victory_road | [002] video

A - Morning

[The screen opens up to a calm peaceful scene focused on the window of a hotel room and the.... giant Golurk plush that is seated contemplatively by it. Seriously, this thing is- huge. Enormous. Not as big as the real deal, but larger than most children. And maybe some people in general. It's even wearing a t-shirt depicting a Jigglypuff and a Wigglytuff flexing, with the words WORKIN' MY PUFF INTO TUFF written in bright pink letters.]

[A shiny Absol is napping under one of its arms, with a plush hand resting on its head.]

[Of note: a sketchpad with words in sharpie written on it that has been propped against the Golurk plush.]

I AM BILLY-BOB THE GOLURK.
YASH AND I HAVE COME TO SIGHT-SEE KANTO.
ALSO
HOW WELL WOULD A LONE ABSOL FAIR AGAINST ALL THE GYMS?
WE ARE VERY COMPETITIVE.

[The camera stays focused on the pair for a few moments, just so people can take in the scene and the words written on the sketchpad, before clicking off.]

[Please let Billy-Bob know your answers.]

B - Afternoon

[Later, after she's had a bit of fun, Dee turns on the 'Gear to make her own post to the network. That strangely familiar face pops up again, all smiles as usual, and the background hints she's in some sort of cafe. Has she gotten a pumpkaboo spice latte? Absolutely. They seem all the rage, and she's curious, so sue her.]

[But pumpkaboo spice lattes aren't what she wants to talk about.]

Halloween! Samhain. Dia de los muertos. Zhong Yuan Jie, sometimes. Totensonntag. All Souls Day. Chuseok. I could keep going but then that would just be me showing off.

The point is, this is around the year when a lot of holidays surrounding the dead start to pop up. Probably something about the atmosphere- all that bright green foliage fading away bit by bit, the air getting cold, the night coming sooner... I guess it makes people think about the inevitable.

While Halloween seems like it's just as popular here like in a few other places, do you guys have any plans to celebrate something different? Pay respects to the dead you knew? Although, considering how this place is, that could get a little awkward...

And if you're not in the mood for that- how have you all been doing? I've been prepping for the cold weather the past month. I mean, t-shirts and jeans aren't exactly winter wear, ha ha!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

We're not, no. But who's to say the ghosts won't be attracted by ceremonies on a much smaller scale?

[okay look she's warmed up a bit to the whole pokemon thing, but that doesn't mean she's not still wary of them and what they can do.]

... If horrible things happen, why stick with something that reminds you of horrible things in your past? That just makes it all worse.

I think this place is usually picky with that kind of thing, but hey, it’s just as much unpredictable. Anyway… Ever hear of the phrase “the evil you know”?

You say that like this planet has a mind of its own. That's unsettling.

[Not that she'd really be surprised if some planet out there did have a mind of its own. Geez, look how unsettling the inside of Elpis was...]

... Touche. [She's not one to judge, anyway, considering how trapped in the past she tends to get.] Still seems like it'd be better to pick the evil here, since we're given the ability to fight it, at least.

Who knows! That’s the great mystery about this place. At least no one is being horribly murdered.

[Yet, she guesses? But this place is usually pretty low on the murder, if she recalls correctly.]

Choice is always nice, but some things you can’t avoid. That’s just how it works. Preparation is the best you have.

... I sincerely hope you don't have to eat those words soon.

[Her tone doesn't change much, but... honestly, she is sincere. She still prefers Pandora, since it's much easier to deal with how she's used to living, as opposed to trying to live a life where you don't have to kill to survive in one way or another, but... this planet is still nice. If anything, Janey seems happy about the lack of psychos and bandits, so that's a definite plus.]

Right. So we should just prepare for dead relatives showing up at every family-oriented festival the locals here put together.

[it... it's hard to tell that she's joking, but she really is...]

Well, if someone gets murdered, it’s probably by one of us at least so… I mean, at least there you know where to look, sometimes.

[But only sometimes. Not everyone wears a large dramatic cloak and does dramatic poses with daggers over their unfortunate victims. Dee has enough experience there to know.]

[Folding her hands behind her head, she gives a wry grin.]

Exactly! Or being suddenly transported to the moon. Or ocean-level waves coming out of your sink for no reason at all.

Transported to the moon, huh? Sounds just like home. [Yeah, she actually sounds kind of fond as she says this...!] I bet whoever or whatever pulled that off here was a lot more gentle about it, though.

Yeah, it was a party, with no haunting or anything. I don’t think this is the kind of place that pulls off repeat performances, but who knows, maybe it’ll happen again. Just have to wait until next year to find out.

... A party. On the moon.

[Man she knows this place is way different from Pandora, but with everything she's seen both on and inside Elpis, she can't imagine why partying on the moon would be fun...]

Uh. Any reason why there was a party on the moon?

Well, I didn’t organize it, so I couldn’t tell you… But if my incredibly hazy memory of it serves right, then I think it was put together by something that’s the closest thing to a ‘deity’ this place has.

[Thanks, llama god]

Right. The "space llama". [... she really hates that Jack got her hooked on that phrase, goddamnit.] It kidnaps us, then throws parties. On the moon.

[.......]

God, and here I thought Pandora was weird...

Oh? You’ve heard it kidnaps people? I guess that’s definitely one theory, huh? But yeah- this place is a little weird.

Yeah, I've heard that's what brought us all here. Makes sense, since it seems to be the closest thing to a top god the people here have.

Is the theory you heard different?

Oh, nope, I haven’t heard much about theories at all. I guess I mostly just talk to the people who don’t think about that kind of thing.

But, you’d be amazed at all the different reasons time and space can break and all the weird things that happen because of it.

[As smart as she is, that sort of thing flies a bit over Athena's head. Still, the way this woman talked, it's almost like she has some kind of experience here...]

Really. What kind of weird things are we talking about here?

Well, for one example, you’d be amazed at how many alternate timelines get created as a way for the universe to cope with things suddenly going off track.

Aaaand then the metaphorical wall breaks between two realities, and suddenly someone meets their alternate self who took over the world.

... There are alternate realities where evil people are good, and vice versa?

[That's... kind of a creepy thought, considering the kinds of awful people she's known and fight.]

Oh, sure. Or maybe a good guy is good but in a different way. Or just not as good, whatever that might mean to whoever. Or someone just… wore a different pair of shoes on that one Tuesday, and sometimes that means something and sometimes it doesn’t.

At the end of the day, it’s just food for thought for most people.

[...Most.]

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