victory_road | video;

Entry tags:

video;

It would seem this world delights in embarrassing me!

[With this announcement, Shadowmaru turns the camera on. He's standing in the kitchen of his little cottage in Olivine, looking completely put out. Why is this?]

[Because there's a bug on his head. Not just any bug. But a shiny Venipede. Who waves its antennae menacingly at the camera, squinting. The little bug may not have hands, or a super expressive face, but this is as close to a COME AT ME BRO as a bug can get.]

Is there a reason I am besieged with unflattering animals at every turn? First the plethora of water types, and now this.

What even is this?

[Behind him, his Frogadier gives the most long-suffering sigh. Looking at the screen in a mute plea. Someone please tell Shadowmaru to use his 'gear. Kero has tried.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, I guess so. Last time I hooked up it was a good thirteen or fourteen years ago.

[It's been... a while. Hell, Hank isn't exactly the type of guy that gets around.]

Yeah, ours [He says 'ours' but it's Connor's] still carries around its toys we gave it when it was a Yamask. Its favorite is a plush Snorlax.

[Pause.]

Hooked... up?

[Well, that's not a familiar phrase. Whoops.]

How charming. I will certainly look forward to that day, should it ever come.

[Well at least he's not bringing up the 'jerk off' conversation of awkwardness. Here comes Hank, the bastion of all sorts of colloquial phrases people should and should not know.]

It means to meet, pretty much. In this case, romantically. I met my wife when I was forty. Ended up not going well. Sometimes you sign on for forever, and forever doesn't happen. [He raises his beer.] And thank fucking god for that.

[Because some losses are for everyone's own best interest.]

I'm sure it will. All it takes is some outdoor time. Let it fight on its own here and there if it wants to. And you'll have a stylish Egyptian coffin in your house.

Ahh... I see. You must pardon me. Slang is, unfortunately not something my programming is terribly familiar with.

[A wave of his hand, in a sort of apologetic, conceding gesture. A wave that turns into him selecting a bottle of his own, curiously.]

Mm. I admit, I am not the best in such an arena. I have yet to participate in any such fights.

[He's also in the middle of trying to remember if it might be one that needed a stone to evolve or one that you needed to trade, because he's not great at this himself, and is pulling out his pokegear when Shadowmaru says he's not fought them.]

[He holds it thoughtfully.]

Actually, I'm kind of glad you're a pretty chill guy. No need to pressure yourself.

Hm? What do you mean?

[He's not offended or anything, just curious. It's probably the first time anyone has told him he's "chill" in any capacity.]

[Since he's usually the opposite of chill.]

You're not really combative. When you get angry you're pretty easy to calm down. You get a lotta pleasure out of little stuff. You know... as far as I'm concerned? You're chill.

[Though Hank can be high-grade not chill. He's been alright here. Friendly to those friendly to him. Though he knows the superfluous assholes he verbally rips for people when he's in a mood can hold pickle jars.]

You're a good guy. I wouldn't wanna change that just so you can make your Pokemon tougher. No point to it.

[Let the guy enjoy peace.]

Ah... Goodness. A compliment such as that is ... highly flattering. Thank you.

[He does look a bit flustered. And not just because of the shiny bug on his head. Shadowmaru is not one easily flattered when it comes to his own... well. Anything. Except for being called a dog.]

Perhaps it comes from lack of experience. Human beings may have built me, programmed me, but, ultimately... it was my fellow AI I found myself closest to.

[Forgive me, Kagerou, if I live my life some more...]

I am familiar with humans of course. But an AI can hardly enjoy your food or even something as simple as hot showers.

It becomes easy to take pleasure in these things.

Hey, don't get shy now. [He's acting like Hank does around someone very pretty and no one wants that shame.] Connor found out the same stuff when he turned human. He's spent more time as a human than an AI at this point.

So I get that you don't get headaches. What do we miss out on?

Like uh... with the whole plastic and metal. Anything you like about it? I mean, I might not get it, but I'd like to hear about it.

Shy is not a word in my vocabulary. [So he'll straighten up, smoothing out his hair. Purple-streaked, because of course it is.] Fascinating. I suppose... my count is about equal by now. He must have adapted quite well.

[A flicker of -- something. It's a pretty common expression on him, something real smoothed back over.] Some of us do. Processing errors and the like.

Ah... now that. I have an answer for. [His shoulders square up, and he just beams.] Flight. In both forms. I adored flight.

Yeah, he dove right into the whole trainer life. Loves it. It was a case of him getting to do what he wanted and not what he was made for and you know what? Good for him.

[He wonders if the same thing happened here.]

Me, I just wanna run my little rescue operation. I still need to help people out. [He's aimless if he doesn't.]

That... does sound like it would be a good thing to experience. How lucky for him.

[Would the same have been said for the other BP units? For... Kagerou, perhaps?]

[He shakes it off, quickly, perching his chin in his hands.]

Oh? Locating lost pokemon, was it?

Yeah. Honestly it works out. I've seen a few families get back together. So that's not too bad.

[Which is about the worst he's seen in this world so far.]

What about you? Did you always get to do what you wanted, or is this pretty new for you?

Or I mean... is this youtu- staryutube? That thing. The video thing. Is that what you want to do.

I would venture to say uniting families is far more than "not too bad".

[He smiles, as he says it, because, really, it sounds ideal.]

Ah, well. I will admit, my arrival here was something of a wrench in the works... I didn't know what to do with myself.

[Maybe that answers that. At least, it probably says a lot more than he thinks it does -- he'd been lost without his purpose. Without the Brave Police. Without the reason he was created...]

My forays into video recording are entertaining, of course. I do feel quite proud of them.

[Shadowmaru you're not answering the question.]

Entertaining. [He nods a little to himself, smiling kind of faintly.] But maybe not exactly what you wanna do.

[He drums his fingers on his beer, thinking about it.]

You know, since I've been going out there on hunts for Pokemon and stuff, and I know Krieg looks into that kind of thing when I send him some missing cases, maybe I could get your help. If we were to film what's going on and you could do the video editing thing, maybe we could get you to prep some episodes for a rescue channel. [He adds quickly.] As an aside from the fashion thing.

It's not really glamorous or anything and I could only pay so much... [He shrugs. Mostly he's been scrounging out of his janitorial work to make this happen. It also might not be what Shadowmaru wants, but in the end at least the advice in the videos could help people.]

Mm, perhaps not.

[He's really not... sure what it is he "wants" to do. What would make him happier isn't something that's possible. There's no way to bring Kagerou back. There's no way to give him a combined form with the others.]

[He toys with the bottle in his hands.]

I could, certainly. I was created with service in mind. I don't see why that cannot continue.

Well, I wasn't meaning to make you doubt it. Just figured, you know, if there was something I could do...

[Shadowmaru's been a fair person to him. That, and he feels after all the shit he gave androids over the past few years, offering the occasional help for an AI to feel a little better in their own skin or circuits or what the fuck ever is a good way to pay it forward.]

You seem to be pretty good at this kinda thing anyway. With the hair, the outfits. This place looks like somethin' out of a cozy magazine spread. I keep fuckin' post-it notes on my bathroom mirror.

[Hank's a little of his own brand of eccentric.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

video;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject