victory_road | ⊕ 001 & action option

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⊕ 001 & action option

[ 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.

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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. ]

Technically I use the pocket knife almost exclusively for wilderness survival.

[That's not a lie, either. It's good for marking trees when he strays off paths, for eating with... he'd probably use it to shave if he didn't just set his face on fire because it's faster.]

Which is about as close to a vacation as I really tend to get. Martinis on beaches are less my style. Not that I'd say no to a martini right now.

[ANYWAY]

My point is that you can disappear into the woods or some abandoned ruins for a month and come back to find very little changed.

[... It's actually kind of weird, having this conversation and realizing how attached he's grown to this world. Thirty years never putting down roots and now here he is more or less ready to stay here forever. It's not ideal, but he could be happy that way in a way he could have never been happy in any of the countless worlds he visited in all that time.]

Yo know that's why they call it a multi tool.

[ good for all that AND stabbing. that's not a morbid thought at all, jack. he looks over to bandit, who is enjoying chasing MIPS around, and he snorts. ]

I'm used to being off the grid, but I think I'll end up with one unhappy dog if I don't let him chase things that want to be chased.

[ jack raises a hand to scratch the back of his head. ]

I have no idea what the exchange rate is, but I'll buy you a martini as thanks if you know where a decent watering hole is. Or if they even exist here.

[If that's a morbid thing to say, Ford certainly doesn't treat it like one. It doesn't occur to him. It's just a statement of fact. He doesn't think he'll ever face a situation here where he'll need more than his fists anyway. So far none of the punk criminals he's had to fight have known what to do about a swift bop to the jaw.]

You're in luck. This universe didn't trade alcohol for electric rats. You can have both.

[And really that's all you need!]

You'll want to head to Goldenrod if you like a lot of options, but The Roost here in Cherrygrove is perfectly serviceable.

[ honestly, that's jack's preferred method for small time punks anyways. no death for their families to have to cope or deal with. a solid thrashing usually gets them to think twice.

and jack, for his part, actually answers that he can have both with: ]

Thank god.

[ he listens to ford add on some explanations but jack shakes his head. ]

I'm not about to go travelling any farther if I can get a drink here. Do they have whiskey?

Edited (ford just said it was fine) 2019-01-29 04:17 (UTC)

If they didn't I wouldn't be recommending them. Whiskey sour man, huh?

[While Jack answers Ford beckons MIPS over. The big ol horsedog rights itself in the air, shakes its head in a quick two frame back and forth, and zips over to him. Time to go? Beach time over? Okay! It's feeling pretty good about this outing considering it just made one (1) whole new friend.]

[ bandit comes following MIPS over, giving a confused bark. jack reaches down to dust some of the sand off, then produces a poketreat from his pocket to give to bandit. after a moment, he offers one to MIPS as well - they're smaller versions of pokepuffs. ]

A whiskey sour's plenty fine. I'm more of a neat man usually.

[ that might be because that's the only way to get tipsy on a strong drink, due to his genetic enhancement. ~~now, if he doesn't have that, he's about to have an uncomfortable slap in the face.~~ ]

[Watching MIPS eat is an adventure in and of itself. It inclines its head toward Jack's hand by jerkily moving it by increments of ten degrees or so. Pause, snap, pause, snap. The weirdest part is that to actually grab up the treat it fully animates. It snaps up the treat in a single smooth swipe of its beaky mouth, tilts its head back up in a fluid motion and horks the treat down. Then its head and neck blur and clip from being extended upward to back at static resting position. That's it! That was today's fully-animated cutscene! Hope you liked it! Todd Howard himself worked for about five minutes in mspaint to bring it to you.]

I'm partial to mixed, but that's only because the strongest alcohol I had until college was Seder wine. The sugary drinks were supposed to be training wheels but I just kept ordering them.

[Listen. You don't tell a man with a terminal sweet tooth he can't shove as much sugar into his alcohol as physically possible just because it's 'girly'.]

It's not too far from here, actually. The waterfront is really all Cherrygrove has aside from the inn and the spa, so you'll find almost all the non-residential buildings along that strip.

[It really is just baby's first Goldenrod.]

[ that... sure is an animation for eating. jack stares as MIPS takes the treat and horks it down, then snaps back into his somewhat-static form. that looks like every bad SFM-based video game he played in his youth.

he just accepts it. the type-NULL is obviously a good kid.

jack, bless his heart, honestly hears that as "cedar" wine at first, and gives ford an odd look until it finally clicks in his brain and makes more sense. ah, jewish. ]

There's nothing wrong with drinking what you like. I used to like margaritas and mai tais during my first tour.

[ then they stopped being as effective as just drinking the tequila or rum straight.

at the mention of a spa, he chuckles. ]

And here I was planning on camping out in the Pokecenter all night, but there's a spa? Might reconsider that.

I've never been but it comes very well-recommended.

[A spa day wouldn't really be his scene. He can do the meditation just fine on his own, and the rest of it is a little too intimate for his tastes. Massage? And let some total stranger see that awful tattoo? Absolutely not. A manicure would make him hyperventilate. Best to just Not.

