[25] [Video/Action for Goldenrod] - "You Leave Philly and Bad Shit Happens"

[lieutenantantichrist]

[VIDEO]

[The flag behind Blake is scorched and askew from where one of his firehorses brushed too close to it. His eyes are dark-rimmed, and have a hint of a wild sheen. No fancy-ass combed hair this time. His beard is dark and thick.]

I tried playing nice.

[There's a bat-like squeak from somewhere offscreen. Yusuke's going away present. He doesn't seem to hear it.]

More people are vanishing off the face of the earth. The wolfkid disappeared the old-fashioned way. No trace of any of them.

[Suddenly, he slams his fist on his desk.]

That's enough!

[He jabs his finger at the screen.]

As of now, I am declaring martial law. You hear me?! Nobody leaves without my permission!

[A violent gesture knocks over a glass in front of him.]

We're on lockdown!

[The video cuts out.]


[ACTION]

[Blake is in his headquarters, prowling back and forth. He can't seem to stay still, and his Pokemon have caught his restlessness. His arcanine is sniffing the air, Steve is pacing and standing on her toes to peer out the windows, his Kingler is scuttling around the old bowling lanes with its legs clack-clacking on the wood floor. There a squeaking and rustle of wings every once in a while as the last damn Zubat out of reach flaps over to a new corner. The only one that seems at rest is a Beautifly perched on top of a bank of lockers.

Blake's tread is hard and heavy. Every once in a while he hisses under his breath,] Bastards.

[[OOC: THE TIME IS NOW. If anybody's looking to have fun punching an idiot in the head make history by overthrowing Blake's delusion government, now's the opportunity.]]

Comments

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Blake faces his ill-considered decision and doubles down.]

Yeah. That's the word for somebody who shuts up and lets themselves get dicked over.

voice

[lieutenantantichrist]

You're gonna regret this, jackass.

[The last time somebody disrespected him like this, Blake ended up suckerpunching him from batback.]

Re: Video

[lieutenantantichrist]

I get it. Like that Brad Pitt movie. [Religious shit. It makes him itch.

But then, he likes the sound of her description. Makes him sound like something special. He dusts off his sleeve, and straightens his back.]

Cops have to be different. You have to keep an eye out for everybody else.

[The corner of his mouth twists.]

I'm not crazy about getting called a pig, though.

Video

[a_sin_for_him]

I'm not familiar. Someone just thought it would be clever.

[Oh yes, this is almost too easy. But there's clearly no sense in trying to break the man's delusions, may as well have a bit of fun.]

You just don't know enough about pigs. They're brilliant animals, smarter than dogs or cats. Observant and fastidious and despite their reputation, very clean. They're natural leaders.

video | private

[aufsassig]

You gonna see him again, when you get back yourself?

[He eyes those hands, debating. He needs to make sure not to push too far, but still push in general, or this oyster's gonna clam up so tight he'll never unwind again.]

[Video]

[dangerousidol]

I am back where I'm from. I'm a idol. Or a pop star to Americans. Though I don't just sing and dance. I act, too. [Among other things.]

some animorph spoilers for those lurking

[wing_attack]

I don't mean like "lie down and feel bad about it", but like - a lot of the people I've lost wouldn't want me to get mad or upset because they're gone. They're safely back home and they have things to do there. So you get up and move on with your life, the same as with any other kind of loss.

[... Right. She'd want him to keep going. Keep flying. Keep the wind under his wings and move on.]

You've got a bunch of weird animals that can do anything from spit fire to cause earthquakes to lifting things with their minds. Do you really think we have a limit on weirdness? People just blanking out of existence isn't so weird when you try to think of how we even got here in the first place.

[adai]

[...Alright, he won't press on that, then. Yikes.]

Well, I'm sure there are a lot of people who miss home. Isn't it possible they wanted to return and the world allowed it?

[Video]

[foolishwren]

_{[She raises her voice, too-- less because she's angry (she's not) and more just to counter his.]}

This place isn't YOURS, Blake! And neither are the people here! They're not being stolen from you.

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Doesn't he know it.] This isn't the real world. People don't die, there's hardly any damn crime to speak of. It's supposed to be better.

