maskormenace | 01 - video, filtered from archie

[ the feed flickers on to the image of a young girl, sporting her trademark red bandanna. unlike may's usual chipper attitude, her expression at the moment looks a bit uncertain and serious. ]

So... I have a question for you guys. You know Archie, right? The big buff Pokémon Trainer that wears wetsuits a lot? Talks like a pirate?

[ she'll even hold up a drawing to the feed for a visual - it's a bit of a simple, cartoonish sketch (she's 12, cut her some slack), but the blue bandanna, cross-shaped face shadow and shapely beard should be enough to give the right idea to who she's describing. ]

I kind of wanted to know if he's been... "up to" stuff here - like, crime stuff. I don't think you should be worried - I mean, he's a good guy! He just has a really extreme way of going at things, you know? And sometimes those extremes end up being super illegal.

[ she wants to trust his word that he's reformed, but there's a lingering worry in the back of her mind. some of the people here must have been talking to him since before she showed up, and she wants their honest observations to put her . ]

I just wanna know if he's behaving himself like he promised me back home. You guys HAVE to tell me, okay? I think I'm kind of responsible for him at this point. [ she reaches to click the feed off, but before she does- ] And don't tell him I asked!

[ yes, she's basically his tiny parole officer. please report any and all suspicious activity. ]

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He won't let me drink his booze, he kept me from dying and he's offered to buy me a therapist. Other than a criminal misuse of money, time and effort, he's fine.

[ that makes her raise an eyebrow. she knew by now that he was doing all right, but what he says is on a whole other tier of heroism. ]

Wow... He saved you? That's amazing!

[The longest sigh.] Yeah, well. I live with him, I think he felt obligated or something. He's kind of like a dad. I guess, I mean, my dad was never around but from broad media stereotypes I think he's fitting the bill pretty well lately.

Like a dad, huh?

[ she sees archie as sort of a weird big brother/dad now that they're hanging out post-weather crisis, so she can understand that. ]

I'm really glad to hear that he's doing good things for people. I knew he had it in him.

Yeah. He's kept me from dying twice, now. Makes me eat, the fridge actually has food in it, he notices if I go missing, he doesn't want me to drop out of school... the list goes ever ever on.

I don't know if he even realizes how much he's helped me out. He doesn't seem to know he has it in him. But I'm grateful anyway.

[ wow. for a moment, may is speechless - though in a good way. doing something like that for even one person is no small feat, and it reflects the kind of care for others and the world that he had as his motivation in hoenn. thankfully, now it's being used towards something really helpful. ]

In that case, it's our job to let him know how much good he's doing. I'll do my best to reassure him whenever I can... He deserves that much, I think.

It's hard to put into words. Didn't have a good family, back home. This whole gig here was weird enough, then he got all parental on me. An' I don't know what to say to that. But I want to. You got any ideas on how to make his life better, just say the word. He's earned it.

[He's a good guy. Yeah, Archie messed up in the past. He made some colossal mistakes. Then he decided to use that to talk to people about their mistakes and damage and help them. That takes guts. More than that, that takes integrity. Brendan admires him. It's just hard to phrase that in a way that sounds sincere.]

I think he just wants to do some real good for people. He still feels like he has to make up for what he did back in Hoenn... so if he knows that he's making an impact on someone's life, I bet he'll be really happy.

[ there isn't nearly as much need for rehabilitation as other people at home might think. archie was a good man - incredibly misguided and lost in ambition, but good all the same at his core. ]

The great irony there is he doesn't hold anybody's past here against them or think they need to make up for anything. Now if only we could get him to apply that standard to himself...

We just have to keep telling him that he's doing a great job! And you can bet that I'm going to let him know that I forgive him at every possible opportunity - he's earned that much.

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