85th moon [video]

[paladinlost]

[Cecil sits at a table, smiling pleasantly while holding a cup of coffee. His team is nowhere to be seen.]

Have you ever regretted teaching an attack to a Pokémon?

[For a few seconds, the feed suddenly shakes wildly, before stopping just as quickly. Outwardly, Cecil does not react to this incident.]

...Any attack.

Comments

[ video ]

[imthe_shit]

... Well, fine. Just don't go getting yourself killed.

[ video ]

[paladinlost]

I've survived direct hits from dragons much stronger than any Pokémon before. Even if they all used Earthquake at the same time, I'd be fine.

[...He hopes.]

[ video ]

[imthe_shit]

Dragons...?

[ video ]

[paladinlost]

Some species are horrifyingly common in caves, especially on the moons. But even the rarer ones can be extremely dangerous.

[ video ]

[imthe_shit]

... On the moons? You met a dragon there?

[ video ]

[paladinlost]

Many dragons. On particularly bad days you could hardly take five steps without stepping on a scaly tail.

[ video ]

[imthe_shit]

... On the moon? [ Yeah he's still caught on that part. ]

[ video ]

[paladinlost]

On two of them. My planet has an... interesting relationship with moons, to say the least.

[Which is both the truth, yet so very inadequate as a description.]

[ video ]

[imthe_shit]

... The dragons don't need to breathe?

[ video ]

[paladinlost]

They both have a breathable atmosphere.

[A beat.]

...Which admittedly made very little sense to us until we learned they were artificial and meant to support life. The last moon is probably air-less and monster-free.

[ video ]

[imthe_shit]

... [ Grumbles. ] You should have said that in the first place...

[ video ]

[paladinlost]

My apologies. After twenty years, I've become a little too used to my moons' pecularities.

[ video ]

[imthe_shit]

[ Nods slowly. ]

Yeah... I guess I've gotten used to strange things where I'm from, too. [ METAL GEAR ]

[ video ]

[paladinlost]

It makes for interesting discussions with people who have had very different experiences, but it also becomes confusing if they're too different.

[ video ]

[imthe_shit]

Yeah... Dragons on the moon is a bit too different for me.

[ video ]

[paladinlost]

Because of the dragons, because of the moon, or because both are equally unlikely to you?

[ video ]

[imthe_shit]

Let's go with that last part.

[ video ]

[paladinlost]

That seems to be the most common answer, whenever I ask others. At least people become used to dragons as they travel in this world.

[ video ]

[imthe_shit]

... The closest things we have to dragons in my world are these giant bipedal tanks called Metal Gears. I've been doing my best to destroy any and all of them I come across...

[ video ]

[paladinlost]

...How can tanks be bipedal when they have wheels? I've seen mechanical dragons, but walking tanks...

[ video ]

[imthe_shit]

These ones don't have wheels.

They have legs. And they launch nukes.

[ video ]

[paladinlost]

I imagine those nukes are not particularly pleasant ammunition, if their use is only associated with that particular sort of tank.

[ video ]

[imthe_shit]

No, not just for that tank. Just that kind of tank would allow them to shoot nuclear missiles from anywhere.

[ video ]

[paladinlost]

Which would be extremely practical for the pilot, but not so wonderful for the target.

[ video ]

[imthe_shit]

Isn't it always like that?