seventeenth fault; video

[comeatmibro]

[ The feed opens in the capable (if somewhat irresponsible) hands (claws?) of a cheerful-looking Axew. He bares his tusks for the camera in a grin, then turns it around to face the water off the beach of Cinnabar.

Miyuki wades thigh-deep in it a few yards away, stooped over and feeling around on the bottom with both hands. She glances at the 'Gear after a second and grins, sheepish. ]

Dropped my new badge.

[ Turning her eyes to the sky, she says: ] Been here a year today. I'm, like... eleven now.

[ She straightens, holding something shiny between her fingers. The sharp-sighted might recognize it as a bottle cap. With a frown, she tucks it into the pocket of her shorts and keeps searching. ]

I've seen a lot of dudes come and go, too. Friends and stuff, and also jerks. [ The insult doesn't have much bite to it. ] My brother.

People just up and leave, y'know? No warning or anything. I hate it. I'm... tired of it. How are you supposed to have friends or, like, even talk to people? As soon as you start — aha! [ She stops, raising her hands from the water again. This time, she's holding the Volcano Badge.

She dips it in the water once before she wades toward the shore. The camera tracks her progress with much shaking. Flopping on the sand just out of reach of the tide, she drags her bag to her and rummages inside for her badge case. ]

What was I saying? ... Oh.

[ Nestling the Volcano Badge in with the other thirteen — every badge except Viridian and Pewter (of all things) — she continues: ] A girl's just gotta depend on herself, I guess. Anyone else could just disappear or whatever.

[ She sounds a little sad and a lot resigned, though she's trying for nonchalant. The badges catch the sun as she tilts the case back and forth, studying them. ]

It gets kinda boring traveling by yourself, though.

[ Slowly, the camera's viewpoint begins to change. It rises higher, a scant inch at a time, and then becomes inexplicably wobbly. The sound of feet sloshing through water can be heard in the background, and the camera begins gradually moving further away from Miyuki. ]

Maybe after I get these two badges, I'll chill for a while. Work or something, maybe get, like, a house.

[ The camera teeters violently, then careens sideways, earning a squawking 'Xew!' from the cameramon, who — miraculously — catches the 'Gear before it hits the water. ]

Hey! Stupid! Gimme that!

[ The haphazard view of the water suddenly spins, revealing sky, then sand and surf and Miyuki's bare feet splashing into the shallows just before the feed cuts. ]

Comments

[Video]

[infinitejustice]

[He's seen this kind of scene many times now. This happens to be one of the times he decides to speak up about it.]

Just because people could disappear at any time doesn't mean you can't count on others. If anything, that's all the more reason to be friendly with other people.

[Video]

[comeatmibro]

[ Miyuki's back on the beach with her (still thankfully dry) 'Gear in her own hands. ]

Why, so it'll suck when they leave?

[ She's not being belligerent, she legitimately doesn't understand. ]

[Video]

[infinitejustice]

No. So your time here doesn't end up being a depressing one because you're not alone. And if they do disappear, then at least you have your memories, and you've given them fond memories, too.

[Video]

[usedwrench]

[OUCH. Right through her heart with some of those words, considering everything that's going on back home and her own position there. And her life in general anyway.

Sigh. What is someone supposed to say on a post like this? Winry might be looking a little spaced out while she's kind of just thinking about everything ever.]

I'd rather have friends who might disappear at any second than be alone without any friends to talk to at all. We'll still have all the memories if they ever go away.

[Video]

[comeatmibro]

People keep talking about memories. Why would I wanna remember them when they're gone? It's just sad.

[Video]

[usedwrench]

Oh, you're getting that a lot then. [Sorry? Nhah, maybe not really.] Because forgetting them would be even more sad, and hopefully impossible too. Memories are important.

[Video]

[pianokeys]

[Have a soft smile, Mi. Warm, genuine, softly spoken words.]

I'll try not to leave. Your Other Mother's here too, if you ever want to come home.

[And to finish, he can never stop saying it but...]

'Still proud of you.

[Video]

[comeatmibro]

[ She looks faintly exasperated, but mostly amused. ]

Jeez, I've got an Othermom now? Congrats, dude.

[Video]

[pianokeys]

You've al~ways had an Other Mother, Miyuki. I~'m just happy you all get to meet her.

[video]

[milquetoasthero]

[...He's thought about the same things, truth be told.]

No matter what happens, your friends are still with you. Even when you're apart. [It's been seven months, roughly, since he last saw any of his group -- since he talked to them, felt comfortable in their company, felt bonded by the fact that those were the bonds he had forge, not Asura.] It's sad when someone leaves here, but you still have the memories of the times you spent together. And maybe a Pokémon or two, too.

[As if summoned, Toto pushes his big old face past Luca's -- and Luca leans against the striped fur, thinking about Sakura. He misses her, too.]

