smash_logs | [open] city log! Can I really be the hero?

[open] city log! Can I really be the hero?

Who: YOU and YOU and maybe you
What: catch-all open log for all your drug vigilante needs
Where: Final Destination City
When: WHENEVER YOU WANT
Warnings: drugs and vigilanting, at the very least
helpful links: here.

Indeed, ever since that casual Monday outing turned tragic, civil unrest and tensions have been high again in FDC, and worse yet; fingers are starting to be pointed in Smash Academy's direction. After long since flying under the radar of this whole mess, no attacks have happened on the school yet, but who's to say how long that will last?

The city is tumultuous. It's not impossible to still have a completely incident-less outing, but it would be wise to not go out and about with your Smash Academy uniforms on for all to see. Not unless you like fearful whispers and hissing insults behind your back. Even a simple trip to the grocery store could prove dangerous if you aren't careful.

Maybe you're a little more creative however, and are able to purposefully mask features that might otherwise identify you, or you sneak around in the dead of night using the shadows as your cover...

Humans now tend to segregate themselves with other humans, "freaks" tend to ostracize anyone not of their kin, and all this negativity intensifies rapidly if those colorful candy pops are present. Crime and riots are now common than occasional. The FDC Police manages most of the affairs but they can't prevent everything, and would probably appreciate a helping hand regardless if it's from a human or a "freak"... though thanks and courtesy may go one way or another depending on who/what you are.

Who knows, maybe you'll save someone's life and give them a better appreciation for the things you do instead of what you are...

[[As it says on the tin, HERE'S AN OPEN LOG, GO NUTS. Get together with some of your buddies and go play masked vigilante against a group of drug thugs bullying someone who doesn't deserve it (or maybe they do, for all you know). Save someone from a burning building set on fire by some angry social justice warrior animals. Escort someone to the grocery store. Break into the sheriff's office and demand your own brand of justice. Maybe you simply want to get a drink at the bar without incident.

Please feel free to NPC your bad guys/mooks/innocent civilians, or go snag Kat or one of the other lovely lady mods if you have any questions.

ONE RULE: you must use anime thread titles. That's all.

Edit: I lied. Rule 2: tag yourselves in.]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Chili's last words quelled his storming emotions. While he was still a little taken aback by Chili's disregard to tell him he was diving into a dangerous operation on the day it had happened, he felt placated that he at least told him now rather than never. Cress became more reasonable in his thoughts.

"Well, you didn't get yourself killed this time, so that's a relief." He wished he hadn't sounded so bitter just then. With more heart and less acrimony, he added, "Of course I would worry."

"This time," he mumbled, offended. Chili rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Anyway, it just happened and I was invited because they thought there might have been a connection to Pokémon items somehow. And I happened to be available! So that's why I went."

Did the end result prove anything about Pokémon items? Chili wasn't sure. There were those crates of drugs - the lollipops - and the tables busy with droned workers. But more importantly... those other crates held Chili's attention, and he planned on telling Cress about those.

"At first, I didn't think we were going to find anything when we went," admitted Chili, shrugging. "The first two places we went to were dead leads. There was nothing! But the last place we went to was something big! Do you remember the church on the news a while back that burnt down? That was the same place that had the most information - and that's where we found ourselves that night!" He looked around briefly before directing his attention back to Cress. "No wonder someone burnt it down. That place was... terrible."

That was the place that Chili found fear in fire.

Even though his mouth hung ajar like that, it felt like he couldn't manage to suck in any air with such shallow breaths. Hazy flashbacks filtered through his mind of a tv screen ablaze with flames and commotion, and he never had to pair that incident with Chili. Now that he had no choice, shock settled in quietly, eerie as deja vu.

He wasn't sure what to ask at first. 'Are you all right' was the first question, but it was pointless when he testified that just by being here, further in the future by his side. Instead, he chose to feed his curiosity. "What did you find there?"

"There were a bunch of people down there. They were really out of it," he said, trying to figure out the best way to put it that there were drugged-up drone-like workers down there. "They were guarding something. We didn't have enough time to look into everything, but what we did see was enough to cement that the church we were in was definitely a crime operation center. Something like that."

He wondered if he should tell Cress that he killed someone down there. He wondered if that guy was even dead now, but after the way Chili saw him, he was certain. It wouldn't be easy to survive that.

