn't have to deal with one of the most praised killers in modern American history.", he smiled lightly as he observed the person who had asked him the -probably rhetorical- question and noted the contrast his yellowish and cat like pupils had between the boy and his calm and lazy blue eyed gaze. The stare was silent as they both seemed to be looking at each other and scanning each other's body language, but eventually it ended as Josh stared at the flyer in the lanky boys hand.
"So, I see Survival of the Fittest has gotten so popular that there are even protest groups against it...really I'm not surprised that there would be an isolated amount of people 'protesting' against a terrorist organization, but once again it seems rather needless. This wasn't a governmental legislature, it's a terrorist act, in short it'd be like protesting against the Germans in England during WWII...superfluous at best.", he smiled lightly as he placed his hands in his pockets and whistled a small tune quietly.
"I suppose it's rude to start off a political discussion with a stranger, Joshua Goodman, and you are?"
"Yeah, I suppose it was a bit presumptuous of me to think that I wouldn't have to deal with one of the most praised killers in modern American history.", he smiled lightly as he observed the person who had asked him the -probably rhetorical- question and noted the contrast his yellowish and cat like pupils had between the boy and his calm and lazy blue eyed gaze. The stare was silent as they both seemed to be looking at each other and scanning each other's body language, but eventually it ended as Josh stared at the flyer in the lanky boys hand.
"So, I see Survival of the Fittest has gotten so popular that there are even protest groups against it...really I'm not surprised that there would be an isolated amount of people 'protesting' against a terrorist organization, but once again it seems rather needless. This wasn't a governmental legislature, it's a terrorist act, in short it'd be like protesting against the Germans in England during WWII...superfluous at best.", he smiled lightly as he placed his hands in his pockets and whistled a small tune quietly.
"I suppose it's rude to start off a political discussion with a stranger, Joshua Goodman, and you are?"
"My man got too familiar and I’d ended up having to whoop his ass, man, you know. Because he would step across the line. Habitually. He’s a habitual line stepper.” -Charlie Murphy
V8 Relationship Thread
Slidin'
Lookin' for the opps, they been hidin'
I grew up 'round drugs, sex, and violence
We turnt off they street, we heard sirens
Since a juvenile, I been wylin'
Slidin'
Lookin' for the opps, they been hidin'
I grew up 'round drugs, sex, and violence
We turnt off they street, we heard sirens
Since a juvenile, I been wylin'
The kid looked at Josh with a slightly raised brow, and absentmindedly scratched the beard on his left cheek.
"I'm B..." he hesitated, blinking for a second, and then tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. Internally, he cursed himself for being so sloppy, but this wasn't evident on the surface.
"...sorry, I'm bloody tired, is what I was going to say. Was up all night writing an article. Name's Ken Lawson. And I can see your point, man...it's just..."
Ken hesitated a little, yawning again, letting his hands slide down to his sides. This new kid; Josh, he didn't quite know how to take him. Especially after a mini-confrontation with Adam Dodd, who everyone knew had serious issues, well...Ken saw that this 'Josh' had held his ground, and had even fired off a sarcastic comment of his own back. Obviously a person to take note of, at the very least. Filing a mental note, Ken continued aloud, though he shook off some of the malaise and pothead/surfer sound that his voice usually had.
"...well, sure - if protesting terrorists seems like an exercise in futility, think about it this way. There's a whole buncha' different people who believe that this ... Survival of the Fittest... is partially funded by right-wing, extremist elements of the United States government. You'd have to assume that by, like...protesting the program, they're subtly sending protests towards other infrastructual elements of the government that they might not care too much for."
Ken paused to brush away his long hair, as it had again fallen in front of his eyes. As this happened, a hair caught itself on his round, tinted glasses, and stuck there. Grunting in what could only be described as lackadaisical annoyance, he removed his glasses and absently picked at the hair as he continued his discussion with an effortlessness that would likely be of some surprise to someone disarmed by his 'slacker-like persona'.
"...like, say that someone doesn't care much for the different wars that the States get themselves involved in, right? So...what do you protest? You protest the war itself. But then your government makes it ... less than acceptable to protest the war, so ... how do you spread the message? You jump on some other cause that has at least some kind 'a sustinance to it. People protesting it, I'd betchya like...probably thirty-five to fourty percent of 'em aren't really gung-ho about getting rid of SOTF, they'd rather see war abolished. But it's the next best thing, because both kinda stand for the same thing."
Glancing back down the hall, Ken looked at where Adam Dodd had left.
