[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

[Video]

[dangerousidol]

Sounds like something from America.

[She laughs a little nervously at that.] As long as I'm disguise, it's not that hard to slip out? I don't really worry about that when I'm around my friends in the town I was in.

[wing_attack]

[The tone makes him step back, but he doesn't let it get to him. Okay. A little more space. He shoves a hand in his pocket to put a hand on a Pokeball. The scratches on it tell him that it's Rachel's. Good. He'll use her if he has to.]

That's because you try to act with authority that you don't actually have. It makes you look crazy, honestly. You weren't really elected, you elected yourself. And I'm happy to try to help clean up this place, but it's not like I'm acting on behalf of everyone here. I'm just doing what I can.

[This might get ugly. He keeps his fingers on the shrunken Pokeball, not grabbing it but just making sure he can if he needs her.]

voice

[envy_the_sinners]

That would not be an unfair assessment, though I have made the choice to give it up.

[lieutenantantichrist]

I don't need your points. [But he'll take them.

He goes back to facing.]

I'm not suggesting, I'm telling everybody what's going to happen. And what's going to happen is they stop fucking running out on me!

[His face twists with something that isn't entirely anger.]

Who the hell told that kid he could disappear?

[Video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[He wants to yell back. There has to be some reason she's wrong.

He reaches for words, and doesn't find any. All he has is denial. No evidence to back it up.

He falls heavily back into his chair. It creaks plaintively.

When his voice comes out, it's small and lost.]

This is all stupid, isn't it.

video;

[lieutenantantichrist]

[He flings his arm out in a motion violent enough to startle the bat in the corner and send it flapping and squeaking to hide in an open locker.]

Why the hell does everybody keep saying that? It's not personal, goddammit. It's not like I want to keep some pain in the ass kid around for my health. It's the principle!

[fatalissimo]

[Second time now. "Some punk", "that kid"...]

...What kid are you talking about?

[islandshore]

Pfft. You're gonna try and beat up a god? Do me a favor and bring a camera if you find him.

[Because no matter the result, it's sure to be entertaining. There might even be a hint of sarcasm in his voice here; he doesn't really expect it to work.]

Video

[lieutenantantichrist]

Oh. Foster care. [Blake's seen plenty of that back home. Not pretty, most of the time. Plenty of kids in cases he's been involved with have ended up there, most likely. You hope they get by all right. What else can you do?

He's real good at shoving that to the back of his mind. She brings up a good point.]

You know, they do. Everybody's got those goddamn things they can't let go of. Back home they grow up hearing "fuck the police," then they never believe it when you're there to do what's right for them. Here they get told there's nothing anybody can do to change anything, and they believe that, too.

[His voice shifts to something more conversational. As though he's standing in a weird, ugly, unstable place and making a stab at the normalcy of sitting at a bar at the end of a long day.]

Now, I wouldn't mind getting called a wild animal by a lady like you.

[lieutenantantichrist]

[His arm flings out beside him in useless frustration.] Somebody has to be in charge, goddammit! If it isn't me it'll be somebody worse. You can't just let people run around doing whatever they want. They'll lose their damn minds.

[He jabs his thumb toward his chest, something wild and almost imploring in his eyes.]

I'm the one who always steps up.

How come nobody ever appreciates that?

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

Hah. I knew guys back home who did the same thing, except it was model trains to forget about their shitty marriage.

Or drinking. That's an old classic.

[His head falls back as he slumps back in the chair, and smacks dully against the wall. The flag doesn't soften it any.]

All I asked anybody to do was fuckin' listen to me.

Video

[a_sin_for_him]

Something like that. It was hardly official.

{And it's a sad, sordid little tale anyway.]

Obvious authority also frightens people. At least on an individual level, in a mob mentality it only elicits anger. Everyone thinks they can look after themselves, make all decisions that need be made.

Though in fairness to us here, plenty have made efforts to discover the secrets of how this world works, but none have come to fruition. One can only beat their head against a wall for so long before giving up or damaging their mind. You can't blame them.

[She chuckles softly.]

