lieutenantantichrist | [5]Video/Action for Violet City

[The feed comes up on Blake outside the Violet City gym. He's holding the Gear in one hand and tossing something small in the other. Behind him his Snubbull is sitting on his Mareep, both looking proud of themselves. For his part, Blake doesn't look so thrilled.]

Hell of a loaded word, "badge."

[He catches it on the toss and holds it up to the camera.]

Look at that. Does it looks like much use to you?

[He sighs and slips it in his pocket.]

Zap the crap out of a kid's birds and get a medal that lets you fly.

You know what the worst part is? It's not until right now I realized there's anything wrong with that. I'm getting used to it.

[He starts walking aimlessly down the street, Pokemon trotting after him.]

It's baseball season, not that you'd know it here. Can't remember the last time I missed Opening Day. But hell, now it's been more than a month. Just went right by. How's it even May if you're not arresting drunk idiots on Cinco de Mayo? It's not right.

[Blake looks troubled.]

It's too easy to get caught up in this animal fighting crap and forget about the real world.

[His expression shifts toward its more familiar flinty pugnacity.]

Almost everybody here's been here longer than me. Give me some proof you haven't forgotten. Tell me something about home. Anything, I don't know, something you miss.

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You can't call it fake when it's this real, though.
And I've played the games so I know it's weird for this to actually be real.
Still if it's like a dream then I'm not going to try to wake up faster.

[Christ, does the kid really blame himself? It had nothing to do with him besides the bad luck that a sick son of a bitch chose him for a target.]

Somewhere there's a reasonable explanation. There has to be a way for this to make sense.

That's probably a smart way to look at it. There's no getting out anytime soon anyway.

[It's a niggling 'what if' that's seeped into the back of his mind - if he hadn't gone with that man, then his dad would still be alive. He could've walked home from the park to wait for him.]

I don't want to go back.

[Nobody could have known what he really was. Anybody would've trusted him.]

[Those stark words in black and white have a weight. Jesus, after what the world put Shaun through, Blake can't blame him.]

Nobody's making you.

[Blake's never let himself think that this place might be better. For him, for anybody.]

But however lousy it is, home's home.

It's not really for me.
Not anymore.
It's just really sad and empty and kind of lonely.

I do miss just regular potato chips though. The ones here are all weird flavors like shrimp and stuff.

[What do you say to that?]

[What he wants to say is Jesus, kid, your dad's not dead, but that would be a bad idea even if he wasn't pretending not to know who he was. Hell, this is the most Shaun has ever talked to him without losing it.]

[Something small, something general. His thumbs have typed it out and hit send before he's thought about it.]

I'm sorry.

[The next thing that comes up takes him by a different kind of surprise.]

I know, right? I swear I saw some with googlyeyed crabs on the package. Who thinks that's a good idea?

You mean the Krabby Krunchies. Those aren't really chips they're like pork rinds. But crab-flavored. Crab rinds?

They're kind of gross.

[Yeah you know what let's talk about snack food and not about sad things.]

Ugh. That's the worst idea I ever heard. You actually tried some?

They'd better not be made from real Krabbies. Those aren't so bad. They just scuttle around minding their own business.

[Carter is more than happy not to talk about that.]

I was hungry.

I don't think they are. I don't think anything here is made from real pokemon.

Must've been really hungry.

I sure hope not. There'd be something wrong about eating anything that can play checkers.

[frysquint. He's not sure if he likes the tone of that.]

I've had to try a lot of new things since I've been here. And the fake crab in the sushi is pretty good, so I thought maybe it would be okay. And then it was gross.

Isn't checkers a game for old people?

[Hey, he was impressed by your weird-food-courage.]

Me too. The fish-shaped things aren't bad. Tie-something.

She little flat pieces are something claws can handle pretty well, and you can't ask a dog [or Blake] to try to play chess.

[As long as you're not implying Norman doesn't know how to keep him fed.]

You play checkers with Steve?

[He wasn't implying that ~~because he hadn't thought about it.~~]

Gotta do something on a rainy day to keep her from chewing on the furniture.

[It looks kind of like this.]

Is she any good?

Actually, yeah. You'd think it'd be tough, dogs being colorblind, but I guess red and black are clear enough.

That's weird.

When you say she's good does that mean that she beats you a lot?

Probably goes by how light or dark they are.

Hey, I didn't say that.

[He didn't not say it, either.]

Didn't you have to teach her how to play? She's a really smart dog.

It was easier than you'd think. She picks up on stuff fast.

Yeah, she is. You should try playing her.

I don't know how to play checkers.

How does anybody not know how to play checkers?

[He hits send on that before he realizes he sounds like he's haranguing the kid. Shit.]

[Adds a second later]It's not tough. I bet Steve could teach you.

Edited 2013-06-06 09:01 (UTC)

I had video games and TV, not like when you were a kid.

[He considers it.]

I'll think about it. I like Steve. She's nice.

Hey, I'm not that old. There was TV. It was even in color.

She likes you too. Might even let you win a couple times.

Was your remote control really a bird who changed the channel for you?

[You're older than both of his parents, Carter.

And yes that was a Flintstones reference.]

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