"Personally? I'm against the whole Survival of the Fittest thing. It's ...a deprivation of the basic rights and freedoms that're afforded to people all over the world. The fact that the head honcho dudes up top haven't been able to catch that Danya guy...it rings a few bells, doesn't it? It's been goin' on for two years, and like...nobody's seen nothin' of the dude. Makes a guy wonder, y'know?"
Ken shot Josh a sly smile.
"But hey, man...what do I know? I'm just some high school kid, who doesn't know jack, according to what they all think. Hell, for me, you take away this Danya dude, eliminate poverty, and legalize marijuana, and I'm laughin'. What 'bout you?"
"I'm B..." he hesitated, blinking for a second, and then tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. Internally, he cursed himself for being so sloppy, but this wasn't evident on the surface.
"...sorry, I'm bloody tired, is what I was going to say. Was up all night writing an article. Name's Ken Lawson. And I can see your point, man...it's just..."
Ken hesitated a little, yawning again, letting his hands slide down to his sides. This new kid; Josh, he didn't quite know how to take him. Especially after a mini-confrontation with Adam Dodd, who everyone knew had serious issues, well...Ken saw that this 'Josh' had held his ground, and had even fired off a sarcastic comment of his own back. Obviously a person to take note of, at the very least. Filing a mental note, Ken continued aloud, though he shook off some of the malaise and pothead/surfer sound that his voice usually had.
"...well, sure - if protesting terrorists seems like an exercise in futility, think about it this way. There's a whole buncha' different people who believe that this ... Survival of the Fittest... is partially funded by right-wing, extremist elements of the United States government. You'd have to assume that by, like...protesting the program, they're subtly sending protests towards other infrastructual elements of the government that they might not care too much for."
Ken paused to brush away his long hair, as it had again fallen in front of his eyes. As this happened, a hair caught itself on his round, tinted glasses, and stuck there. Grunting in what could only be described as lackadaisical annoyance, he removed his glasses and absently picked at the hair as he continued his discussion with an effortlessness that would likely be of some surprise to someone disarmed by his 'slacker-like persona'.
"...like, say that someone doesn't care much for the different wars that the States get themselves involved in, right? So...what do you protest? You protest the war itself. But then your government makes it ... less than acceptable to protest the war, so ... how do you spread the message? You jump on some other cause that has at least some kind 'a sustinance to it. People protesting it, I'd betchya like...probably thirty-five to fourty percent of 'em aren't really gung-ho about getting rid of SOTF, they'd rather see war abolished. But it's the next best thing, because both kinda stand for the same thing."
Glancing back down the hall, Ken looked at where Adam Dodd had left.
"Personally? I'm against the whole Survival of the Fittest thing. It's ...a deprivation of the basic rights and freedoms that're afforded to people all over the world. The fact that the head honcho dudes up top haven't been able to catch that Danya guy...it rings a few bells, doesn't it? It's been goin' on for two years, and like...nobody's seen nothin' of the dude. Makes a guy wonder, y'know?"
Ken shot Josh a sly smile.
"But hey, man...what do I know? I'm just some high school kid, who doesn't know jack, according to what they all think. Hell, for me, you take away this Danya dude, eliminate poverty, and legalize marijuana, and I'm laughin'. What 'bout you?"
Joshua Goodman simply found himself nodding quietly as he listened to what most of the boy said, his calmness betraying his astuteness as he continued to silently observe and counter every inflection the boy had with one of the exact opposite sound, as Ken Lawson finished his diatribe Josh found himself opening his eyes once again and staring at the boy, the face stood out and while he couldn't place a name to the boy's face he certainly felt some sort of familiarity with his blue-eyed bespectacled companion.
"I suppose I'm a bit more complicated in terms of what I want," he paused, " As anybody falling into the ideologies of chaos would be, I am a man of contradiction. I love organization for efficiency; I hate organization because everybody misses the big picture. I love stability, but I hate stagnation.", he once again paused as he considered his words carefully, "It sounds weird even in my own mind but my ideology politically as well as my opinion on social things -such as SOTF- boils down to this."
He smiled a bit as he stared down at his fellow intellectual and without skipping a beat continued to recite something that was almost a mantra to him.
"The end is the beginning is the end. Destruction for construction for perfection. Utopia is a dream that can be fulfilled only by tearing down that which does not work. In this case it is the American Government that has been proven to be ineffective while the SOTF program has been -perhaps brutally- so, while I am not crazy enough to actually support the program...well it's benefits are apparent even today," he paused to gage a reaction only to continue without paying mind to it, "Think about how many people have made friends, been fearless when it comes to relationships, gotten closer to their children and worked hard to live day by day solely due to Danya's manipulation into tricking them that they could be kidnapped next time they get on a plane."
