The Sin Within

I apologize for being out of contact for such an extended period of time without warning, but it was...necessary.

I'm currently returning to Goldenrod.

[Lust supposes there's more she could say, but that's all she wants to at the moment. She's still tired and emotionally worn, but she's been wallowing in isolation for long enough. Regardless of her state of mind, she has responsibilities she needs to return to.]

I'll be home in a day or two.

[Lust thought about sending individual thank yous, but that seemed like a great deal of work. And she's noticed that it's common to draw attention to these sorts of things. So she decides to simply make a general address.]

I just wanted to express my appreciation for the kind...birthday acknowledgements.

[She really isn't sure what else to call the gifts and cards and words. It's all been a bit overwhelming.]

I'd forgotten it had come around again. It's only my second one.

I suppose I should get used to celebrating it. Or at least make an effort to remember the date next year.

"Good evening ladies, gentlemen, and Pokemon. Welcome to the Miss Fitz Story Hour, Presented by Random Assortment Productions. Tonight, please join us for the second installment of The Golden Hand, a tale of blinding greed, dastardly doings, and revenge from beyond the grave.

When we last left our heroes and villains, the fair Mirabelle was wooed under false pretenses by the wicked Thaddeus, who only wants her for her solid gold hand, even murdering her fiance to attain it. But all is not lost....

Envy stars as Thaddeus Kraven, Elsa as Mirabelle Smith, Alphonse Elric as Francis Flemmet, and Teddie as Peter Clemment."

( The Golden Hand Part 2 )

"Thank you for listening to our production of The Golden Hand. Please tune in next week for Gone Courting, a macabre but lighthearted tale of a man who just wants to find that special someone.

Goodnight, and Happy Halloween."

[The feed opens on a dim, candlelit room that's obviously been decorated for this specific broadcast. Lust is seated in a wingbacked chair, dressed for Halloween. There's a skull with a burning candle on it on the table next to her. She's smiling enigmatically, eyelids lowered.]

Good evening ladies, gentlemen, and Pokemon.

In thanks to a number of talented volunteers, I'm pleased to announce the official debut of The Miss Fitz Story Hour, a weekly dramatic radio show to be broadcast over the network. Our productions will air in two parts, beginning this weekend.

To ring in the season of spooks and spirits, we're bringing you two chilling tales of terror this month. Love, loss, mystery, and murder are all in store on the airwaves. But don't worry, even the little ones can listen in. We don't want anyone dying of fright.

So keep your ears open for our premiere broadcast, The Golden Hand, this weekend. I do hope you'll all join us. It's going to be a scream.

[Lust winks, and the feed cuts.]

[Lust's expression is thoughtful when she flicks on her 'gear, the device propped on a coffee table in what looks like a living room. She's settled on her couch, a stack of books visible next to her.]

Indulge my curiosity...

Does anyone else come from a world where the predominant entertainment is radio? Much as I enjoy television and films, I miss a good radio drama. There's something to be said for allowing the imagination to fill in the pictures.

[The video feed shows Lust sitting on the kitchen floor, in her black sweats, hair pulled back. She's been practicing her solo act with Guttle, and it's the ridiculously large and food loving Spheal that is on her mind at the moment.]

...so how large is too large for a Spheal?

[Lust has been drinking. She doesn't usually indulge to the point where mildly tipsy starts heading to drunk, but it's been an emotional week and two drinks turned into three until she's fiddling with her gear with a half empty wine bottle on the table beside her and a full glass in her hand.

Probably not the best time to flip on the record function and put out a general message.]

Why do emotions have to play such a ridiculously large part in daily life? They're nothing but organic chemical reactions. You mix sodium bicarbonate and acetic acid and get fizzing, bubbling carbonic acid. It's the same damned thing, at the most basic level. Chemicals interact with other chemicals and cause a reaction.

But the molecules that give birth to emotional feeling...they're never dormant. They're never inactive. They're always combining and breaking apart and firing off signals that we have no choice but to be ruled by. Human beings are like a single chemical in that way, one that reacts in a most volatile manner to every other substance and stimulus it encounters.

The sheer number of emotions a single person experiences in a single day... it's overwhelming. And like all chemical reactions, prone to change drastically the moment something new is introduced. The simple act of going from content to frightened or angry or even irritated is enough to interfere with daily life.

That seems like a detrimental design flaw, to me.

[It's been a hell of a week, to put it mildly. Lust can't remember so many highly charged emotions in so short a time span. Between Scar and Alphonse and Envy, she's done more feeling than she can handle. Feeling things is even more tiring than traveling!]

[Which is done for the day. Lust has been fixing supper - stew, it's about all she can manage while camping - and when she brings a dish over to Greed, she's come to a decision.]

I need to do something pleasant.

[Greed's some sort of master at ridiculous and entertaining things, and that's exactly what she feels she needs right now. And she doesn't imagine he's had an easier time of it than her.]

I propose we do something...I don't know. Silly.