FOURTH CURSE: video

[cawsforalarm]

[When the video turns on, viewers are presented with a Henry surrounded by leaves, with the summer sun peeking in through the branches -- seems he's decided to climb a tree for this broadcast, or maybe he was just chilling here anyway. In either case, the expression on his face is uncharacteristically somber.]

Heya. So... this is going to be, like, Serious Business Time. [He glances off somewhere into the foliage. Honestly, it seems like he's not totally comfortable with the idea of Serious Business Time himself.] I've been kinda mulling stuff over, and I wanna hear all your responses! [The smile flickers back for a couple of seconds, but it's gone just as fast.]

What do you think makes someone a bad person? I mean, just for you, like I said. ...Traits or whatever are fine.

…

Yep.

[And that’s how the video ends.]

Comments

[video, private]

[lieutenantantichrist]

See, the kind of people who think they're more important, that what they want is worth fucking with everybody else - that's your "bad people" for you.

[Except if it's Blake, of course. Other people's "good reasons" are excuses. His good reasons are good reasons.]

[video, private]

[cawsforalarm]

But aren't laws the same way? Some person says "blah blah blah, do this" and knocks down anyone who tries to stop him?

[And yes, it's a him, because Henry is thinking specifically of a certain Mad King and his stupid, dumb rules that Henry kind of never really understood anyway.]

[video, private]

[lieutenantantichrist]

That's not just some person. It's the guys in charge, and the ones we knock down are the ones trying to screw everybody else over.

Say some lady's trying to rob a jewelry store. You think if she makes a real good case that it all looks better on her than anybody else, we should step aside and let her do it?

[video, private]

[cawsforalarm]

No, that's what I'm saying. Sometimes the 'guys in charge' and the 'guys screwing everybody else over' are the same guys.

[Quietly ignoring that second question.]

[video, private]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Blake crosses his arms and stares the screen down.]

So just because the system gets a couple problems now and then, you want to throw the whole thing out the window and let people fend for themselves?

[His tone may be a little sharper than what is really called for.]

[video, private]

[cawsforalarm]

Whoa there, soldier! [Henry holds up his hands in a placating gesture.] When did I ever say anything about that? I just said that people can follow whatever rules they want to follow. But for me, I won't do anything I don't like.