⊕ 001 & action option

[unabates]

[ he's not into showing his face off. once he verifies there's a public network and an audio option, he begins to opt for that. but then he looks at all the videos of people and their pokemon, and decides o a different option.

the video opens on the sandy beaches of cherrygrove. his rockruff, bandit, is in the surf, chasing what looks like a stick. he brings it back to jack, who pets his head and then throws it again. his location will also ping as cherrygrove. ]

The name's Jack.

[ his voice is distinctly older, and very rough. it sounds like he may have damaged his throat at some point in his life. his hand, when he throws the stick or pets bandit, is gloved. ]

I've been looking around this place and it looks like the consensus is that people can't go home on their own. I'm not here to ask how to get home, since it seems like that's been covered pretty well.

I wanna talk to those of you that have gone home, or know people that did. And... for those that don't, how you're dealing with not being able to.

[ he ends the video on that note, throwing the stick again for bandit. ]

( cherrygrove )

[ for those actually in his vicinity, they can likely hear jack make the post. other than that, he's spending some time on the beach, playing with bandit and getting his energy out. he's just as open to a battle if you two have similarly leveled pokemon.

or maybe bandit, with all his energy, comes running up to your pokemon and headbutts them. at which point jack follows. ]

Bandit. Come back here.

[ the wagging of his tail doesn't amuse jack. ]

Sorry about him.

Comments

[meteorman]

[Continued from here!]

A non-native bad egg? As far as I'm aware, nothing. Prior record doesn't tend to follow you here. I haven't seen a single one of my wanted posters and so far nobody has tried once to shoot me. It's very refreshing.

[This is an appropriate and normal thing to joke about.]

Though considering this universe's culture has an incredibly strong moral backbone I imagine anyone who did try anything would be shut down fairly quickly. Thus-far any real upsets (and there have been very few) have been dealt with punctually by a mixture of law enforcement and those of us who don't like minding our own business.

This entire world is essentially a vacation. [He watches MIPS and Bandit play-- MIPS has now risen back up out of the ground, upside-down, and is spinning in slow and slightly off-kilter circles. He jerks several feet upwards into the air every time Bandit gets close to making a grab at him.] Frustrating as it is that the biggest blade I'm allowed to carry is a pocket-knife, I really haven't needed anything bigger.

[unabates]

Well, lucky you. If I spot one of yours or mine, I'll let you know the game's changed.

[ absolutely appropriate. despite the joke, he's frowning. clearly, something about the idea of someone's past not following them doesn't sit well with him, despite it working to his advantage for now. he's worried in general, but about a couple of specific troublemakers, should they also show up here.

he mentions people not liking minding their own business, and that gets him chuckling. ]

So the police force is used to old busybodies sticking their noses where they shouldn't be involved?

[ this is jack to a T, minus a lot of the revenge vendetta that's tied up in.

bandit, for his part, takes jumping leaps at MIPS with occasional barks. they might sound frustrated, but his tail is still wagging happily - so jack isn't worried. from what he knows of levels, too, bandit actually biting MIPS at any point would be like a fly landing on you. a nuisance at best. ]

Nice to know they don't mind us arming ourselves. [ because he will pick up a knife at some point, thanks, even if he himself is basically a walking weapon. ] I was never good at vacations.

[ ask him when the last time he wasn't on medical ordered leave was. ask. ]

Video

[pikapikajankenpo]

My friend Noctis has gone home... twice I think? I think he's still here actually. I'm sure that he's still around. I'll give him a call later.

But as for people who have gone home, I wish them luck, and hope they're doing the best they can. I've had my own share of goodbyes with people going back to their own world in the past.

It's hard, but I look forward to making new friends.

video but it's still bandit

[unabates]

[ jack is very pessimistic - he can't help thinking if those people are going back to somewhere that's safe, if the time here helps or hinders them. but thankfully, he's just beaming a video of bandit chasing a pidgey around, so no one has to see his expression. ]

I suppose that's the best thing you could do in this situation. Was there anything different about your friend any time he returned?

action

[adandyinspace]

[The pokemon being headbutted might be a small fluffy deino who definitely doesn't see the attack coming, taking a short trip across the sand and landing on her side with a soft thud. If it bothers her, she sure doesn't show it, instead hopping back to her feet with a large toothy smile on her face. Finally! Someone is speaking her language! All she has to do is focus on the scent and, sure enough, she's launching a headbutt of her own.

Sadly, her trainer doesn't seem anywhere near as amused, running up and shaking his fist wildly. All he saw was his baby girl getting sent flying, that's enough to unleash his rage.]

YO!! She wasn't even doing anything, knock it off--!!

[But then, just like that, Dandy stops when he gets a good look at the perpetrator. Those big blue eyes, those kinda floppy ears, that stylish all natural collar... It's enough to dramatically drop him to his knees, holding his hands out like he's found some sort of Chosen One.]

