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

[mansionstaff]

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.]]

Comments

[makesitcool]

"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."

[makesithot]

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!"

[makesitcool]

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."

[makesithot]

"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..."

[makesitcool]

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

[makesithot]

He shrugged, looking out at the street.

"I dunno," he confessed. "He just ran off, making this terrible scream. I could smell it, the..." He shrugged again. His burning flesh was what he was trying to say, but it just felt gross even mentioning it. "I can't get it out of my head."

[makesitcool]

Somehow the lack of description made the image more hauntingly gruesome, and Cress fell silent as he mentally digested it. "Pansear was only protecting you... The both of you did what was necessary regarding the circumstances."

[makesithot]

"Yeah..." For the nth time, Chili shrugged. It was like he was trying to assert his apathy toward the issue, but it was so glaringly obvious that it bothered him. He even admitted to it moments ago.

"I don't know. I just think about it, and it's still there."

[makesitcool]

Putting himself in Chili's shoes, he could easily envision the powerful scene that left its mark in his brain. "It left a remarkable impression. I can understand why, of course. Using your Pokemon's power against a fellow human being in such a devastating way... It would disturb anyone with a conscience."

[makesithot]

Chili hummed in response - an agreement. He didn't mean to, Pansear didn't mean to... It was just somebody trying to hurt him. And Pansear wanted to protect him with all he had.

"It had to happen."

[makesitcool]

"Precisely."

Cress's face morphed into one of shock, sudden as a party balloon popping. "Over there!" he yelled in a hushed voice, pointing somewhere behind Chili. "Do you see that on the ground? It fell out of that man's sack!"

It was totally a Slowpoke's tail. The darkly-dressed fellow Cress mentioned did not seem to notice and continued to tread along the sidewalk as though nothing were missing.

[makesithot]

"Eh?" Chili hopped in his seat and spun around to follow the direction Cress's finger was pointing in. And would you look at that: a Slowpoke tail! Chili looked up at the cloaked figure responsible for the discarded article and narrowed his eyes.

"That's... That's really shady," commented Chili lowly. "Come on, Cress! We should go figure out what this suspicious guy's up to!"

[makesitcool]

"Yes!" He scooted out from his chair and dunked the remnants of his crepe in the trash can, then waited for Chili's visual cue that he was ready to proceed forth. "We must be careful, though! The longer we remain unsuspected by him, the more advantageous a position we will be in."

[makesithot]

"So you're saying we should try to be stealthy about this, aren't you?" he confirmed, and nodded once. "Then let's get going! Hurry, before he rounds the corner!"

Chili took a few steps forward and crossed the desolate street before the crosswalk even changed from STOP to GO. He beckoned Cress to follow suit. There weren't any cars coming, after all, so who cared?

[makesitcool]

Cress followed at a brisk pace, wanting to run but deciding it would be far too risky and betray their pretense of casualness that he hoped to maintain. It would be difficult with Chili's ineptitude at masking facial expressions well, but Cress knew that even if that man caught on, they could always pursue him. Knowing he had not only his Pokemon but his brother's with him inspired confidence and security.

They treaded behind him, keeping a distance of at least twelve feet. Cress wondered why, if he was up to anything suspicious, he would be so conspicuous out here. The sack was a garbage bag that had suffered a hole, and he deduced that there must be more than one Slowpoke tail in there. It was known that they were an exceedingly rare treat that was associated with the black market, and if he had so many, then he must be using foul practices. Their suspect ducked into an alleyway, which coerced Cress to back up against the building leading into it and peek around the corner to see where he was going next.

The black-clothed man squatted down and produced a hook that he used to fiddle with a manhole cover, shoving it inside the pick hole to dislodge it from its slot. He then flung himself into the opening and clung to the ladder while he fitted the cover back in place to cover his tracks. Cress turned to Chili with a look of disgust.

"Should we follow him in?" He wondered if it was worth the effort. Was he really up to no good? Was it in their place to stop him? Thoughts like that swirled around in his mind.

[makesithot]

Chili bit his lip and stared at the manhole. What would they do down there, anyway? Should they just report it? He wanted to follow and stop the man in his tracks. That's what a strong gym leader would do, and that's what he aspired to be.