You don't even know me yet.

[wing_attack]

I think this world is doing just fine without us coming in and taking charge. At least as far as its own internal logic seems to be concerned. I mean... someone's paying for the police and health care here. Aside from Team Rocket, actual day to day crime seems pretty low. I've heard people say the Elite Four is in charge, but they're nowhere to be seen... but things seem to work fine.

In terms of the actual weirdness... you do realize this place is based off of a game, right? I mean... it's real for us because we're inside it, but Pokemon games are pretty popular. So the weird stuff is pretty understandable if you think of it like a glitch in a video game. Or a - a skipped frame in a movie.

[Sorry Blake, but you're Old, so he has to dumb it down for you.]

And that makes a lot of the weird stuff make a lot more sense. Like... yeah, you'd like a lot of background information filled in, you might like it if it made more sense with reality, but it doesn't, because that's not the kind of thing it is.

But... you do try to step up. You do try. But I honestly don't think administration's your thing. You're a cop, right? Why'd you become a cop in the first place?

[Video]

[foolishwren]

_{[Oh, honey. As hard a time as she gives Blake, her heart really does go out to him.]}

... It is and isn't. We all go through stage when it comes to dealing with this shit.

Not so long ago, I was threatening to smash Pokemon eggs on-camera when this place took people away from me.

You're in that phase.

Which-- is okay.

But you gotta be careful not to say or do stuff that you're really gonna regret later, even if it doesn't seem like it matters. Okay?

voice

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Blake's tone gets tight and rapid.] I'd love to hear all about how you shot JFK and all that shit, but I am having a bad fucking day.

I don't need some backseat driver asshole telling me how to do my job. Do something useful, like hogtie some of these people, or get the hell out of my face.

[Video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[That reaches through the weight of his anger and failure to almost be funny.] Good luck. Those things're like concrete.

[He picks at a splinter in his desk with his nail.] Phase. Like that stages of grief thing? Some idiot social worker tried to give me a pamphlet about that shit once.

What is there to regret around here? Nothing sticks.

[video]

[captainash]

[Ash laughs slightly.]

I'd build model mobile suits instead, if the technology was available. Drinking wouldn't work, though; I'd never be able to match Angrazzo's memory, and then I'd feel like an underachiever.

[But faced with Blake's mood, his amusement doesn't last very long.]

...And did anyone ever agree to listen?

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

You mean that goat monster? That thing couldn't even get its hula hoop off.

[Despite the dismissive words, there's an undercurrent of thought in his voice.]

You think that could fix all this bullshit.

[His tone hardens with the old anger that follows him through any world there is.]

Then why hasn't it?

Video

[lieutenantantichrist]

It was probably somebody playing a prank on you. Kids are assholes.

[lieutenantantichrist]

[What no why would you think that

His lip twists bitterly.] So, psychic kidnappers who do what they think you want, no matter what you say. Sounds like a special kind of know it all assholes.

[lieutenantantichrist]

It can't be much of a god if it looks like Bambi's mom.

[His voice doesn't sound as abrasive and flippant as he's aiming for. He looks troubled.

He's been doing so damn good at not thinking about that day.

It can't be much of a god if it lets you tell it, I don't want to go back.

He tries to sound like he doesn't really give a shit when he says,]

Anybody seen it lately?

[adai]

...Well, when you put it like that it certainly does sound pretty strange...

[Rossiu glances away for a moment, though he doesn't look any more awkward than usual.]

I'm very sorry about all of this. I wish there was an explanation available for us, but I guess all we can really do is speculate.

Re: Video

[the_pilgrim]

Uh, no. It wasn't. You know why? Because it turns out that when that was happening, my brother and I were drowning.

[video]

[infinityunlimitedflame]

Perhaps it can't, but if not that one, then another one. There are more of them, aren't there?

[lieutenantantichrist]

I missed home plenty and I never got picked up.

[The frustration kicking around in Blake's head makes him unable to sit still. He stands up and paces.]

Yeah, yeah. You're sorry but there's nothing you can do. You sound like a damn politician.