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

[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?