67 - video;

[islandshore]

[It's late at night when Riku turns on the feed. Judging by the starlight surrounding him he's outdoors. Lights from the surrounding cityscape shimmer from afar. The camera hovers behind him as he rests along the edge of a roof.

It hovers closer, and he finally turns around, gaze distant despite the camera's close proximity.]

You ever stop to wonder about our place in this world?

[Why, yes, it's one of those messages.]

I mean, think about it. We're dragged from our homes, dropped here and expected to play by their rules. And sure, some of us are successful. We've had businesses sprout up from nothing, helped fight off giant monsters, been invited to proms...

Still, we're outsiders, and sooner or later, we might disappear, and all the work we do here gets left behind.

[He looks up, sighing softly.]

It just got me thinking... What do the locals think about us? Do we count as citizens, even though we aren't part of the world? And how much do they really know about us in the first place?

[Heh.]

But maybe I'm over thinking it. I mean, this is a world that somehow manages to sustain itself even without an obvious education, limited career paths, and a surprising amount of pacifism in the face of crime. Community service as catchall punishment's kinda light, after all...

[Leaning back, Riku shrugs.]

I don't know. What are your guys' thoughts? I've got time to kill.

Comments

[islandshore]

I don't know.

[Sighing, he leans back, expression distant.]

There's this part of me that thinks we're better-- at least, that we've got more common sense than the locals. They seem so... content, even with Team Rocket still hanging in the shadows. And I mean, some of the locals aren't total pacifists, but there's still this huge disconnect between us and them.

[heartdive]

So in other words... You still think like it's us and them. Even you don't think that we're one in the same after being here for so long.

[islandshore]

...No. I guess I don't.

[Sigh. But that's part of the problem, isn't it?]

But can you really blame me, Sora? We grew up in a completely different world. Our values and experiences don't really mesh.

[heartdive]

But they really don't have to, do they? That's what makes everyone so different from each other. Everyone's experiences are different. The people they meet, befriend, make enemies of.. It's what makes everyone unique. It's what makes them THEM.

[islandshore]

Hmm... Yeah. I wouldn't want to force them to change; it's not my place, and we're the ones who're guests.

I just wish I could understand them better. Like, why are they so against self-defense outside of using Pokémon? Why aren't there buses between cities? Stuff like that drives me nuts sometimes.

[heartdive]

Why aren't there buses between cities....

[islandshore]

Who knows? Maybe they're afraid it'll wreck the ecosystem. They start paving the routes, and they'll have to cut tall grass, take out some trees, set up gas stations...

[heartdive]

Why not run on Pika power?

[islandshore]

Hmm... Ethics laws? Plus, even if they do use Poképower, they'd still need to set up roads.

[Sure, there are technically paths, but cars tend to drive better on asphalt than dirt or grass. Not that it's impossible.]

Still, I wouldn't mind advocating for something like that. Just means we'd need to find a way to get their attention...

[heartdive]

Since there are already paths, I don't think it'd harm the environment too much. Or maybe another underground tunnel between places?

[islandshore]

Actually, a subway might work if they took the time to build it. Especially between places like Goldenrod and Olivine...

[Places where there's a great deal of distance, but great opportunities for commerce and tourism. Brow furrowing, he looks down at the cityscape.]

Hm. Wonder how easy it'd be to suggest this...

[heartdive]

Do these places even have mayors? Like who is actually in charge of everything that goes on here?

[ why haven't they asked these questions before? ]

[islandshore]

...You know, that's a good question.

[Give him a second. He's pondering this so deeply that he's even rubbing his chin a little.]

I mean, there's the Gym Leaders, but some of them are way too young to call the shots. There's the cops, but they're way too inept to actually make laws...

Man, we might've just opened the door to a huge conspiracy.

[heartdive]

A conspiracy? Oh c'mon Riku. It's nothing like that. You're doing that thinking thing again.

[islandshore]

Sora, you do know what sarcasm is, right?

And even if I was serious, thinking's kinda part of having a brain.

[heartdive]

You know there are times that I don't know if you're being serious or not, right?