[His fist smacks into his desk.] There has to be something. There's always evidence, goddamn.

People aren't supposed to just disappear.

[He falls silent. He doesn't know how to handle those two words.]

[Video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Lies! He has far fewer evil plans and zippers.]

Who else?

Other kidnappers...you're saying this place rescued you?

[Blake's watching him keenly. It could confirm something he's been thinking about for a while, about another kid.]

[Video]

[seasaltkey]

[Now that he thinks about that...]

... I think so... I was about to disappear back in my world. And no one would remember me except those people who were after me. I don't have to worry about that here.

[islandshore]

...But what if we aren't in Goldenrod right now?

[Riku spends most of his time in Kanto, and he's been pretty content milling about random cities. There's a small frown on his face, though his expression's otherwise calm, neutral. He's... not sure what to think about this, tbh.

It's kinda absurd, but it's totally something Blake would do. Seems he's already been chewed out a bit by some of the others, anyway.]

Sure you're not pushing things too far? There's only so much one guy can do.

[Video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

I don't need a plan! I need this shit to stop!

[He shakes his head like someone's thrown sand in his eyes. He focuses on the only part that matters.] What he's trying to do, is it getting done?

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Blake's finger slashes at the screen like a machete.] The city doesn't matter. The point is you stay the hell in this dimension until I say otherwise.

[There's a jab of relief at seeing Riku. That's proof that at least one kid he knows hasn't vanished out from under his nose.]

I can't just sit here and do fuckin' nothing.

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[What he figured the kid would do is yell a lot more bullshit about magic, just the same thing but louder. The easiest kind of argument.

He doesn't expect him to a weird, undeniable kind of reasonable. It's like when the guy on the street corner breaks off his yelling about lizardmen to ask to bum a cigarette.

His eyes lift to the kid.]

You think one of these monsters could keep people from disappearing.

[He tries to keep his voice neutral, but there's no hiding that that's the first real lead he's found.]

video | private

[lieutenantantichrist]

Nah. He came in, pushed me around, solved my case, and waltzed right back to DC. He left the rest of us to do all the cleanup and listen to everybody talk about what a big fuckin' hero he was.

[The grudge is familiar as a favorite pair of socks, and wearing thin the same way.]

Fuck, you know, I kind of wanted to see him again. Give him a piece of my mind. Then, when I did, here...I still never really had the chance.

[Weird how easy Dietrich is to talk to. He seems like the kind of guy who's seen a little of everything.]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[His scowl deepens, as if he'd just heard a personal insult.] That'd be just like the little punk, taking off without a fuckin' word.

Video

[lieutenantantichrist]

[He bites off,] I will.

[He is in a particularly contrary mood.] You can't make faces out of trees.

[Video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

Right, so you're Miley Cyrus.

That kind of job is a lot for a teenage girl to deal with.

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Blake collapses heavily into his chair. He leans his elbows on his desk, and his head falls into his hands. His voice comes out plaintive enough to be ashamed of, if he had anything left to give.]

You can't do that when every time you try, they leave too.

[Blake isn't a man who makes connections easily. There's guys back at the precinct that he's worked with for years who he's barely ever said more than "hello" to.]

There's weird and there's just fucked up.

[Video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

Yes they are!

[He's too damn mad to listen to himself, and that's why it comes out.]

I never fucking said they could leave me here!

[video]

[captainash]

...People aren't supposed to disappear without evidence, yes. But they're supposed to die, too.

[He frowns, starts tapping his fingers against the kitchen table.]

Maybe it's a trade-off, this gamble. Live endlessly in a nearly perfect world, or get torn away from the new life you've built for yourself. Other worlds are less peaceful, but offer greater stability.

video | private

[aufsassig]

Unfinished business, huh? You don't even like the guy, you just want the loose ends tied up.

[He nods slightly.]

I fucking hate loose ends.

[adai]

[So that's a "yes" on the "did someone important leave" question. Got it.]

Well, perhaps it wasn't intentional? Maybe if you just miss home enough - even if it isn't something you're constantly thinking about - maybe that's enough to get the world to respond. We don't really have any way of knowing.