He sets off down the beach in the general direction of the bar. MIPS floats along next to him, perfectly still and perfectly level.]

We can drop you off there after you've got a drink or two in you, if you like.

Don't bother with it - I'll probably sober up before I get there anyway.

[ BOY IS HE IN FOR A BIG SURPRISE regarding that particular aspect of his enhancement. but for now, blessedly innocent, he talks a big game, bandit trotting along behind him. ]

I owe you a martini, and I don't break my drinking promises.

[ he shoots a little grin ford's way, watching MIPS float alongside him. ]

[Once they get to the bar Ford will have to put MIPS back in its ball, so he figures it's only fair to give the Silphally as much time out as possible. It's just the poor thing is horse-sized and definitely could not shove itself into a booth. Fitting at the actual bar? Absolutely not.

The sandy streets are nice. Scenic. Cherrygrove isn't among his very favorite towns but he's always liked his stays here, and now that he'll be permanently living close-by he's open to letting it grow on him. The Roost itself is tucked in next to a mart. The paper lanterns hanging out front are emblazoned with a decal of a Skarmory mid-flight. It's got a very cozy sort of vibe to it; a fancy gastropub, this isn't. There are a few televisions above the bar that are playing gym battle footage between news updates. An Aipom in a t-shirt with the same Skarmory logo on it is scampering between tables with plates of edamame and trays of drinks.

Ford pauses outside the door to recall MIPS, who zoops up into its ball in a flash of red.]

I don't think your Rockruff will have any trouble inside, but MIPS is a little too large. It's more suited to outdoor dining.

[TIME TO JUST OPEN THAT DOOR]

Shall we?

[ jack is content to take the short walk in quiet, making sure bandit walks off all the sand and won't be tracking too much inside. the other pokemon seems disappointed at his new friend zooping off, but jack pats his back. ]

I think he'll be fine. If not, I can always put him away for a bit.

[ but he is pretty sure he's gotten bandit to a point where he'll not go after random pokemon. jack waves his hand in agreement and steps through the door with ford.

he likes the atmosphere of the place immediately. dive bars indicate a certain clientele, and he doesn't have to worry about that here. this reminds him more of the pubs he, reinhardt, gabriel and torbjorn would go to after a job well done. ]

I like it.

[ he declares this as he heads to the bar. he definitely needs a drink, though. ]

[It's definitely a lot nicer than most of the seedy asteroid bars Stanford Pines has been in. This isn't really a universe that has seedy bars, or if they do exist, they're seedy in a strangely charming sort of way.

He follows Jack toward the bar, privately pleased they won't have to have a 'bar or table?' discussion because clearly bar is the only right answer.]

There are places like this scattered all across Johto and Kanto, if you go looking. Don't bother with a travel guide, it's more fun to just stumble across them.

[At least that's how he feels about it, because in a lot of ways that's how he feels about everything. Planning is fine to a degree but he prefers to just kind of throw himself forward and see where it takes him.

Right now it takes him into a bar stool. Up above the bar itself is a truly impressive list of drinks on what looks to be a hand-written chalk menu, as well as a much smaller list of food. So if he decides he wants something else after that martini (and he knows he will) he's got a lot to pick from.]

Most things here are like that, actually.

[ ironically, normally jack is "not a bar at all" type of person. but people have emphasized the low threat of the situation to him. he's willing to test it here.

and, well, ford seems like an interesting guy, so that's a plus on two of his fronts. ]

Going adventuring in the footsteps of those who have already gone first?

[ despite the fact the comment could be taken as mean, it's not. he's got a little smile on his face as he says it. he takes a seat on a stool at the bar, and it turns out their order taker is one of those Aipom's. it has a little red tie on. ]

I'll take a whiskey neat, and a martini for this guy. [ he gestures to ford, then looks over. ] Anything else for round one?

I think the martini will do fine to start. [They have time, after all. He's got nowhere to be (until tomorrow, when he has a meeting to discuss obtaining some artifacts for the museum he's halfway done building). Jack is too new to have any obligations.]

And in my opinion there's always something new to discover, no matter how well-walked the path is. Imagine the sorry state scientific inquiry would be in if we called it good after the first pass every time. We'd still be listening to Malinowski, and my ongoing study into Pokémon society would be framed as though they were dumb animals who had no idea they'd stumbled into a mutual symbiotic relationship with their human companions. Laughable.

[ the aipom hops off - either to make the drinks or give the order to a human jack can't see, he's not sure - and he turns to face ford. ]

There's something to be said for a fresh pair of eyes on something that's been seen before. [ he used to ask for help with situations and scenarios - it was why he valued the input even if it wasn't used. he thinks of tracer, and of the kings row uprising. ]

I imagine we'd be missing out on quite a few things if we didn't work that way. You mentioned your Pokemon study before - something about key rings and ... Klefkis?