Never apologize. He's perfect.

action

[unabates]

[ bandit has, of course, posed in the play position, and when she launches a headbutt of her own - he's right there to meet her, both of them meeting with a loud conk in the middle of the sand.

of course, with both jack and dandy yelling at him, bandit stops, only to get bowled over by his new friend with a yelp. jack looks down at him with a look, not even sympathetic. it's more like a that's what you get look.

bandit is already scurrying up for another round. jack just arches an eyebrow at dandy. ]

He's perfectly good at being a brat, is what he is.

video;

[shiro2hero]

[Well thank Arceus he's back in his normal body. Granted, the body with the dorky, rainbow fluff of hair in front, the body wearing ugly Alolan shirts. But still. It's him.]

When you say "have gone home"... what do you mean by that? There's two ways I've seen.

video but it's STILL BANDIT

[unabates]

[ well, that's certainly a look. someone enjoying their vacation?

bandit brings a stick up for jack to play tug of war with, and jack indulges him as he replies. ]

I guess I'd have to ask what two ways you've seen, since I wasn't aware there was more than one.

» cherrygrove

[lordofthefries]

[Sasha doesn't hear him making the post, but she does hear see the Rockruff running her way and headbutting Omelette the Togepi. Luckily, the half egg baby is tougher than he looks and enjoys a little horseplay so once he topples over onto the ground, he rolls towards Bandit, banging playfully into those four legs.

Sasha doesn't seem too concerned at the rough action and stoops down to give Bandit a few scritches between the ears, a friendly smile on her face.]

It's okay! Omelette likes getting beat up. [Yeah, the egg is just as weird as his trainer.] Can I give him something to eat?

[She's already digging into the front pocket of her bag where she keeps the berries because most trainers don't say no to free berries. Neither do their Pokemon. Still though, it's polite to ask. Maybe the Rockruff is on a diet, though the idea of a diet to Sasha is horrifying.]

hello meat daughter

[unabates]

[ bandit is delighted by this, and leans down, mouth open like he's going to try and bite omelette - only he doesn't, just clacking his teeth uselessly on the shell. he knows how to play!

jack gives a deep sigh. ]

As long as you're both okay.

[ bandit, however, smells the berries and immediately sticks his head up, tail wagging faster. jack chuckles. ]

Sure, why not. Just don't tell him he's a good boy for headbutting your egg.

[ that.. sure is a pokemon that looks like an egg. and no, no diets for jack's pokemon. ]

video

[plasticasshole]

Hello Jack. My name is Connor.

[Connor is accompanied by his Magnezone as usual, hovering behind him and taking up most of the background.]

I'm personally finding it pleasant here, and I'd rather not go home. I know my partner feels somewhat differently, though. He thinks it's too nice here. Either way, from what I can gather there isn't much to do but live as normally as you can, and either hope to go home or hope to stay.

video but it's still bandit

[unabates]

Nice to meet you, Connor.

[ or as nice as it is when you can't see jack, just his hand and him scratching bandit behind the ears. the pokemon behind him reminds jack of the conversation he had with ford about most pokemon not actually looking like animals. ]

Sounds like your partner and I might be of a mind, a little. And yeah, I know there's no surefire way to actually get home or not.

[ although he asks in case there's a pattern or a hint. any information is useful, after all. ]

Do you mind if I ask why you don't want to?

[ jack doesn't mind if connor would rather not share. ]

video;

[notvaljean]

[The view isn't strictly of a person, but rather of a coffee shop bar. Jean set his communicator down on the counter as he opens FCAB, so Jack should be able to watch his hands at work, and the occasional flash of his face.]

My home world is shit.

[Said very matter-of-factly.]

I'd rather be here.

video; still bandit

[unabates]

[ well, at least he's not the only one not looking into a camera. bandit loses interest in the hands rather quickly, so jack throws a stick for him, to chase into the surf.

well, the kid's straight to the point at least. ]

Fair enough. You're not the first person to say that.

[ he's silent a moment. ]

Do you mind if I ask why? I ain't planning to convince you that it's not.

[schachmeister]

[continued from here]

Not really, no. Though learning that they can learn was something new, at least. Because of their size and vicious behaviour, they are hard for us to study. We are occasionally able to capture a smaller specimen which squad leader Hange experiments on, but for the most part, we've found little new information.

[unabates]

I imagine research is the last thing on most people's minds when they meet something like that.

[ seriously, he's met some scientists with a death wish, but even then. ]

The kicker being that researching them is your best bet towards figuring out how to stop them. Your Hange must have quite the set on them.

[sociallychallenged]

I'm Hank. Hank Anderson.

I wish I could go home, but until then I just find shit to do. That's about it. I follow my partner, make sure he's okay. Look for lost pokemon, try to reunite them with their owners. I go look for missing trainers.

Most of the time I'm just riding it out.

[Seriously, if Connor wasn't here, he'd have just holed up in a city as a janitor and waited to go home.]

[unabates]

Nice to meek you, Hank.

