007. Video/Action for Ecruteak City

[ardent]

[Well, tonight will see another post from Ishimaru, and while the sun has long since dipped down beneath the horizon, the video is lit by an odd, bright purple light somewhere in front of him, and a dimmer red one that seems to be sort of sliding around slowly just out of view somewhere to his left; he's back in that white uniform, simply because it feels weird to him not to wear it, and while he's definitely outdoors, he seems to be rather high up - really, if the texture of the floor he's kneeling on is any indication, he seems to be on a roof somewhere.

Of course, if you're familiar with Ecruteak City, you'll likely recognize the view just barely visible behind him; he's up atop the Tin Tower today.

Either way, however, he seems in much higher spirits this time around; he's sort of smiling, even, though not quite - he's never really done happiness very well as far as facial expressions go, nor has he really done it very naturally - and his words are quick, rushed with excitement.]

Most of my studies deal in concrete fact - the paranormal, the theistic and the unexplained have never been anything that I've found useful, and so while I know a few of the more common myths from my own world, I've been willing to set them aside as just stories! But since coming here, I've met people who can say those stories are a reality - people who have spoken to ghosts, or been ghosts themselves; people who know of the existence of fairies and done magic themselves, or people from other worlds entirely. It's been interesting, if difficult to believe sometimes!

But it also makes me wonder how many of the myths here are true; I think a lot of it is like our creation mythology back home, just centered around Pokémon - people saw the animals here and attributed the creation of the world to their power, when that might not be the case. I think it warrants further study either way, though!

The place I'm at now...they say that one of the Legendary Pokémon used to call it home, but now it travels the world looking for trainers who are pure-hearted. I'm pretty sure that means I'll never see it, but I'd like to become the sort of person where it's at least a possibility someday.

[He'll be up there for some time longer, after the video cuts out and the feed goes dark; he's got his Litwick up there with him, and he's leaning up against one of the railings, looking out over the city skyline.

He also has a rather small Slugma up on the railing next to him; just...try not to knock it off if you join him, that'd make everyone kind of upset...]

Comments

[nostabbing]

No, I mean — it's not always the same thing, right? Something not being allowed and something being bad? Sometimes things aren't allowed but they're still good. Right?

[ardent]

Like what? Rules and laws exist for a reason!

[nostabbing]

...What if someone's in trouble but the law can't help them?

[ardent]

[...that...seems to strike him strangely, hold on.]

...I...

[...okay. Come on, Ishimaru, you can do this.]

How...how do you mean?

[nostabbing]

Like what if there are some bad guys who are doing something wrong, but that's not actually illegal because they've got great lawyers or found a loophole to exploit or something? Or what if people are getting hurt but they don't have the money to pay for help and even if they tried, some big corporation would just snuff them out anyway? Or what if somebody's running a scam that isn't breaking a single rule but it's taking advantage of people and making them lose their life savings?

[She gives him a steady look.]

I mean, yeah, I guess maybe you could change the law, but that'd take a long time, right? Maybe too long for the people who need help. So if somebody helped them...but had to go around the law to do it, is that bad or not?

[ardent]

[He shifts a bit; something about this isn't striking him as right, but he can't figure out what it is and it's...mnnngh.]

...Alice-san, why are you asking me about this?

[nostabbing]

Maybe...doing something somebody says you're not supposed to isn't always bad. Maybe it matters what you do, too. And if it's hurting somebody or not.

[ardent]

...Maybe.

[He twitches a bit, sharply.]

I...I don't know.

[nostabbing]

[Ouch. She doesn't like that twitch at all, and feels it sharply, too.]

I'll still like you no matter what you think. Even if you're not sure. That's okay, too.

[ardent]

It's not really something I know how to answer right now.

[nostabbing]

Can you let me know, when you do know?

[ardent]

[And for a moment he just kind of...stares, but then something clicks and the sense of "Oh" is practically visible.]

...That's what you do, isn't it? You do illegal things because you want to help people. That's what you meant when you told me you were good at being a bad guy, and you like doing bad things if it means that good people don't have to get hurt or become bad people themselves.

Is that right?

[nostabbing]

[And for a second she just fidgets, and it's probably a good thing she isn't wearing a harness right now, or the temptation to jump off the building and avoid this would be high — possibly too high to resist. But fortunately (or unfortunately), she's not, and so she's stuck standing there telling herself that it's going to be okay even if Ishimaru ends up deciding he hates her or something.

So in the end, she just nods a little.]

That's what we do. Me and my team. Hitter, hacker, grifter, mastermind.