"There were boxes and boxes of lollipops! They were all probably drugged and being sold. For what reason, I don't know... I guess to make a quick buck, for whoever's behind this," he reasoned, scratching behind his ear nervously. "That's probably why. But I still don't know if it has anything to do with Pokémon!"

Cress absorbed the information quietly and attentively. There was a pause between Chili's last word and Cress's next response, the blue-haired brother pushing the button at the crosswalk as he mulled over his story.

"Pokemon items... Do you suppose it has anything to do with medicine normally given to Pokemon? HP replenishment like potions or status condition cures like burn heal, or even more suspicious, stat boosts, like carbos or protein. You could argue that they are essentially drugs. Is it out of the question to use them for recreational purposes outside of the realm of Pokemon battles?"

Chili winked and smiled at Cress. "Bingo! Those were my thoughts exactly," he acknowledged. "Somebody else in our group thought the same thing! Still, we didn't find any conclusive evidence about that."

There was where he paused, and he looked down at the sunny sidewalk while they waited. This place looked peaceful, but Chili knew that there could be danger anywhere in this city nowadays. "Well... Maybe we almost did. There was a crate in there full of..." His voice dropped to a low mumble, just loud enough for Cress to hear. "Blood vials. I'm certain that's what they were, but only I got to see them all. I tried to take one so that I could share what I found, but we had to evacuate so fast that I'm not sure where it went."

The mention of needing to evacuate only served to feed Cress's imagination how dangerous it must have been for him, how close to dying Chili might have come. His mind got tossed far back to last summer, when in a plane of existence that didn't count for reality, he'd lost him. Cress lied to him constantly about being over it, lied about how it was nothing but a bad dream, but in truth, he clung to the fear like a painful addiction he was viciously trapped in. The white neon pedestrian on the other side of the road replaced burning red hand, but Cress still did not budge.

Edited (italics infestation) 2013-07-30 23:33 (UTC)

"...Cress?"

Chili wasn't sure what was going on, but he wasn't moving. He was just staring. Somewhere in his consciousness, something clicked. Cress was afraid.

He scooted next to his brother and slid one his arms behind his back, and took a step forward, urging Cress to follow suit. "I'm here, I'm okay. You're okay," he reminded him, hoping Cress would unload what was on his mind.

He needed that extra push to snap back into the present, and let his brother guide him across the street, his closer presence a welcome reminder that everything about him was intact. A wave of guilt for falling back into this grim reminiscence overcame him next, but he didn't voice his feelings because he knew it would only muddle up their talk.

They reached the other end of the street and continued down the sidewalk. To lighten up the mood again, he veered off into another conversational direction. "Oh," he laughed. "Are you in the mood for crepes? Cress knows of this place that opened up recently, and they make splendid crepes, both savory and sweet..."

Chili lit up. Crepes were good, and it put a smile on his face to see Cress make an effort to be cheerful again, whether it was a front or not. Chili knew a genuine smile could be contagious.

"Sure, let's have crepes!" he agreed, nodding. "I'm getting pretty hungry, anyway. I'm definitely going to have some with strawberries and blueberries in mine!"

"That sounds marvelous. As for mine... something with ice cream in it would hit the spot."

It wasn't too far off, just a block, so they wound up at the shop shortly. Cress rushed Chili when they were halfway there, grabbing him by the sleeve with high spirits powering his run. Cone Appétit was its name, a snug venue with a bright, warm atmosphere and ambrosial smells floating from within. Cress decided that he wanted black cherry chocolate with ice cream, and he let Chili order his own. When he got his crepe, he told Chili he would be waiting at the small wrought-iron table set outdoors and left quietly. The velvet sofa looked comfortable, but it might be better to keep their conversations on the down-low, so comfort must be sacrificed for cold common sense.

~~THEN HE WAS NEVER SEEN AGAIN~~

It didn't take Chili long to come after Cress with his own crepe in hand. It didn't appear to be anything with blueberries in it, however, but Chili didn't seem to mind.

"They had a wacky flavor in there," he commented excitedly, holding his crepe tightly. "So I got it! It's strawberry mango with whipped cream!" He was so excited to take a bite that he sat down across from Cress in a hurry and took a rushed bite into the crepe.

A tempered smile decorated the calmer brother's face as Chili hustled down to sit with him. He dabbled his spoon inside the mixture of sweet fillings and watched the colors blend into a dull brown. "That doesn't sound too outlandish."