He looked at Cress. "I say we should stop him!" he declared, keeping his volume in check. "We can't just let this go unnoticed! We're not gym leaders anymore, sure, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't take responsibility for the safety of Pokémon or trainers!"

He didn't want another repeat of the Shadow Triad incident if he could help it. He couldn't sit back and let things get taken care of by others just because they were probably stronger than he was.

[makesitcool]

With a curt nod, Cress was swayed by his resolute words. "Very well, then. Now, to find something to pry the cover off that manhole..." He glanced around, found nothing on the ground but concrete and pavement and vegetation sprouting from the cracks, saw a dumpster, loose bags of trash...

At the side of the crumbly old brick building they were pressed against was a window that hadn't been cleaned in ages, covered with iron window bars. If only they could take one of those bars and use it as a makeshift hook... The gears of Cress's mind kept churning and he snapped his fingers when his idea was produced.

"Cress has it!" he piped. "Do you see that window guard over there? I'd rather not destroy someone else's property, but in such a dire situation... there's a way we can snap one of the bars off. Time for an impromptu quiz." He took a step back away from Chili, pointer finger straight in the air as he looked him on with a restless eagerness. "In a Pokemon battle, what type of Pokemon would you use to combat a steel-type?"

[makesithot]

Chili rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Fire, of course! That's what I'd use!" he answered, and pulled out a Pokéball. "Come on out, Darumaka! We've got this figured out from here!"

From the beam of light came a red, round Pokémon with a bright smile. Chili clenched his fists. "We need you to use Fire Fang against that iron bar, over there!" Chili pointed while Darumaka followed his finger with his eyes. "Keep it in good shape, but just focus it on the edges enough to melt one of the bars off the window!"

Darumaka threw his stubby arms up and cheered, affected by Chili's enthusiasm. He hopped up to the window and latched onto the grate before snapping onto the bar with his teeth, flames licking the metal from his mouth. After doing this to both ends of the bar, the metal fell to the sidewalk with a loud clatter.

[makesitcool]

"Perfect!" Cress cheered, calling out a Pokemon of his own. "Basculin, use Water Gun on that metal bar!" A spiny fish Pokemon with red accents across its dark green body appeared to spit a jet of water on the bar, making it hiss and spurt out a short spurt of steam. Nodding once in approval, its trainer called it back. "Excellent work. I am in your debt." The proud Basculin was returned to its ball.

"It should be cooled down enough to wield now. Why don't you try picking it up?"

[makesithot]

Darumaka hobbled to catch up with Chili and kept his little hand gripped onto his pant leg, but Chili didn't seem to mind. Chili grabbed the bar and reunited with Cress, keeping his attention on the manhole now.

"So I'll just open this now!" He bent down and held the bar above the manhole cover, but found himself stumped. He looked at Cress and laughed.

"Uhh, actually, I don't really know how to do this, haha," he said, and offered the bar to his brother. "Show me?"

[makesitcool]

Cress let a disappointed click sound out through his teeth as he lowered himself to Chili's level and took the bar from his brother. Was he really this useless? "It's as simple as it looks. Here." He slid the metal through the small pick hole and with as much arm strength as he could muster pried the cover away to reveal the entrance. He took a deep breath from the burst of exertion and looked to Chili.

"You first, then."

[makesithot]

Sorry he'd never figured out how to open a manhole cover, geez. He never bothered to look. Without any verbal sass, however, Chili headed on down the ladder as Cress requested.

He waited for Cress to catch up before squinting into the dark. They could vaguely make out forms up to a few feet ahead of them before it was just too dark to see a thing. Chili tapped Darumaka on his shoulder and asked, "Could you give me some light, Darumaka?" His Pokémon complied and lit a small fire in his hand that illuminated more of their surroundings. Chili turned to Cress and waited to see if he was ready to keep going.

"Which way should we go? I'd say that way," suggested Chili. He pointed to the left.

[makesitcool]

"I disagree. We should head that way," Cress argued, pointing the opposite direction.

[makesithot]

Chili took on a surprised expression, like he couldn't believe Cress had a differing opinion. "I mean, we're going that way," he asserted, taking a step in the direction he initially chose. "So let's go!"

[makesitcool]

"You left it open-ended, so I, Cress, think we should go that way." He snapped in the direction he kept his finger pointed, unwilling to relent in the face of Chili's bossiness.