He breathed in and out as his eyes once again focused upon Ken.
"Consider for a moment -despite how bizarre it is- that the lives of those two hundred plus students where lost because it was necessary to bring back a need to do things and a fear that they must utilize their time wisely," he paused, "After all it's much easier to see your mentally disturbed brother once you learn the value of your own life. Which virtually every student has -consider the rise in casual sex since the first version of SOTF along with the rise of drug abuse- since the programs beginning."
"I suppose I'm a bit more complicated in terms of what I want," he paused, " As anybody falling into the ideologies of chaos would be, I am a man of contradiction. I love organization for efficiency; I hate organization because everybody misses the big picture. I love stability, but I hate stagnation.", he once again paused as he considered his words carefully, "It sounds weird even in my own mind but my ideology politically as well as my opinion on social things -such as SOTF- boils down to this."
He smiled a bit as he stared down at his fellow intellectual and without skipping a beat continued to recite something that was almost a mantra to him.
"The end is the beginning is the end. Destruction for construction for perfection. Utopia is a dream that can be fulfilled only by tearing down that which does not work. In this case it is the American Government that has been proven to be ineffective while the SOTF program has been -perhaps brutally- so, while I am not crazy enough to actually support the program...well it's benefits are apparent even today," he paused to gage a reaction only to continue without paying mind to it, "Think about how many people have made friends, been fearless when it comes to relationships, gotten closer to their children and worked hard to live day by day solely due to Danya's manipulation into tricking them that they could be kidnapped next time they get on a plane."
He breathed in and out as his eyes once again focused upon Ken.
"Consider for a moment -despite how bizarre it is- that the lives of those two hundred plus students where lost because it was necessary to bring back a need to do things and a fear that they must utilize their time wisely," he paused, "After all it's much easier to see your mentally disturbed brother once you learn the value of your own life. Which virtually every student has -consider the rise in casual sex since the first version of SOTF along with the rise of drug abuse- since the programs beginning."
"My man got too familiar and I’d ended up having to whoop his ass, man, you know. Because he would step across the line. Habitually. He’s a habitual line stepper.” -Charlie Murphy
V8 Relationship Thread
Slidin'
Lookin' for the opps, they been hidin'
I grew up 'round drugs, sex, and violence
We turnt off they street, we heard sirens
Since a juvenile, I been wylin'
Slidin'
Lookin' for the opps, they been hidin'
I grew up 'round drugs, sex, and violence
We turnt off they street, we heard sirens
Since a juvenile, I been wylin'
Ken listened, with eyes glazed over, as Josh lectured on his thoughts about Survival of the Fittest and its effect upon the youth population of America. Ken certainly had some opinions on that, but he wasn't quite ready to throw out any emotionally-based thoughts. Instead, he went to work on a bit of a rebuttal to Josh. Betraying himself for a moment, he quickly blinked and shed the glaze that had spread itself over his eyes. His posture straightened, and Ken, for that slightest of moments, looked like someone who; if he wanted, could have the world at his feet.
"The end..."
Ken trailed off, as though he'd discovered something in Josh's words, and smirked ever so slightly.
"Is it bright where you are/Have the people changed/Does it make you happy you're so strange/And in your darkest hour, I hold secrets flame/You can watch the world devoured in its pain..."
Looking up at Josh with that fierce look of intelligence, he locked eyes with him for a moment.
"The End is the Beginning is the End...hm."
As quickly as he'd slipped his guise, Ken had sunk back into his usual, laid-back persona, and continued on from where the segueway had taken him.
"Spoken like a true anarchist, man. What's the problem if it's gettin' you laid a little easier and makin' scoring a hit that much easier, yeah? I don't completely see ya on this one. Teenagers're gonna mess around no matter what happens in the world. I don't think that the paranoia is that large, though. Like, think about it this way. Danya goes off and kidnaps four different groups of kids every six months. That makes it easier for him to get caught. Dude's not a fool, you've got to think that he knows it."
Ken yawned a little, but continued.
"So he's only gonna do it once in awhile, because otherwise, his whole system gets thrown off. A kidnapping like this? You can't think he does it at random. Nah, this has gotta' be selected far in advance. He's got to plan for all eventualities, all possible outcomes of what happens when he does the kidnappings. This is why most people aren't worrying, because it's not that likely that you get kidnapped. You've gotta be really unlucky to get ..."