[She absently ticks the words off on her fingers as she recites them, and after a pause she motions to herself as she adds the fifth.]

Thief.

[ardent]

[It's rare that he actually establishes eye contact for any length of time - it's always made him uncomfortable, for some reason he can't really explain - but for a moment he just looks at her. Studies.

Appreciates, even.

And then he nods, more to himself than to her.]

I knew you stole things - you were too good at it overall.

...I'm not mad at you.

[nostabbing]

[She nods a little, faltering a bit on the eye contact herself, but mostly managing to stay looking at him despite her half-completed attempts to glance away.]

Yeah. I guess if I went to your school I'd be the Supery Dupery Thief. That's...what I am. Who I am.

[She frowns a little, like she's not sure if the clarification makes a difference, but vaguely aware that maybe it does.]

Sometimes bad guys are the only good guys you get. Nate likes to say we pick up where the law leaves off. I know I'm...

[She pauses, pressing her lips into a line.]

I know I'm a bad person. It's okay that I'm not good like you. But we...do good. And sometimes we do the bad stuff so good people don't have to.

[ardent]

You're not bad!

[The words are a bit loud, maybe, but there's no hesitation there whatsoever.]

It's...it's like my brother - he's done bad things, he's known for something that's bad, but he's one of the best people I know! You're not bad either, Alice-san!

[nostabbing]

...I'm not as dumb as Alice-san is, either.

[And that's not her name, but there's something in her that's hesitant to confess that. Maybe it's because Alice-san is the one he calls "aneki". She's always had trouble with the idea that she and Alice are one and the same, and Alice's friends are hers.]

She's pretty dumb.

[ardent]

No, you -

[The words die abruptly, however, once the first sentence actually processes.]

...What do you mean? You're Alice-san.

[nostabbing]

[Whoops. Busted. This is why she's not the grifter.]

...Remember I told you about Hardison? He made Alice-san. Well, Alice. Alice White. She's one of the cover identities I use sometimes.

[She winces a little.]

I didn't want to tell you because Alice is your sister.

[ardent]

[He twitches again at that. Edges back a little. Uncertain.]

...So who are you, then?

[nostabbing]

I'm...I'm Parker.

[And suddenly she catches herself wishing she'd just stayed Alice.]

When I got here — I mean, you showed up in the Rocket base, too, it's not exactly hard to guess that they're a big evil organization, right? I didn't want them to know my name. You never introduce yourself to the mark by your name unless you're Nate. So...I used Alice. And then I met you and I was still Alice and you got used to Alice, and I was going to tell you about it when you guys told me what happened at your school, but...you had all that to say and...just, me saying "I'm not really Alice" didn't...fff. Feel...right.

I wasn't lying because I didn't want you to know. I just didn't know how to say it, and maybe it was safer if you guys didn't know anyway.

[She pauses again, then looks at her feet.]

You're Parker's brother. I just didn't know who was your sister.

[ardent]

[Ishimaru takes in all of that in silence; he doesn't respond verbally, not right away, and for a moment he seems unsure of what to do with himself physically, but eventually he seems to decide on just stepping forward and trying to give her the most...awkward hug in the history of anything ever, because it's the only thing he can think to do and it just feels like something that should be done and damn it, he wants to.]

Aneki, it's okay - I promise, it's okay.

[nostabbing]

[And yet to Parker, there's nothing awkward about the hug at all. It's exactly the way it ought to be, and she gets it. More importantly, she's glad he did, because that means she can pull him against her and hold on to him, too.]

I thought maybe you liked Alice.

[Because who wouldn't, really. Parker's the one everyone says is crazy. Alice makes friends somehow and Parker doesn't always know how or why.]

[ardent]

[That...kind of hurts, really, hearing that. But he can remember her petting him, kind of, back on his birthday when she was hugging him, and sometimes his brother will kind of mess with his hair when he's worked up and it tends to get him to calm down, so his immediate response to that is to reach up and start stroking her hair, a bit.]

...Alice-san is all right, but Parker is my sister.

[nostabbing]

[It's weird, really, because the motion is invoking a sort of familiarity that she's honestly not used to; oh, she's kissed the daylights out of Hardison a half-dozen times and she has absolutely no sense of modesty about a lot of things other people would find scandalous, but the hand in her hair is...strange. Like there's a memory there somewhere that she's long forgotten, invoked by the feeling, except that she knows there never was.

But it's okay, because it's better than thinking about the feeling creeping around in her stomach and twisting up her chest, and Ishimaru is about four inches shorter than the next most likely candidate for this would be, but that doesn't really matter either.]

You can still call me whatever you want. It's okay.