Lt. Carter Blake (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lieutenantantichrist) wrote2015-03-09 03:00 am
lieutenantantichrist) wrote2015-03-09 03:00 am
[21] Video/Action for Goldenrod - "I'm gonna rule this world."
[In a square in the center of Goldenrod City, a small crowd has gathered. A show is about to start.
There's a crude stage that's been freshly hammered together. Near the back, a little Snubbull is tapping in the last few nails. The platform wobbles but holds as a man climbs up it, then takes a place at a podium in the center. He's wearing a white button-up shirt and, in concession to his ambitions, a tie. He looks toward the camera.] Hey, Newt. You got that thing running?
[The camera's view nods up and down.]
All right.
[He holds his arms up for silence. Then, when no one quite pays attention, he barks,] Hey! All of you! Shut up!
[That's much more effective. When the eyes of the curious onlookers are on him, he plants his hands on the sides of the podium and clears his throat.]
All of you. Locals, people from the real world, people from the fuckin' moon. You know me. See, I've been here a long, long time. Two damn years, and I know some of you have been here longer. I was thinking about that, and you know what I realized?
[His voice gets louder and clearer as he finds his rhythm.]
I realized I'm not a fuckin' tourist. None of us are. This is our world as much as it is theirs-- and nobody is doing dick to run it.
Look around. Everybody does whatever they damn well please, and that's real nice right up until the minute some idiot starts planting bombs around. The closest thing to somebody in charge is the police, and they're a goddamn joke who give terrorists a week picking up garbage and then set them loose again. There's nobody calling the shots.
That changes today.
[His boots thud on plywood as he tramps back and forth along the stage, and his speech takes a turn toward harangue.]
When bees and sharks came crashing through people's windows, who smacked them right back out? Me. When some moron went around shooting lasers at the city, who knocked him out of the sky? Me. When a couple armies of fire and water idiots tried to wreck up the place with giant monsters, who went out to stop them? [He jerks his thumb to his chest.] Me.
[His voice is getting louder and louder. The cords stand out on his neck.]
And I'm not some jumped-up fourteen-year-old who thinks he's magic. I've been around the block in the real world. I have decades on the front lines. I haven't just lead people, I've lead them into tenements full of crackheads with shotguns. That has to mean something, even here.
Somebody around here has to get shit in order, and I'm done waiting.
[His tread takes him back to the podium. He grips the sides with his coarse-knuckled hands and leans over it to look straight into the Gear.]
I'm not asking you. I'm telling you.
From now on, I'm the head honcho around here.
[He jabs his finger at the camera.]
Stand with me or get out of my way.
There's a crude stage that's been freshly hammered together. Near the back, a little Snubbull is tapping in the last few nails. The platform wobbles but holds as a man climbs up it, then takes a place at a podium in the center. He's wearing a white button-up shirt and, in concession to his ambitions, a tie. He looks toward the camera.] Hey, Newt. You got that thing running?
[The camera's view nods up and down.]
All right.
[He holds his arms up for silence. Then, when no one quite pays attention, he barks,] Hey! All of you! Shut up!
[That's much more effective. When the eyes of the curious onlookers are on him, he plants his hands on the sides of the podium and clears his throat.]
All of you. Locals, people from the real world, people from the fuckin' moon. You know me. See, I've been here a long, long time. Two damn years, and I know some of you have been here longer. I was thinking about that, and you know what I realized?
[His voice gets louder and clearer as he finds his rhythm.]
I realized I'm not a fuckin' tourist. None of us are. This is our world as much as it is theirs-- and nobody is doing dick to run it.
Look around. Everybody does whatever they damn well please, and that's real nice right up until the minute some idiot starts planting bombs around. The closest thing to somebody in charge is the police, and they're a goddamn joke who give terrorists a week picking up garbage and then set them loose again. There's nobody calling the shots.
That changes today.
[His boots thud on plywood as he tramps back and forth along the stage, and his speech takes a turn toward harangue.]
When bees and sharks came crashing through people's windows, who smacked them right back out? Me. When some moron went around shooting lasers at the city, who knocked him out of the sky? Me. When a couple armies of fire and water idiots tried to wreck up the place with giant monsters, who went out to stop them? [He jerks his thumb to his chest.] Me.
[His voice is getting louder and louder. The cords stand out on his neck.]
And I'm not some jumped-up fourteen-year-old who thinks he's magic. I've been around the block in the real world. I have decades on the front lines. I haven't just lead people, I've lead them into tenements full of crackheads with shotguns. That has to mean something, even here.
Somebody around here has to get shit in order, and I'm done waiting.
[His tread takes him back to the podium. He grips the sides with his coarse-knuckled hands and leans over it to look straight into the Gear.]
I'm not asking you. I'm telling you.
From now on, I'm the head honcho around here.
[He jabs his finger at the camera.]
Stand with me or get out of my way.
video
Like, seriously. What are you thinking?
Riku stares, awestruck, generally flabbergasted. As his words sink in, Riku reaches for his brow, shuts his eyes, and slowly exhales.]
And you're sure this is gonna work?
[He gets the sentiment, but... well, by the looks of it, people are already calling him out.]
video
[His jaw sets confidently.] I'll make it work.
[With his bare goddamn hands, if he has to. One of which he lifts in an inviting gesture.]
How about it? You in? You're over eighteen, right? That's plenty old to join the force.
video
[Heh, man. He's really serious about this. Riku takes a few moments to mull this over, even reaching for his chin.]
If I say yes, then what's the plan?
[Might as well humor him, see what he's got in store.]
video
[Blake sees a lot of potential in this kid.]
Then it depends where your skills are. What would you say, brains or muscle?
video
[He's got a fair amount of muscle, but strategy's equally important. And, okay, he might've been a secret bookworm during school.]
I'd say I'm pretty flexible overall, honestly.
video
[He puts his hand on his chin and thinks it over.] What we got going here is a little bit police force, a little bit government...
How'd you like to be a Senator? Or, wait, no, I got it.[He snaps his fingers.] Cabinet member.
video
[Destiny Islands has a mayor, but nothing quite as elaborate as a senate or a cabinet. Either way, he's got Riku's attention, and he folds his arms and tips his head to the side as he mulls this over.]
video
You think you're up to it?
video
[He's still not sure if this'll actually work out, and the dictatorship angle's not sitting well, but the idea of better government isn't a bad one. Worth entertaining, at any rate.]
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What've you got in mind? The floor's open.
[Blake loves being the one who can say that.]
video
[He shuts his eyes, tapping his chin.]
Permits might help cut back on the amount of psychos carrying swords. I just don't get how the people here can be so pacifistic.
video
[An idea steals over his face.]
Might be worth keeping an eye on anybody who thinks it's worth the trouble.
video
[Hrmm... he's got a point. Some people would use it for good, but others...]
Well, one thing's for sure: if Team Rocket's gonna make bombs, we need a better way to fight back.
video
[It looks like whatever makes knifes turn crap around here doesn't do the same favor to explosives.]
I'm going to be setting up a headquarters here in Goldenrod. You come on down, we can get started on getting some real progress done around here.