There's a devil on your shoulder

[awesmazings]

Who: Jimmy Two-Shoes (awesmazings) and "Dietrich Jaeger" [Schuldig] (aufsassig)
Where: Goldenrod City
When: 08/12
Summary: Jimmy has a chance encounter with a stranger called Dietrich, and what he has to say might not be what he wants to hear...
Rating: PG for Schuldig's mouth
Log:

[After the hurricane, things were slowly being cleaned up all around Goldenrod. Thanks to the hard work of the Circus Troupe, the tent itself suffered minimal damage, allowing Joker and Jimmy to plan to leave for Olivine at the end of the week once they were sure everything was in order. Jimmy decided to take advantage of this free time to explore the city a bit more, visiting the department store to pick up a few things in preparation for getting back on the road, and eventually challenging some more gyms as he got to them.

Now he's just walking the streets with no particular place to go in mind, a Houndoom trotting at his left, and a Manectric at his right. The city is large and vast, and there are still a lot of places he hasn't explored yet...but it's still early, so he decides to wander a little farther than usual away from the tent, out towards the outskirts of the city. There are fairly less people here, and a lot more wild Pokemon wandering around, but it doesn't seem to bother Jimmy all that much. He can be heard humming as he makes his way, one hand hanging on to the strap of his backpack, and walking with an almost literal spring in his step.

All things considered, it's just another bright, sunny day. Though it is rather quiet around here...]

Comments

[awesmazings]

Not everyone is really miserable, though!

[...]

I mean...I'm not miserable.

[aufsassig]

Oh, of course! And, I mean, I'm sure you've asked everybody else if they're happy, too, right? I mean, that's how you can say for sure, with such certainty.

[awesmazings]

Well I...I haven't asked, but they aren't! I know they aren't. If they didn't like Miseryville, they would've left by now, right?

[aufsassig]

Right, absolutely. It's not like they don't have anywhere else to go, right? It's not like they're stuck, or it's too dangerous to try to get out or something. I mean, I'm sure you yourself have been to plenty of other places they could go, right?

[awesmazings]

Miseryville is uh....actually kindof like, um...the whole world, if that makes sense? Like it's the town, but it's also got the beach, ocean, mountains, forest...but it's all still Miseryville when you put it all together.

So...

[...So?]

Unless they wanted to go live with the Weavils on Mt. Misery, and they probably wouldn't,....I guess there...wouldn't be anywhere else to go...

[The last words trail off a bit as he glances down at the top of Leader's head, pulling his hand away from where he'd still been petting him. The Manectric glances up at Jimmy briefly, tilting his head curiously as Jimmy blinks slowly, his expression shifting just slightly, as if that's something he's never thought about before.

And, really, it's not.]

[aufsassig]

[You know, for doing this out of nothing more than sheer boredom on a lazy afternoon, it sure is gratifying to know he's still got the touch and can utterly ruin someone's entire perspective on life over the course of a single conversation.

...Technically two and with the help of his little psychic friends, but you know. Who's counting.]

...Right, but still, it can't be that bad. You would've noticed if people were unhappy. So what if maybe you overlooked something little like whether or not people could leave. You'd definitely notice something that important, wouldn't you?

[awesmazings]

Yeah...yeah, you're right.

[He nods slightly, reaching a hand up to rub the side of his face subconsciously, an anxious gesture.]

Sure I would! It prolly doesn't matter anyways. Nobody would want to leave Miseryville.

[aufsassig]

Right, exactly. If nobody would want to, what does it matter whether or not they actually can. They're not gonna change their minds or anything, it's a great place.

Everyone's happy there, just like you.

[awesmazings]

[He nods, echoing Schuldig's words.]

Everyone's happy.

[That's right. Everyone has to be happy, because that's what he's always trying to do, isn't it? Make everyone else as happy as possible, in a place designed for misery.

...but he's not there right now, is he? Does that mean everyone is still happy anyway? Or...is Lucius managing to make them miserable?]

[aufsassig]

So don't worry about it! It's like you said, the place is really terrible at making people miserable anyway.

Even if that's its job, it's nothing to worry about. It's like how people say hell isn't that bad of a place if all of your friends are there too, haha.

[awesmazings]

[...]

...Do people really say that?

I-I mean. ...I was told that...that isn't a good place all around.

[aufsassig]

They say it's where all the interesting people go, too.

Or at least all the lawyers.

[awesmazings]

[...Interesting. Interesting.

And suddenly, Alfred's words are brought back to Jimmy's mind like a flash as he glances away briefly.

Hell is where the wicked go to burn for what they did - the ones who have angered God to the point that he wants nothing to do with them. So they're cast down into eternal suffering and misery; there's lakes of fire and massive serpents, and it's run by the fallen angel Lucifer, whose job it is to punish everyone there and make sure their afterlives are as terrible as possible.

...

Interesting...]

[aufsassig]

Oh, but those are just sayings, though. Sorry, that started sounding pretty dark for a minute, didn't it?

[awesmazings]

U-um...yeah. No, it's okay. Don't be sorry.

They're just sayings. They don't mean anything.