"Maybe not, but I haven't seen mango be used in a crepe before," replied Chili, thoroughly enjoying his crepe. "Places should use it more often! It's delicious, you know."

With the way he was so focused on that crepe, it seemed as though he'd forgotten entirely about their previous conversation. That wouldn't be an inaccurate guess, but that was because his thoughts were more focused on Cress freezing up at the sidewalk. Still, he didn't show it.

Given time to soak in the silence of eating, Cress's thoughts took a turn backwards into their conversation. He mulled over some of the things he said, how selfish it was of him to fretfully hold him back when all Chili wanted to do was help a cause in ways he could put himself to constructive use. Wasn't that why they had come here? To improve? How was obstructing him from taking on risky endeavors going to help his growth?

Why did it have to be at the risk of his life?

Maybe, Cress mused, maybe, maybe that's just how it went. 'Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.' What was he and Cilan expected to do if he was killed instead of made stronger? These thoughts weighed him down and set his face into a deep frown as he played listlessly with his cold crepe mush.

At first, Chili didn't notice the heavy air about Cress. He was too occupied with eating his crepe - so occupied that he managed to practically inhale it without saying a word. He was hungrier than he thought... Only then did he let himself notice that Cress was just sort of sitting there with an expression that was anything but content.

Maybe he could have noticed it a bit ago, but just didn't want to see it. But now he had to acknowledge it.

"Hey," he tried. "I'm not going to get hurt. Not anymore. At the same time, I'm not going to let opportunities to help out pass me by anymore, so I have to get ready for them."

Cress forced a smile. "I worry too much, don't I?"

Chili sighed, twiddling his thumbs under the table. He had to think about that one, really. Cress worried about him a lot. He knew it. But wasn't there a good reason for him to? Chili couldn't blame him.

"No," he replied, but it just didn't sound like he'd finished thinking it over before saying something. "It's just... I get it. I know why you're worried, Cress. But if I can't be dependable for other people, how can I be dependable for myself?! And how can I be dependable for you and Cilan?"

More than anything, that last sentence felt heavy. He wanted so badly to show them that each one of them could be their own source of strength and to be their own trainer, to be strong in their own right. But he felt like a letdown in comparison to his brothers. They were already a lot stronger than he was, if their winning streaks were anything to be considered.

Chili's point settled strongly within Cress. "I think I understand. That is why you've been pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone so much lately, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's exactly it!" said Chili, glad that Cress seemed to understand where he was coming from. "I know I messed up a couple times, but I don't plan to do that anymore. It's not going to happen: I can feel it!"

Those couple times was mainly referencing all of the times he got hurt or killed at Smash Academy for doing something a bit stupid: not trusting Cress when he had the reflective cube at the testing center, and challenging an Arcanine to a fight, one-on-one.

"I see." He pulled a napkin away from the dispenser and lightly dabbed a corner at his hand, where a drop of melted ice cream had pooled. "It's... well, it will humble me, Cress, to say this, but you truly are an inspiration to me."

A rare compliment from Cress. Chili stared at him with wide eyes before breaking out into a bright smile.

"You mean it?" he bubbled, savoring this praise. "Thanks! Really!"

Somewhat abashed by bestowing a compliment that was soaked in heartfelt genuineness, he let his eyes rest on the table while his mouth tried its best to form a graceful smile, but wound up looking a bit sheepish. "Your willingness to take risks in order to improve... yes, it is rather admirable."

"Well in that case, I'll keep at it!" he promised, pumping a fist. But then he remembered something else. "Within reason, of course. Like not getting hurt anymore. Haha..."

Getting hurt actually meant something more like dying, but he didn't want Cress to regress into another moment in the past like he did before. He hoped they didn't go down that trail of conversation anymore. He tried to think of something else to talk about that wasn't about danger or Cress's new girlfriend, but he was having a hard time pulling himself out of the church at the moment.

"Somebody tried to attack me in there," he said. He watched the table in the same spot Cress's eyes were trained on earlier. "Pansear protected me on my orders, but the guy caught on fire..."

Cress went quiet for a moment with a fallen smile. Then, he asked, "Did he survive? What happened next?"

Maybe I'm just picky

maybe I just suck at reading abueuaeuguaeu

No there's nothing inherently wrong with using the same word twice

oh so it really is just you being picky, booooo

You gave me two tags with "boooooooo" in the title you big damn baby

that's because you're always being too hard on yourself

I'M A DIFFICULT PERSON

don't be difficult

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