Ken stopped for a moment and slightly grimaced at his choice of wording. Shaking the grimace off, he corrected himself.
"Luck...huh. Nah...it's maybe...like that movie...y'know, the one with the kids, where they get off the plane that's about to blow up - cuz' that one kid has a vision or somethin'? It's a slap from fate. I don't see that Utopia is going to come from letting a madman kidnap two hundred people per year to kill each other off. If anything, it's going to result in the country becoming far more militant than it already is, and almost paranoid - to a fault. There aren't many, if any positive connotations to it, and you'd be hard-pressed not to find someone who hasn't been touched by it in some way. It's like 9/11, y'know? Everyone knows someone."
Another thought popped into Ken's head, causing him to chuckle a little bit.
"It's just poetic irony that everything you stated is representative on the whole of the teenage American culture. Sex, drugs, and 'rock 'n roll', yeah? So SOTF makes kids have more sex and smoke more pot? Well check this for irony. The poor dude who came out of the first time around, the one who supposedly 'proves' that the American culture becomes more primal and less controlled as a result?"
Ken lazily pointed down the hall where Adam Dodd had departed.
"Dude's a Canuck. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada. An', I gotta say, dude...you don't see the Canadians doin' a whole lot more of what they were already doing. Sure, it's like...a different culture, and all that. But things didn't change as much there. You read reports, and you see the paranoia just increased in the States, and maybe in France and Japan...but that's about it. Canada's the same old. So ya got the enhancement of paranoia in the United States, but what else can you blame on SOTF? Aside from like, death and destruction?"
Ken paused to readjust his glasses.
"The youth of the States uses the sex and drugs solely as a coping mechanism to getting older, and growing up in a more rigid world-state. You might think we're more refined and more free, but here and now? Nah, not even close. Too many hidden rules and sanctions that prevent freedom from taking place. S'why you get arrested if the cops see you smokin' a joint, y'know?"
"The end..."
Ken trailed off, as though he'd discovered something in Josh's words, and smirked ever so slightly.
"Is it bright where you are/Have the people changed/Does it make you happy you're so strange/And in your darkest hour, I hold secrets flame/You can watch the world devoured in its pain..."
Looking up at Josh with that fierce look of intelligence, he locked eyes with him for a moment.
"The End is the Beginning is the End...hm."
As quickly as he'd slipped his guise, Ken had sunk back into his usual, laid-back persona, and continued on from where the segueway had taken him.
"Spoken like a true anarchist, man. What's the problem if it's gettin' you laid a little easier and makin' scoring a hit that much easier, yeah? I don't completely see ya on this one. Teenagers're gonna mess around no matter what happens in the world. I don't think that the paranoia is that large, though. Like, think about it this way. Danya goes off and kidnaps four different groups of kids every six months. That makes it easier for him to get caught. Dude's not a fool, you've got to think that he knows it."
Ken yawned a little, but continued.
"So he's only gonna do it once in awhile, because otherwise, his whole system gets thrown off. A kidnapping like this? You can't think he does it at random. Nah, this has gotta' be selected far in advance. He's got to plan for all eventualities, all possible outcomes of what happens when he does the kidnappings. This is why most people aren't worrying, because it's not that likely that you get kidnapped. You've gotta be really unlucky to get ..."
Ken stopped for a moment and slightly grimaced at his choice of wording. Shaking the grimace off, he corrected himself.
"Luck...huh. Nah...it's maybe...like that movie...y'know, the one with the kids, where they get off the plane that's about to blow up - cuz' that one kid has a vision or somethin'? It's a slap from fate. I don't see that Utopia is going to come from letting a madman kidnap two hundred people per year to kill each other off. If anything, it's going to result in the country becoming far more militant than it already is, and almost paranoid - to a fault. There aren't many, if any positive connotations to it, and you'd be hard-pressed not to find someone who hasn't been touched by it in some way. It's like 9/11, y'know? Everyone knows someone."
Another thought popped into Ken's head, causing him to chuckle a little bit.
"It's just poetic irony that everything you stated is representative on the whole of the teenage American culture. Sex, drugs, and 'rock 'n roll', yeah? So SOTF makes kids have more sex and smoke more pot? Well check this for irony. The poor dude who came out of the first time around, the one who supposedly 'proves' that the American culture becomes more primal and less controlled as a result?"
Ken lazily pointed down the hall where Adam Dodd had departed.