If you're still in Kanto by the time you finish getting badges, you could always work at the Breeding Centrer in Celadon with me. It's a lot of fun.

[video]

[comeatmibro]

[ Miyuki glances offscreen toward the little Axew toddling around the beach at breakneck speeds. It's far from the first time she's received an unexpected new party member or two, but she'd rather not dwell on the subject, since he's given her something else to talk about, too. ]

I dunno, dude, I don't know much about breeding.

[video]

[milquetoasthero]

Me neither. [He's a trainer working at a breeding center go figure --] But employees get discounts on the eggs, and it's not like you have to work with the pokémon or anything... I do paperwork, after all. And you can even stay there if you don't want to rent a room at an inn or anything.

Video

[lovechronicle]

[People just leaving without a warning or anything? Story of her life.]

As soon as you start trusting them and believing they'll stay with you, they're gone?

[Just trying to fill that one line at first.]

Video

[comeatmibro]

As soon as you start depending on them.

[ It was what she was originally going to say, and she remembers because she was glad she was interrupted. She doesn't like to depend on people in the first place — and less and less, now. ]

Video

[lovechronicle]

Ah, yes - that. It's scary, one moment they're there and the next they're not. I hate it too, I'm also tired of it. Back home I wrote a song about it with lines such as "...If this is how it feels, I didn't want to know what it was like to fall in love with someone." and "I wish that I had never met you."

[video]

[grapecape]

[Well, doesn't this sound familiar.]

There's a lot that could be said about the subject. What I've found is that most of it can be condensed down to this:

People, things - they do come and go. That's the nature of life. That everything comes to an end eventually doesn't make it any less valuable.

[But...]

You're eleven years old, you said?...Someone your age shouldn't have to know this, yet.

[ :c ]

[video]

[comeatmibro]

[ She looks a little chagrined, but shrugs it off. ]

Yeah, well... eleven is old enough for life to suck. And it does, kinda.

[video]

[grapecape]

I'm sorry for that.

[He takes off his glasses.]

Your struggle is with...how to depend on people in these circumstances, you said? It isn't easy. It's the better choice, the right choice for your own sake, but easy is the last thing it is.

...If you'd like this to be filtered, I can do so.

Video

[nasa_dreams]

Happy Birthday!

Video

[comeatmibro]

Thanks, Alien-bro. It was like two weeks ago or something. I got here a few weeks after my birthday last year.

Re: Video

[nasa_dreams]

Not an alien!

Oh, well, whatever then.

1/2 not here | I'm sorry for the tl;dr

[kyoukashotennis]

[Once again Shiraishi's faced with the feeling that he should say something. Maybe it's the big brother instinct or something entirely else, but he feels like it would be bad to just say nothing at all.

What to say is something he's not sure about. "I'll try not to disappear." would feel awkward, because he's already done that once and come back without his memories. Even worse, he came back with no memories of Miyuki at all. Besides, it wasn't even their call if they did or not. "I'm sorry" is also something that he'd like to say, but that might make them both feel uneasy. Miyuki didn't need more uneasiness with what she had.

Was he really in any position to say anything at all? Maybe not. He would have still liked to be there to support her somehow. They were from the same world after all and they would know each other in the future.]

2/2 audio | it's even worse here

[kyoukashotennis]

[Later, a recorded voice message appears. It's a rather long one which is why it's prerecorded rather than just a normal reply.]

The hardest part in all friendships is that you never know how they turn out to be. You might think "This is the person I want to be friends with the rest of my life" and the next day they've gone away. This is true even at home. There's no guarantee that we'll always be together or even connected. It hurts, but even this is better than to live completely alone without knowing anyone.

[He pauses slightly before continuing.]

I mean, it's not like your brother had predicted he'd leave Shishigaku and come to our school. This is only a speculation, given on how close they were in doubles, but he and Tachibana both must have felt like they would be teammates forever, but then something happened and changed that. The biggest difference is that they're still in the same world, but it doesn't change how much it probably hurts. Like here, they can always come back, but that also might not happen.

[Another pause before he finally adds.]

At times, you might think "I wish I had never met him so this wouldn't have happened", but that's most likely not what you'd really feel like. It's a gift, meeting people and getting to know them. You're able to change and become stronger and that goes for the other person as well. Things like this hurt, but they also make you stronger, even if it's hard to believe. [And it's something a girls her age shouldn't be learning already, but it can't be helped in a place like this.]

video;

[the_whitequeen]

As much as I understand how you feel, I also still believe in being with other people. In a few months more, I will have been here for two years ... yet I can't imagine not being with other people.

video;

[comeatmibro]

... How many of your friends have gone away in two years?

[ She looks afraid of the answer, because she is. She's lost twelve; if she's here a year longer, will she lose twice as many? ]