mission 002 [video/action- Cherrygrove City] forward dated to Worry Seed event

[cardboard_boss]

[Is it just him? The feed is showing a tired, grizzled man with one eye currently looking worse for wear trying to feed his Pidgey, Ash, a berry from a nearby tree. He's in Cherrygrove City and can't remember how long he'd even been there. Snake drops the berry just before his Pidgey can peck it and he swears aloud. Sorry younger viewers.]

....

Damn this! Why can't you pick it up like a normal bird or something?

[He huffs and bends down to retrieve it before getting back up squishing the berry between his fingers. Another one squished. The tired soldier leans up against a nearby tree and shrugs to his Pidgey. Ash cocks his head to the side and flies up landing on his master's shoulder. He can tell that something's wrong. Snake hasn't been able to get any sleep. Why the hell? He doesn't have a damn clue and he's cranky. He doesn't even have the energy to talk much. Not that he talked much before but this is even worse. He's used to lack of sleep during missions but this? It's even worse when you have Pokémon to look after like a mother hen all them time.

One cranky Snake.]

DD? Heal boy.

[DD, his Poochyena, nuzzles Snake's ankle, looking up at him with a concerned look over his features. His Pokémon had definitely noticed that the old soldier hasn't been getting his zzzz's lately and it's wearing him thin.]

Anyone else not been able to sleep? Not right. This place is cursed or something.

[Yeah. Good answer. Not seeds in the air at all causing it. Nope.]

Comments

audio

[dashdash]

Shut up. Maybe I'd be able to sleep if some people would stop blabbing on the gears. You have any idea what time it is? Insensitive ass.

[It's... it's two in the afternoon. But she's been trying to sleep for hours.]

[cardboard_boss]

[Who's this stupid kid on the audio? Damn, was this thing on? Damn. When had he activated it? He was too tired to care right now.]

Yeah. It's two in the afternoon according to the PokeGear. [Have a non-helpful answer.]

I'm not blabbing. This place is driving me crazy.

[dashdash]

You're blabbing and it's driving me crazy. [Two in the afternoon. Time starts to blur together when you're unable to sleep and reset the day.] Ugh, never mind. No point in trying anymore. The sun's not going anytime soon, and neither are all you noisy bastards. But I've got an idea, I'm just going to- URRAUUUUUUGGGHH!! [Yelling, the sound of stomping feet. Is this payback? The sound of someone dying? He'd never get any rest with all this noise.]

[cardboard_boss]

[He was going to retort back that he wasn't blabbering but was too tired to do so. Instead he just sighed deeply and growled.]

Yeah. That really helps.

[Hear the sarcasm? Yep. Not helping.]

[dashdash]

You're not listening!! I'm tryin' to help! [Yelling! the! entire! time! His only other choice to not listen to all this noise is to turn off the gear, or smash it on a rock] If you can't sleep, you're just not tired enough! Get up! Run! A fast as you can! Until you collapse and fall and die! [With a little stretch of imagination, he might conclude this is what all the noise on her end is about, currently tearing her way down the route trying to expend as much energy as she can in a short amount of time until she wears herself out and completely passes out on the side of the road. But it's two birds with one stone; if it works, then great, but if it doesn't, here's so many extra hours in the day to take advantage of for travel.]

action

[thatwasours]

[guess who looks like complete and total hell. his hair's a mess, his eyes are bloodshot and have bags under them, and Havoc is away in the ball, because guess whose shit he cannot deal with right now.]

[between paranoia and the phantom pain, Kaz already has insomniac tendencies. it rarely shows, because he's been operating on sleep loss, willing or unwilling, for most of his life, but this? he can't afford to lose any more sleep and still function.]

Did you sleep at all?

[cardboard_boss]

[Hell, Kaz. What happened to you? You look even worse than usual. Snake looks worse for wear but he always does. Yet, you look worse, buddy.]

No. I can't. This damn place won't let me.

[He looked at his friend with tired eyes and sighed. Ash is still on Snake's shoulder, as he rubbed his face with his good hand.]

Could be part of that damn background music we keep hearing. [The Poke tunes.]

[thatwasours]

[worse than usual, how dare you this is the face of a Kaz who is so entirely done that he doesn't, for once in his life, give a single shit what he looks like. there is nothing left but anger.]

