[video .001] -- Route intro post

[thinkimsuperman]

((OOC: oh my god, you guys, what am I even doing? Late intro is so late because of NaNoWriMo and I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING, besides. Enjoy :'D Sorry if I derp this up like the derp I am. Also, feel free to add your own character tags. Tag add new/delete and add/remove to entry is set to any user because I am too trusting))

[the feed shows Douglas Cartland blinking in the middle of a random field in the sunlight, shielding his eyes from the sun. He's got his 'gear in one hand and his Shuckle in the other and he's staring hard into the screen]

How the heck do I... how am I supposed to work this thing? Is it like a phone? One of those new video phone things or...

[pause]

Oh, it's recordin'. Okay. Well uh... not sure if anybody can hear this but I'd really like to know where I am. Some woman gave me lunch and shoved me outside when I woke up this morning, but that's not really important. What I really wanna know is where I woke up.

Hello? Anybody listenin'?

[he frowns]

There's no way this is Maine.

[he resists the urge to say "I have a feeling I'm not in Kansas anymore", because this isn't the time at all]

Comments

[video]

[thinkimsuperman.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't know nothin' about any kind of good monsters. We'll have to see. But this little guy doesn't seem so bad. [he gestures to his shuckle]

If the rest're like him, I guess I wouldn't mind 'em so much.

Video

[thinkimsuperman.livejournal.com]

Well, that's good to know, I guess.

[a pause]

Actually, even though this place is kinda crazy, I dunno if I wanna leave. I mean, there's not much for me back at home. Just a lotta rain and alimony. And Heather's here. Do ya know Heather?

[Video]

[foolishwren]

_{[Once his smile's not so forced, Heather's becomes a little more real, too. You can always tell because it widens around the edges and makes her eyes squint just a tad. For someone who could have made a career of having precious little to smile about, she sure has one of those faces that seems built for it.]}

Whatever else it might be, this place is good for making friends.

[video]

[thinkimsuperman.livejournal.com]

[Douglas does a double take at that. Apparently The Order was big on sacrifices from what he'd heard, but it's still was a shock to hear about it. As jaded as life as a cop made him in his younger years, there are some things you never become desensitized to]

Sacrificed? Those sick bastards really know how to ruin lives.

[a pause]

I'm glad they didn't get ya, though. I like it when the good guys win.

[video]

[no-ufo-ending.livejournal.com]

_{[8''D Yeah...win. Haha. That's right. N-no, he's not living in constant fear of being yanked back into that hell-world where he was just about to face the man responsible for all the crap he had to go through.]}

Yeah.

_{[He couldn't take wondering any longer.]}

Are your legs okay?

[Video]

[show_my_cannons]

[There's a pause, as Ironhide regards the Pokemon.]

... All right. Maybe your future creatures will... be more... useful.

[Video]

[thinkimsuperman.livejournal.com]

Seems like it, from the people I've talked to so far. And I'm glad to know even if it doesn't work out I've at least got one person I can call a friend.

[Douglas just grins bigger then, and seeing her smile become more genuine it just gets bigger. Douglas may be a veritable crop of frown lines, but he sure can smile when he wants to]

I can't even begin to tell ya how much I missed you back home, kiddo.

[video]

[thinkimsuperman.livejournal.com]

Me legs?

[he glances down at his legs, and then remembers he mentioned Claudia breaking them. Oh right.]

Oh, yeah. They're okay now. That was a couple of months ago. It was a real pain tryin' to lug my sorry self around with casts, but it didn't last long.

[video]

[no-ufo-ending.livejournal.com]

Oh, good. I was wondering because you're going to have to do a lot of walking while you're here unless you've got a pokemon big enough to ride on.

[Video]

[thinkimsuperman.livejournal.com]

Well, useful or not, this guy's good company. I'll give him that. I guess that's probably a good thing in this place.

[video]

[tapestodiane]

_{[Coop's never seen a Shuckle before so it steals his attention for a small while.]}

If you're anything like the rest of us you might even grow pretty fond of them. It sneaks up on you.

[Video]

[show_my_cannons]

Yeah. A lot of them are...

Allies are never unwelcome. Here, or anywhere else.

