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

Re: [video]

[islandshore]

Heh, no kidding. It's a wonder Sora's changed so little, honestly. Don't people usually get stuff like PTSD after waging war? I mean, it might not be a war in the typical sense, but there's still fighting. Still risks...

[Physical and mental scars aren't just possible; they're inevitable.]

Hmm... Steel/Grass isn't terrible, though. Ferrothorns seem pretty solid if you keep them away from fire. Same with Scizors.

[video]

[paladinlost]

Many are broken by war, and not all find the strength to build themselves up again. But others blossom, sometimes by becoming heroes and sometimes by enjoying the destruction it brings.

[Which is, perhaps, any type of scar.]

You also have to keep them away from any Pokémon that can learn Flamethrower or Incinerate. That is a very long list of species.

[video]

[islandshore]

...Geez. Well, I'd hope I fall more into the former than the latter. Can't imagine myself turning into some crazy megalomaniac.

[Sadly, he's heard... vague things about his future that leave him a touch uneasy. This, however, goes unsaid.]/small>

Heh, no kidding, though. Even water types can learn fire moves. Well, Slowbro and Gyarados can, anyway.

[video]

[paladinlost]

It's a very unpleasant fate, if only because of the way it usually ends. I'd not wish it on anyone.

[He wouldn't wish being brainwashed into a crazy megalomaniac on anyone, either.]

You'd think certain types would never mix, but I cannot complain about the lack of logic when it allows me to take opponents by surprise.

[video]

[islandshore]

Seriously. Gotta wonder how they even stand it. Wouldn't they just feel... hollow when it's all over?

[But the mind of a psychopath's outside his realm of understanding. It's not like he can really relate.]

And yeah, I like having options. If you ask me, the more type coverage, the better. Plus, there's something satisfying about watching a Charizard punch a Sharpedo in the snout with over the top lightning effects.

[video]

[paladinlost]

They feel hollow long before it ends, I've no doubt.

[He remembers enough of Kefka to know that much.]

A most impressive sight, I've no doubt. And surely one that gives the Sharpedo's friends pause, when they ponder whether to join in.

[video]

[islandshore]

And that hollowness is what allows them to keep at it, huh? Just... detachment after years of fighting?

[Ugh. How chilling... But then, maybe it's to be expected. In a real war, you can't afford to sympathize with the enemy, but lack o empathy leads to detachment, and detachment leads to numbness when taken out of control.]

The Sharpedo's trainer wasn't too happy about it, either. Wound up siccing Kyogre on me by the time the fight was over.

[video]

[paladinlost]

Detachment, a complete lack of care for their own fate in the end... Even more than their plans, their eyes are terrifying to behold.

[The rest of them too, for that matter.]

Now that's a disproportionate reaction. Surely sending out a Quagsire would have sufficed.