[ considering connor's mention of a partner that wants to go home, he wonders if this is the same guy - but doesn't ask that just yet, listening to him speak.

bandit, for his part, is digging through the sand like crazy, making it go everywhere. jack takes a few steps back. ]

I'd like to go home, considering what I was working on, but I get that's out of my control. Someone told me Pokemon were pretty smart - do they have a habit of getting lost anyway, though?

Video

[isleavepossible]

I really, really never want to go back home. I'm actually more afraid of being randomly sent home then being stuck here.

This might sound crazy but I'm stuck in a time loop there for the rest eternity so this place is amazing compared to reliving one night forever and losing all my memories every time it restarts. Also the night was terrible and filled with ghosts.

video but still bandit

[unabates]

[ bandit sticks his nose in the camera and sniffs loudly. jack urges him away before he answers alex. ]

Listen, I know someone who was stuck 'out' of time until we could pull her back in - so that doesn't sound weird at all, promise.

[ lena was an interesting situation. ]

I'm sorry that they can't make sure you stay here. That does sound like a shit situation to be stuck in.

text

[neverstudied]

[Venkman opts not to respond in video- he's at the Game Corner again, taking a break from poker, and he's pretty sure all the background noise will drown him out. His Litten peers curiously at the Rockruff on screen, batting at it once. Venkman holds the Pokegear out of his reach.]

I haven't been here as long as some people, but i do miss some of home. i left a couple important people behind there

but two of them were brought here with me, and i've heard from other people about their friends and family appearing here, so theres a chance winston and janine'll show up here one day too

so i'm dealing with it pretty well. i'll deal a whole lot better when i meet back up with my partners though

VENKMAN! -- gets some video and then text

[unabates]

[ the rockruff sniffs at the camera as jack reads the text, then opts to turn the camera off to respond. ]

So you're hoping the rest of the gang will follow.

It seems pretty common that once someone shows up, a few more follow, like you said. So you've got a good chance.

What are you doing in the meantime?

video

[pkemeter]

[The feed opens on a serious, bespectacled individual who is also walking along a snowy route. Behind him hovers an odd-looking spirit with a stump for a head, who is currently flipping through a tiny sketchbook her size.]

I've only ever been here for a month, so I haven't had the chance to go home just yet. However, I have been occupying myself by trying to unravel the mysteries of this dimension, particularly the specifics of how these creatures function and exist in relationship to each other.

[So, breeding.]

As for this dimension, I find it to be equally, if not more interesting than my own. I was fortunate to arrive alongside two of my partners--although, curiously enough, they are from a parallel universe that quite closely mimics the one I am familiar with. Their appearances differ, but their personalities are relatively unchanged. I am aware that not everyone arrives with people they are familiar with, so the probability of them being from my dimension was likely already slim to begin with.

[A pause.] Why? Do you find yourself missing your dimension?

video, but always bandit

[unabates]

[ jack isn't a fan of the ghost or the dark types so far. they remind him too much of an old friend. but he doesn't say anything about egon's companion to start.

bandit makes a gentle bork noise, raising his paw and tapping at the camera screen. ]

If you haven't already, you'd probably want to talk to a Ford Pines about that. He mentioned a few things relating to Pokemon functions to me as well.

[ breeders gonna breed. ]

Huh. How exactly did you know they were from a different dimension? People's appearances can change, so I wouldn't normally rely on that to figure it out.

[ the question of missing his home has him pausing. ]

Not so much missing, as the fact that I've got responsibilities. Although I've been informed that if I go back it'll be from the same moment I left.

video;

[bertall]

I've been... It's happened to me twice now, but I don't remember the first time. The most recent time I was sent back and I woke up after a week or so had passed here, but for me it was closer to two months. I didn't ask for it though.

_{[And now there's no real point in trying to go back, but hey! He's content with his life here for the most part.]}

Someone else said it already, but my home is pretty crappy. Given the choice I'd stay here.

video;

[unabates]

[ armin had mentioned that to him, that times were different. that you could go home for a year and have been asleep for a day or a week here. nothing that makes sense, nothing that explains getting scars and keeping them.

it's times like these he misses the smarter people in his life. sure, jack is no idiot - but he's not a genius. people like angela, dr. winston and his protege, they were the experts on this. ]

You wouldn't happen to be one of the kids from the place with the Titans, would you?

[ lotta kids from crappy homes. jack makes an educated guess this time. ]

Because I get not wanting to go home to a crappy place, but I definitely get it from what I know of that place.

audio;

[fuelthefire]

[Oh hey, rough voice club!]

I know some people who've left and come back.

I never have.

I used to want to leave, but I don't anymore.

audio;

[unabates]

[ rough voice buddies! ]

Can I ask why you changed your mind?

Video

[tearsofademon]

When you've been around as long as I have, you see a lot of people come and go... And I've sort of been back twice? Ahh, though I'm not really sure either counted, I guess.

audio;

[unabates]

Well, has there been anything common in people leaving? Either temporarily, or permanently.