victory_road | Surfing Swarm!

[The video feed opens with Radley filming as he goes outside on his property to see what some of his Pokemon are exclaiming about. He almost drops the PokeGear when he sees.]

What the ... ?!??!!!

[Pikachu and Alolan Raichu are surfing in the pond.]

Just ... how?!??!

[Evie makes an exclamation of delight and runs over to the shore.]

Evie! Evie, no! Come back!

[Evie has already leaped onto the surf board to ride with Raichu. She warbles in delight.

Radley slaps his forehead.]

Oh gosh. Evie!

[He's terrified of Electric types attacking him, but he's more afraid of them getting mad and hurting Evie. He watches for a moment, tense, but they seem friendly and welcoming to her being there. Seeing that, he keeps filming the video, but it's probably shaky until his hands stop shaking.]

So ... I'm not gonna antagonize these guys. But ... what do I do about this? How are they even surfing in my pond?!

[A crowd is starting to gather outside the property fence, enjoying the show. Seeing this, Radley ponders. If Evie's not in danger, and people like this, maybe it can turn to his advantage. Maybe he can subtly hint at the crowd getting some food to eat while watching the entertainment.]

... They are pretty skilled at what they do. I have to say I'm impressed. Anyone wanna drop by and see this in person?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No, I meant...

[Never mind.]

Yes, this place makes me feel as though I am back in Anwat Gar in some ways.

It's really nice there's so much that feels like home. Even though that's surprising too.

Edited 2022-09-03 06:22 (UTC)

There does not seem to be much that resembles the rest of Eternia's architecture though. For an example, I have yet to see any hives that the Andreenid people would consider a proper abode.

[Not that he minds. He kind of likes it that Gar-like buildings seem to be the rule around here. It makes him feel like less of an outsider than he did back home.]

Hives?

[He immediately wonders if that's a race of bee people.]

Yes. Eternia is home to a myriad of peoples. The Andreenids are like their smaller insect cousins and prefer hives over the kinds of structures others would use.

[Bee people? Pretty much.]

... Do they look like the insects here?

[He really dislikes Beedrills. As if the bees back home weren't troublesome enough when aggressive without being human-sized.]

They are more like men with the features of bees than they are like actual bees.

[And they're generally not super aggressive, despite having an obvious warrior caste.]

... Oh. That's interesting. Do they serve a queen?

Yes. And they are very loyal to her.

[Kinda like how real bees are.]

Is she worth being loyal to?

[He's never been sure what he thinks of some of the things he's heard about life in hives.]

I would think she was, though I know not what the Andreenids look for in a queen that would inspire their loyalty to her.

[They are, after all, bug people, so it might be things like scent that determines whether a hive is loyal or not.]

Good point. So you never met her?

I have. Once. When I was travelling through the area during my... During my...

[He frowns. It wasn't until his banishment that he got more opportunities to see all of Eternia's peoples. And hear about their own troubles.]

After I had been sent away.

[Radley nods with a frown, understanding.]

Oh....

She is a good person, though, and allowed me to stay for a little while at a time when I needed it.

[It was nice having a roof-life structure over his head again after going so long without.]

That's good to hear.

[He's happy not everyone was cruel to Keldor.]

Yes. Her and others as well.

[Most of the peoples of Eternia don't share the same prejudices against the Gar that the humans do. To them, Grayskull was a good man, and his betrayal and murder a tragedy, but it was the actions of one individual against another. Not exactly the sort of thing to curse an entire people to a kind of "original sin" situation.]

That's good.

[Radley hesitates.]

Was it just the humans who were nasty?

[He can sadly picture that.]

Unfortunately, yes.

I can only name a small number of humans who were kind to me.

[Evelyn... Trydor... His stepmother, Amelia...]

[Radley frowns more.]

I'm sorry. I don't know why when things like that happen, so many humans are involved with it.

I have no idea why that is, either. It is sad that an entire race seems to find forgiveness such a difficult thing to give.

Not all humans are like that, but there's way too many who are. It sounds like your world has a serious imbalance in the kinds of humans there.

[Radley has been told that he's incredible for being able to forgive such things as being abandoned in the mines by everyone he trusted.]

Yes. There most certainly is.

I see Lyn and Trydor and wish the rest of their people could be as accepting as they are.

I wish that too. Humans deserve better representation than we often get, and nobody deserves to run into the bad ones.

[He's quiet for a moment. Radley's "we" reminds Keldor that for all he dislikes humans, he can't escape the fact that he is as much human as he is Gar. That they are his people, too. And that how he acts reflects on them just as the actions of other humans do.]

No. No one does.

[His voice sounds a bit ... far away at the moment.]

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