"Dude's a Canuck. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada. An', I gotta say, dude...you don't see the Canadians doin' a whole lot more of what they were already doing. Sure, it's like...a different culture, and all that. But things didn't change as much there. You read reports, and you see the paranoia just increased in the States, and maybe in France and Japan...but that's about it. Canada's the same old. So ya got the enhancement of paranoia in the United States, but what else can you blame on SOTF? Aside from like, death and destruction?"
Ken paused to readjust his glasses.
"The youth of the States uses the sex and drugs solely as a coping mechanism to getting older, and growing up in a more rigid world-state. You might think we're more refined and more free, but here and now? Nah, not even close. Too many hidden rules and sanctions that prevent freedom from taking place. S'why you get arrested if the cops see you smokin' a joint, y'know?"
Debates.
Now things had escalated to a strange game of mental chess as neither Ken nor Josh was allowing another to make a point without a crushing counter-point being made, it must've been awkward for the occasional security guard walking by...after all one cannot break up such an intellectual conversation at a school, but Josh continued to have this light conversation with Ken as the topics began to escape the realm of SOTF and focus more along the lines of world events.
"Adam Dodd is a poorly constructed example, look for example how he has still stuck with attending an American Highschool even after the tragedy. He's become a celebrity. A champion for the American people. During the Virginia Tech. shootings who was a sought after panelist due to their experience with teen killers? Even moreso whose words where put on book bags due to the SOTF protests that came after the second version ended?", he smiled lightly, "Perhaps a direct by product of the SOTF program Adam Dodd has become as American as you or I and he is praised by our people as such."
Pausing again to look at his watch, Joshua noted that he was now a good fifteen minutes late for the meeting that he had arranged with the principle of Southridge, reaching in his book bag to get a binder that was filled to the brim with important papers Joshua stared at Ken.
"Well, I'm afraid I have a meeting with the school principle and have to cut our conversation short. I'll see you around though, Ken."
As he walked away he could only muse at the intellect and casualness that had been shown by his newest acquaintance, if this was the new standard of the people who attended Southridge High or even the populace of Highland Beach in general then Josh would've to be even more cautious than he was when he orchestrated his plan to destroy the chemical plant. Of course in this case he was more experienced and had a lot more to win than simply the death of his step-father and hundreds of thousands of dollars at his disposal.
If things went perfectly he would soon have the entire city of Highland Beach under his thumb.
((Continued in Singing in the Rain))
Now things had escalated to a strange game of mental chess as neither Ken nor Josh was allowing another to make a point without a crushing counter-point being made, it must've been awkward for the occasional security guard walking by...after all one cannot break up such an intellectual conversation at a school, but Josh continued to have this light conversation with Ken as the topics began to escape the realm of SOTF and focus more along the lines of world events.
"Adam Dodd is a poorly constructed example, look for example how he has still stuck with attending an American Highschool even after the tragedy. He's become a celebrity. A champion for the American people. During the Virginia Tech. shootings who was a sought after panelist due to their experience with teen killers? Even moreso whose words where put on book bags due to the SOTF protests that came after the second version ended?", he smiled lightly, "Perhaps a direct by product of the SOTF program Adam Dodd has become as American as you or I and he is praised by our people as such."
Pausing again to look at his watch, Joshua noted that he was now a good fifteen minutes late for the meeting that he had arranged with the principle of Southridge, reaching in his book bag to get a binder that was filled to the brim with important papers Joshua stared at Ken.
"Well, I'm afraid I have a meeting with the school principle and have to cut our conversation short. I'll see you around though, Ken."
As he walked away he could only muse at the intellect and casualness that had been shown by his newest acquaintance, if this was the new standard of the people who attended Southridge High or even the populace of Highland Beach in general then Josh would've to be even more cautious than he was when he orchestrated his plan to destroy the chemical plant. Of course in this case he was more experienced and had a lot more to win than simply the death of his step-father and hundreds of thousands of dollars at his disposal.
If things went perfectly he would soon have the entire city of Highland Beach under his thumb.
((Continued in Singing in the Rain))
"My man got too familiar and I’d ended up having to whoop his ass, man, you know. Because he would step across the line. Habitually. He’s a habitual line stepper.” -Charlie Murphy
V8 Relationship Thread
Slidin'
Lookin' for the opps, they been hidin'
I grew up 'round drugs, sex, and violence
We turnt off they street, we heard sirens
Since a juvenile, I been wylin'
Slidin'
Lookin' for the opps, they been hidin'
I grew up 'round drugs, sex, and violence
We turnt off they street, we heard sirens
Since a juvenile, I been wylin'