Don't even talk to me about the damn music! I hear it in my sleep, or I would, if I'd gotten any.

[for a few seconds, he sarcastically whistles along to the background music]

If I hear another damn chiptune, I'm going to take the muzzle off my stupid dog and let it kill me.

[cardboard_boss]

Yeah.

[Man, he's so pissed and tired he can't even string a decent sentence together.]

I won't let you die, Kaz. Even if you let Havoc go crazy, that won't happen.

[Because no matter how tired or pissed he is he'll protect you, buddy.]

Maybe we could find some earplugs from somewhere. Use those.

1/2

[thatwasours]

Don't interfere with my canine-assisted suicide.

[that statement is. a little bit too sharply spoken to be a joke.]

Hang on.

[he knew the Pokegear had a radio function, of course, one of the first things he'd done was go through all the 'gear functions. but until now, it'd never been relevant. so he flips it on-- maybe they can drown out the music--]

2/2

[thatwasours]

[and then this comes on.]

[which, admittedly, is a very different musical style from any of the ones Kaz is familiar with, and on a better day, he'd be picking it apart, but--]

[--the lyrics. god damn it.]

[Video]

[tearsofademon]

[he's got a pillow over his face

(as though that'll help him fall asleep by knocking him out or something)

so his speech is muffled appropriately]

This place's definitely doing something. I can't sleep. I can always sleep, it's everybody else who never lets me. They're letting me, but I can't. So something's up.

[cardboard_boss]

[Pillow over the face? Good idea.]

Yeah. The damn music is giving me a headache. [The constant BG music. Can you hear it too?]

Seems like something else is causing this though.

[tearsofademon]

Nnn, give it a few years or so. You learn to tune that out.

It's probably just this world. Some Pokemon's doing something, or something else. Other stuff has happened at random, why not this.

[cardboard_boss]

Years?

[Damn. He was hoping it would somehow turn off at night or just go away.]

A Pokémon can interfere with your sleep patterns?

[tearsofademon]

Been here almost six years, give or take. Some things change, but the music doesn't.

Some can. I've heard of more that put you to sleep, but you never know what's gonna show up that's never been seen before.

[video]

[captainash]

If you think this is a 'curse' by this world's standards, you're obviously not ready for the next Sharpedonado.

[Then again, no one is truly ready for the next Sharpedonado.]

Try your Pokémon's sleep-inducing moves, if they know any. It might help.

[cardboard_boss]

What the hell is a Sharpedonado?

[Sounded like some sort of weird Pokémon weather event.]

Don't know if any of my Pokémon have sleep-inducing moves. I've got a Pidgey and a Poochyena.

[captainash]

A tornado filled with Sharpedos. Fun times for everyone near the coast, let me tell you.

[Everyone excluding sane people.]

Those two never learn any, so I guess that's not an option, unless you have a friend that can help.

[cardboard_boss]

Sounds like a load of fun.

[Yeah, right.]

No idea. Right now I just want to bury my head in the sand and sleep.

[captainash]

Don't. With any luck you'd disturb an affected Ground-type, and you'd end up tired and bloody. The day's bad enough as it is.

ACTION! Sorry for my tardiness! Let's go with the 15th or 16th.

[4leafhair]

[Suddenly there's something charging at chest level at Snake.]

Snaaaaake!

[It's not yet clear whether or not Yotsuba has been affected by the recent chronic insomnia, but it IS clear that she only just arrived in Cherrygrove, a day or two later than expected because of all her exploring. She has sticks in her hair, which is just as bright green as it was on video.]

Yotsuba is happy to see you!

[cardboard_boss]

[Snake wasn't expecting the small green girl to be charging at him yelling his name. Did she really have to shout so loud? His head was killing him.]

Are you always so loud?

[Sorry but he's sort of cranky right now.]

You're the green-haired kid I spoke to on the network. How did you get here so fast?

[4leafhair]

It's been 5 days!

[And she ate all her food. Her stomach rumbles noticeably, so she... punches it.]

Not right now!

[cardboard_boss]

I've lost track of the days.

[Since not being able to sleep for the last couple of nights.]

You hungry? I don't have any food right now. [He looked in his pack and found a couple of Pokémon berries.]

Don't know if we can eat these or not.