Event Finished trying too hard

There was a point in time when Raphael could be said to be at the point of trying to hard and that was when he went at minimum time out of his dormant state where he couldn't concentrate because of migraines or other. That was this point: campaigning for the Student Council. He couldn't recall the last time he'd gone active for the past few days.

From an onlookers point of view he probably looked fine has he was handing out flyers by the door, giving each student he could run into flyers and button pins. He worked on this mostly on his own, maybe with a bit of coercion from a few names he didn't need to mention until he won--HAH. But on the other hand, it was starting to get stuffy staying in this form for too long it was starting to get harder to focus.

It'll be fine, he told himself. After this he could kick back and stay active for a while longer -- even the mild nausea was starting to sound better than this. He turn to smile at the next person as he handed them a flyer, "Student council elections! Don't forget to vote!"

This was not the best time. Raphael knew at one point he was going to have to schmooze with the competition but this was something he was expecting when he was with other people. Maybe it was the stress but he was feeling kind of cornered.

Raphael's smile turned a littled lopsided when he faced Havoc, returning the handshake for just a moment. "Oh yeah, I remember you from speech day," barely, "Raphael Niccolo. What can I help you with?"

Oh, shit, he's talking serious. Raphael cleared his throat, trying to scan his memories of actual legitimate explanation for such a bold speech. At the very least, he'd meant well.

"Well first of all, I'd like to point out there is such a thing as indirect and internalized discrimination and I think this does as much damage as condemning the other person," he said, managing not to stammer in his words, "As for examples, I might not have encountered one going through that, nor have I been here for too long either, but see I tend to think in wider spaces. I get to hear stories from a few people and I noticed there's some stigma about some races, demons or other, and it's mostly towards themselves? That's not all good for someone's self esteem and I did hope support groups could do much better reaching out to the students who need the support themselves--not that I'm questioning their authority but sometimes these things just kind of go over people's heads." He was rambling, he most definitely was. "A-anyway. That's my point in the argument." A pause. "I didn't sound like I was attacking your speech, did I?"

Oh, whew, he wasn't being confronted. That was good right? He breathed in--still gotta tread carefully.

"Yeah that! But not just demons per se; I know a few Horsemen which uh, don't have as much nicer reputation considering sign of the end of days and all. Terrible self loathing." Raphael shook his head, slowly losing the nervousness from earlier. "But I believe the Demonic Student Union's aim isn't necessarily to work against them. Work against this terrible internalized beliefs, maybe, but not them as people. We're trying to get people to get rid of the idea that demons are evil and all that schmuck and there isn't a reason for this much hatred. Just as we want others to accept them as part of the island's people, there's also getting these people to accept themselves as they are and that whatever they may be is part of them and nothing to be ashamed of. If you get what I mean?"

"This is true, very true!" Raphael nodded approvingly. Somewhere along the way his father turned to studying religion on his own, so he'd known some thoughts about his own background. "I mean if that weren't the case, I'm pretty sure I'd be spreading a plague by now but that is most definitely not what my friend thinks." The poor boy Johnny. He needs to talk with him more to stop him from moping.

"In any case, this is why I think something needs to be done about misinformation. This is also true about demons in some level — some demons aren't really evil, nor are they actual demons, but somehow that definition had changed over the centuries." The things he learned from books and his own father could get really weird. "Other than fundraisers, talks and open forums could be a thing; educate the public and remind them how misconceptions have affected people. I think this sort of knowledge is just as useful in the real world while here in Manta Carlos."