004 [Video/Action for Route 39]

[starspangledavenger]

[Steve is sitting in the shade of a tree wearing a normal outfit (not his uniform), he's holding an Eevee in his arms, who is softly crying, and has a Lucario sitting next to him looking rather perplexed at the Eevee. Steve looks like he's a little unsure about this]

Grace evolved earlier today, I was a bit concerned about how long it was taking, but she does things at her own pace. [the Lucario looks at Steve and nods in agreement] It was really amazing, I didn't think she'd wind up being so big. No more carrying her around, though she's already picked me up and carried me around. [he chuckles as Grace puffs her chest out proudly]

The problem is Amber hasn't stopped crying and shying away from Grace since. I was thinking she was scared of her, but no, after some charades, I figured out she's really upset because she wants to evolve too. [the Eevee heaves something that is best described as a sob, leaning away from Grace, who is trying to comfort her with some pets]

I want her to meet more of her evolutions before she decides what she wants to be. She's met a number of Espeon's, but none of the others yet. Is anyone willing to humor us and let her at least meet more of her evolutions, even if it's just through video?

Thanks. [a birds talon reaches down to push a button, ending the feed]

Comments

[video]

[starspangledavenger]

I'm honestly under the impression that your skull is too thick to allow anyone to screw with your head.

[Steve half means that as a backwards compliment, Blake's level of stubbornness is impressive on some levels]

[he smiles] Well, then that settles that for now.

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

Very funny.

[It is! That's his superpower.]

Glad we understand each other.

Go ahead and punch all the Nazis you want if you can find any, but don't worry too much about all the Japanese people here. They're all pretty much over the atom bomb thing.

A couple say they're ninjas, but eh, what're you gonna do.

[video]

[starspangledavenger]

People tell me I'm quite the wise-guy.

[Steve is honestly pretty impressed on some levels, really Blake takes stubborn to a new level]

[okay, yeah Steve hates the whole atom bomb thing, that was wrong and if Howard had still been alive he would have given him a piece of his mind over it. So... Steve isn't going to comment on that because he rather skip that unpleasant thought with Blake]

Met only two or three, but they've been nice. Never met ninjas before now, but not sure how that works with the colors they wear. Aren't they supposed to wear black?

[honestly confused]

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

I bet. You must be the life of the sanitarium.

[got to protect your sanity somehow. Blake's technique is good old fashioned denial.]

Ninjas are supposed to be old enough to see R-rated movies without their parents, too, but that doesn't stop them.

[starspangledavenger]

I'm a riot with the staff, jokes fall flat with the other patients usually.

[yeah, Steve had to learn to accept things to protect his sanity, since if he hadn't the life he's living would be pretty rough]

I've never met Ninjas before now, so really, I have no idea the age they're supposed to be, they seem young, but it could be cultural. I just know pictures I've seen show them in all black.

[lieutenantantichrist]

Well, you're cleaner and don't twitch as much as most of the crazies I've run into, so comedian or not, that puts you ahead.

They say they're ninjas. They look like normal kids to me, besides all the talk about killing people.

[starspangledavenger]

Well, considering our conversation, I'll take that as a compliment.

Do they sound like they actually kill people, or just kids trying to sound like they do but really don't know the first thing? Because they seem a bit... young for killing people. Ninja or not.

[lieutenantantichrist]

You can take it however you want. It's a free country.

It doesn't sound like empty bragging. They talk about fighting wars like it's no big deal. Like it's what everybody does where they're from.

[His expression gets darker with each word.]

Yeah they're a little fucking young!

[starspangledavenger]

[blinks at the sudden mood change, not that he doesn't agree, just that Steve wasn't expecting it]

Their world sounds pretty awful for doing that. Kids should be allowed to be kids for as long as possible.

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Blake is very good at getting from anywhere to angry in record time. Steve's lack of argument calms him down a little though.]

Yeah. Can't make him understand that, though. Kid's been brainwashed into thinking this shit is normal.

[starspangledavenger]

[well it's something they seem to work on, so yeah, Steve's not going to argue it]

Where he's from it might be, doesn't make it right, but seeing as we're not from his world, he's not about to take our opinions seriously.

[lieutenantantichrist]

It doesn't matter if child soldiers are a local tradition, it's pretty damn obvious there's something wrong there.

What am I supposed to do, pretend it's fucking okay?

[starspangledavenger]

Not at all, but don't yell at the kids for how the adults of that world messed them up. They don't see anything wrong with it, so go easy on the kids, it's not their fault.

[lieutenantantichrist]

Course it's not the kids' fault!

[Blake rubs his head. A sigh comes out without his permission. His voice drops back to a normal register.]

It never is.

But the shit keeps happening to them.

[starspangledavenger]

[Okay, Blake's won some points in Steve's book]

Then it's our duty to save every kid we can from that.

[lieutenantantichrist]

Serve and protect, right?

[The words come out with the irony of long familiarity.]

I've seen a lot of shit, but there's something special about psycho scumbags getting little kids killed for something that has nothing to do with them.

[starspangledavenger]

That's right.

[Steve still believes in those words]

I agree with that. Those are the people I want to see get taken out most.

[lieutenantantichrist]

Huh. You can even say that with a straight face. I bet you could even manage all that comic book crap about truth, justice, and the American way.

Yeah. [Blake's expression darkens.] That's the kind of person who deserves to get what's coming to them.