[video]

[thinkimsuperman.livejournal.com]

[his eyes flick to his shuckle. No way would he be riding it]

So I'm guessin' this place isn't big on cars, then?

[great. Douglas isn't quite scowling about that, because that would be childish. But it's clear that he isn't quite happy, either]

Oh well, guess it could be worse. I'm just happy to have ended up in this crazy world, out of all the ones I could've gotten dropped into. It's gonna be nice to see Heather again.

[video]

[no-ufo-ending.livejournal.com]

It's weird, isn't it?

_{[Heather had told him about a bus they all road to one city to help during a bad storm...but he hadn't seen any that he could recall.]}

It's nice to see somebody sane that knows her.

_{I'm Henry. Henry Townshend.}

[video]

[thinkimsuperman.livejournal.com]

[he smiles a little]

This one's already growin' on me. I dunno how to take care of him, really, but he's been pretty good company so far. Sleeps a lot, though.

[Video]

[thinkimsuperman.livejournal.com]

That's true. That's very true.

[a small smile]

You can consider me an ally if ya ever need help with anything. It's the least I can do, for you showin' an old man the ropes.

[video]

[thinkimsuperman.livejournal.com]

Likewise.

[an awkward smile]

You seem like a pretty standup guy. I'm glad Heather's got friends like you. From what she told me, most of the kids she hung out with in high school were pretty bad news.

[and he smiles wider, then. He feels like maybe the fact that he's introduced himself now means he's a bit more trusted than before]

Well, it's nice to meet ya, Henry. It's good to talk to somebody who knows about The Order and all this stuff, who's on the same side as me, for once.

[Video]

[show_my_cannons]

[Ironhide quirks an eyebrow. The human thinks he's an old man? When he's talking to a millennia-old soldier? It almost makes him chuckle for a second -- but there's no way for the human to know that.]

[Congrats, Douglas, you've just struck the rare 'humor' note with Ironhide.]

Yeah, sure thing. And you are?

[Video]

[foolishwren]

You can always count on me for that.

<sub>[... Aaaand now she has to resist the urge to start whistling 'You've Got a Friend In Me'. Fortunately, she has the strength of will to do so.]

[Of course, what he says after that makes her chest ache a little bit, like before-- she's not sure she has the heart to tell him that Johto was probably not responsible for her disappearance. But hey... after this place, maybe if she ever went back... she'd make a different choice rather than just up and leave like she's assuming she did.]

[So she just smiles back.]</sub>

Well, you're a pretty nice sight for sore eyes, yourself.

I was worried about how you might be doing back there without me. ... Least now I can keep an eye on you, huh?

[video]

[no-ufo-ending.livejournal.com]

Heather's a good friend. She and Mr. Mason both are. If it weren't for them, I'd probably be living off berries in the woods.

[Video]

[thinkimsuperman.livejournal.com]

[oh yeah, formalities. It's hard not to feel a little bad about the fact that he didn't bother to introduce himself]

Douglas. Douglas Cartland. You?

[video]

[tapestodiane]

Better than not at all.

_{[When his Manectric was still an Electrike she hardly gave him any rest. He sounds a little amused beneath the even tone, even as he continues.]}

Is there anything you'd like to know or are you about ready on your journey? I'm sure Mom didn't fail to mention that you're set for one.

[Video]

[thinkimsuperman.livejournal.com]

[another grin]

I know I can, kiddo. And you can count on me. I promise I'll always be here for ya. You know, now that we're in the same place again. I know you've got your dad for stuff like that, and I'm glad. But you can still come to me if you need anything. I hope ya know that.

[and then a laugh]

I dunno about that. I'm lookin' pretty old lately. But it'll be good to have ya keep an eye on me again. You know, make sure I don't cause too much trouble.

[video]

[thinkimsuperman.livejournal.com]

[a chuckle at that, at the thought of Henry in the woods eating berries]

I'm glad. Heather's pretty good at helpin' out, isn't she. If it weren't for her, I'd probably still be a depressed, sorry old man. Not that I'm not still old.

[video]

[thinkimsuperman.livejournal.com]

Well, that's true. 'Least he's not demanding.

[a pause]

I have about a thousand questions, really. She mentioned a journey, but I dunno to where. I have no idea how to even start.