you've been noticed and marked

[siriusly]

WHO: Manabu, Mitchell, Manabu's magical dog
WHERE: Maurtia Falls
WHEN: ~October~
WHAT: Fancy schmancy political suit comes to make nice and take photos with dirty laborers
WARNINGS: dog pee



[today is warm. well, most days are warm here, what with all the concrete and autumn being more of a suggestion than a feature here in the south. it makes the work harder, but Manabu's sure it'll be more satisfying that way. no sense in complaining about it, either; he's here for the long haul.

he's got some help, too: Scout's already managed to make an unauthorized appearance before that, at first, made the landscape contractors uneasy (you know: dogs, biting, pooping...also he popped out of a tiny ball on Manabu's belt and that's weird), but Scout's a good boy. he's charming. and helpful! that Bite move he has really helps yank out some of the more heavily-rooted things in the mulch, and dogs are good at digging naturally, so...

so it's warm today, but it's not bad. Manabu's got plenty of work to do and a good poochyena to help him do it, so the mood is generally pretty good!

look at this guy, just minding his business and stuff. just cleanin' out parks. wow.]

Comments

[siriusly]

Um, well. [he squints, thinking.] I...think so. For me, anyway. But that's because I want to try and become a police officer. Seeing it on the other side...that's probably helpful, right?

But I don't know if it'd work for other people... I mean, some people I've talked to, they--they don't even think I deserved punishment. So. [shaking his head.] So something clear-cut...I don't think that--tha--AH! NO!

[he suddenly ducks down and snatches Scout up off the ground just as the pup's gotten his leg up to pee all over Mitch's shoes.

Manabu hops backward, red-faced.] Jeez! I-I'm sorry! Sorry!

[viced]

[ Mitch was slightly pale, and his foot scooted back, and he swallowed. ]

Ah, it's okay. I've...definitely had worse from animals -- got the scars to prove it, too.

[ It's with good humor, that he says it. Clearly he's in politician mode, which means he'll put up with nearly anything. ]

Do, uh -- Does he need to go potty? [ Clean mouth, Mitchell. Clean mouth. ]

[siriusly]

[Scout, for his part, looks...rather smug. he's pretty aware of his hijacking of the situation and he's proud of it.

Manabu, frazzled, tries laughing, but it's a wasted effort.]

Aa, haa...M-maybe, I don't know. He's kind of a troublemaker. I'm sorry. He'll stay right here.

Um. Was--was there anything else?

[viced]

Well, that depends.

[ He's clearly trying to be as congenial as possible, and it shows. He smiled, and rolled a shoulder. ]

What do you want to see in the future? What kind of support are you not getting that you feel like you need?

[siriusly]

I...I don't know if I'm the right person to ask...

[he frowns, face still a faint shade of pink.] I mean...I understand the costs and needs of a system, but...I'm not smart enough to know what has to go into it. What I did...what I had to do...I did it regardless of what the consequences would be.

But...whether or not those consequences are fair? I... [he shakes his head; Scout whines a little at his trainer's unease.] I don't know. Some of my friends say I shouldn't have to bother with this at all, but...that doesn't feel right, either.

[viced]

No, it doesn't. [ He's somber, now, less polished. He ran a hand through his hair. ]

But...sometimes the balance is hard to find. I know back home I had to jump through so many more hoops than other people to do simple things. I couldn't even leave the country without special permission from the government.

Sometimes...just complying, showing that we can goes far. It's not fair, but... it's good to pave the way for others.

[siriusly]

Mm. [Manabu nods in agreement, shifting his grip on his dog a little.] For someone like me...I, I don't think it's that much of a hassle. But for others...the places they've come from, the things they've had to deal with...that doesn't disappear right away and make things an easy fit here. And--I mean, I'm sure lots of people understand that much, right? Even the unreasonable ones...

[viced]

No, they don't. And some people do. I think... we sometimes forget that some people are seeing this world, and their way of doing things for the first time, and it can be totally alien. Just like we have people from worlds with no technology, sometimes we see people from worlds where there's too much authoritarianism, or even worse -- total.

It kind of helps to remember that we've all got our perspectives, and sometimes that's going to mess with things, you know?