[The actual person making the drinks turns out to be an Ambipom, who holds glasses and bottles in the big ol hands on its tails as though it's the simplest thing. This place isn't staffed entirely by Pokémon, heavens no, but when their trainer's on lunch break they do pretty good handling it themselves.]

Among other things. In broad terms, I study the relationship between human and Pokémon as part of a wider interest in extra-human society. Before I came here my most robust work was a detailed survey of the magical and paranormal inhabitants of a small town in Oregon.

[And notes here and there on worlds and aliens he came across in his travels, but he was too preoccupied with revenge and had so little time that he never really did any proper writing on any of them.]

So... you studied magic and ghosts back in your Earth?

[ jack sounds a little dubious, but not dismissive. at the same time, he's witness genji literally summon a dragon out of his blade, so magic isn't terribly much of a stretch. ]

I suppose that'd make sense over here. Nothing about Pokemon strike me as anything normal.

[ he looks over at bandit, who is sitting next to them, and cocks one ear. ]

I mean, I like dogs. But he's damn smarter than any dog I've ever met on day one.

That's because he isn't a dog. He's a little walking energy generator who happens to look like a dog, but I imagine if you were compare his DNA to an Earth beagle you'd find almost no commonalities-- ah, thank you.

[DRINK'S HERE! Hell yeah hell yeah hell yeah martini. The Ambipom sets Jack's drink down in front of him as well, chitters, and then scampers away to check on a couple at the other end of the bar.]

Cheers?

[ jack raises his glass to ford's, giving it a clink. ]

Cheers. To our walking energy generators.

[ jack's lips quirk up in a smile, before he pulls his drink in and pretty much downs half of it in one go. that sure is one.. way... to drink whiskey.

jack doesn't have a problem. ]

[Ford hasn't seen someone down whiskey like that since Fiddleford. For a whole couple of seconds he allows himself to feel wistful, before he shakes that off and chases it away with a maybe too-long sip from his own drink. He's made a home here and he's made more friends than he ever thought he was possibly capable of having, but part of him is always going to miss his best friend.

But it's fine! He's fine. Really. He's gotten very good at focusing on what's in front of him instead of what's behind.

Luckily he's saved the awkwardness of explaining the Thoughtful expression his face just did for the past couple of seconds when the television behind the bar starts in on a recap of the growing Aurora League and its current roster of Champions-turned-Gym-Leaders. It's been months and it's still weird to see his face up there with Cecil and Sion and Ryner. What a weird crew they are: three beautiful anime men, two punky young adults, and grandpa. It segues into speculation about what type of gyms the latter three might open, since there's been no official word on any of them, only rumors.]

Ah, see? I think it speaks a lot to how welcoming this world is to non-native that they allow us into one of their most venerated social positions.

[ he has some decorum, so he's not drinking it all in the one go at least. they're quiet but it doesn't feel uncomfortable. jack himself is considering what he's left behind. he's never been one for vacations, even when he and vincent were together. there's plenty to do, it seems, but he's not sure how much it will occupy him.

although, he always loved training dogs. and if the pokemon are smarter, more like kids, that could help.

he looks up when the television starts yelling about champions and aurora leagues. he sees a few people he doesn't recognize - then, of course, one that he does. there's a recap on the battles before it segues. ]

So that means you beat everyone who's the best at this battling thing? Pretty nice.

[ he takes another sip, clearing about half of what's left. ]

... Why are they asking about a fox?

[Ford definitely thinks of them more like kids-- or at least, the less intelligent and smaller ones. The smarter ones he just treats like he'd treat any other adult of a species not his own, which thankfully is something he has a lot of practice with. Maybe that's given him a unique perspective on this world, and why he really never had a phase of thinking of Pokémon as 'just animals'.

Jack asks about the fox and his smile turns rueful. Oh good. Now he gets to explain that awkward thing.]

Oh, it's silly, really. While collecting the badges I attempted to beat Misty with just a Ninetales. Ah-- the equivalent of trying to fight against a fire-hose with a single lit match.

[There's a little footage of that up on screen, actually, since it's still such a cult classic of recent battles.]

It was televised and people thought it was funny, so it became something of a running joke. A, ah, 'meme'.

[As Chloe would have put it. Gosh, he misses Chloe.]

[ jack finishes off his whiskey as ford is explaining the story. it doesn't make much sense to him, until he mentions the fire hose and the match, and jack's grin turns rueful as well.

it gets a lot wider when ford mentions memes, though. ]

So, you just had to do it to 'em.

[ since he... hasn't quite cottoned onto ford being from a time period that much older than him, he doesn't get that the joke is going to fall flat. ]

But things like that, people will run with it until it's a dead horse, really.

[ he waves the bartender over - now the trainer who owns this place, he supposes - and orders a second whiskey. he glances at ford just in case, but he doesn't expect the man to be finished with the martini yet. ]

Edited (HE HERE TO GET DRUNK) 2019-02-02 03:10 (UTC)

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my roomie is playing KH3 and its Distracting

dont get norted!!!

n-norted?

isn't that a kingdom hearts thing i know jack shit about kh

i also know jack shit

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MEMES