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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[ jack doesn't look happy about that, for whatever reason. then again, he's lived a life that's always had an immediate goal. the military, and the SEP program, for the omnic crisis. overwatch, helping others. and then as a vigilante, getting more information on those who had infiltrated overwatch.

ugh.

he examines his empty glass for a moment, listening to ford speak yet again about the vulpixes. ]

A fire type fox that kind of looks like a kitsune, huh? That sounds pretty cool. I was into that kind of thing as a kid.

[ believe it. ]

I guess this place has legends that aren't true just like back home. You said they're very loyal, though?

[ jack already seems intrigued. bandit gives a little bark that sounds like he might be jealous. ]

[Get one and name it Naruto. Fuckin' dare you.]

In my experience, yes. Each is individual, much like any other sentient being, but on the whole they are a proud species that takes earned respect seriously. Unfortunately I didn't bring the Ninetales today [canned_laughter.wav] or I'd introduce you.

You had an interest in legends as a child?

[SAME HAT]

[ he wouldn't, but he might name one kyuubi, after the actual nine-tailed fox spirit in naruto. ]

Well, there's always a chance we can meet later. You've already been a big help to me.

[ jack pretty much figures if he gets ford's contact information, it'd be good to have a knowledgeable person on his side.

on the legends question, jack sets his glass down. ]

As much as any kid growing up in Indiana was. I wasn't particularly superstitious but there were things you just didn't do, growing up, because the 'or else' was out there.

[ he shrugs. ]

Some legends were just that - legends. But I also met a kid from Japan who could summon a dragon from his sword. So I tend to keep an open mind about it.

Oh, Indiana! The Beast of Busco, the Meshekenabek, Mud Mermaids -- I believe you also have a thriving community of Pukwudgies? The midwest has a fantastic extra-human ecosystem that I unfortunately have had precious little time to do any practical research into.

Though I'm curious -- when you say a dragon, do you mean a full flesh-and-blood drake or a spiritual imprint? I only ask because I've heard of spirits bound to treasured objects like swords and mirrors, but never an object with the ability to summon a living creature.

[He considers, one hand tucked up under his chin.]

Unless it was some variety of very specific, very complicated teleportation spell.

I'm afraid I can't help you there. I mean, yeah, I've heard of all of them, but we mostly dealt with not going out into the corn fields after dark or hitchhikers.

[ he doesn't even specify which kind - ford probably can guess. ]

And honestly, I'm not sure. According to what we got out of the kid, it was because they were a part of his clan - the Shimada clan. The dragon was actually a part of him - not his spirit or soul, but a distinct being joined to him. Said her name was Soba.

But I never saw the thing unless he was summoning her. Then she'd be glowing green, running up and down his body like energy, and his sword would change. He didn't like to talk about it much more than that, and I never really got to ask him about it in person.

[ and, talk of genji's weird noodle dragon done, he flags down the bartender again for his third whiskey of the night. he gives him a bit of a concerned look but since jack doesn't seem surly, he apparently lets it pass for now. ]

Edited 2019-02-03 08:29 (UTC)

[Sometimes it just be like that. Sometimes you just need to start a third whiskey while your drinking buddy is only halfway done with his Paloma. Ford isn't really the type to be concerned, either; he figures most people Jack's age already know how much they can drink. He's not a nanny.]

That is... unlike anything I've ever heard of.

[The way he says it makes it very clear that that's a very good thing. This is why he loves what he does. There really always is something new to learn.]

But back to Indiana -- did you ever personally encounter a ghost, or were you adept at avoiding them?

[ he's not a nanny, but jack is soon to get a very unfortunate discovery of this world: that his genetic enhancement haven't stuck, and so he won't process this nearly as fast as he used to.

but now, blissfully unaware, he gives a chuckle. ]

It sure was to me, too.

[ at least ford is interested and not horrified. then again, jack left out the part where his brother's two dragons sort of ate half of him up. ]

I mean, for the fields, I never encountered anything. I wasn't going to tempt that fate. I definitely picked up a hitchhiker once?

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

You know, cute guy by the side of the road with his thumb out. And by the time I got him where he'd asked, he was gone.

[As if learning that the dragons were capable of eating humans would put him off any. I mean, sure, yikes, but that's also very interesting information about the nature of their 'bonded' relationship. Maybe if a Shimada ever shows up here he'll get to learn about it.]

Yes, that sounds right. I would place that at a category one -- fairly harmless, but preoccupied with one specific goal. In the case of the hitchhiking variety it tends to be reaching a set destination. Often they make the journey multiple times; I've heard of hitchhikers who repeat the same ride upwards of ten.

You're lucky. The category one I dealt with wanted to be my best friend and take me on G-rated adventures, despite my being a man of thirty. Awful little pest.

[ as they are talking ghosts, the drink is set in front of jack again, and he takes a sip - more reserved at this point with it. especially since the bartender gave him a look before he took the order. ]

He was headed back into town, to a specific house, so - sounds about right. Probably just a kid trying to make it home.

[ sad thought, so he focuses on ford's category one ghost instead. ]

You ended up getting followed around by Dora the Explorer?

Uh.

He didn't give me his name.

[Dora...? Is this a specific famous ghost he doesn't know about? Possible. There may be a whole roster of cryptids in Jack's world that don't exist in his own.]

He was more of a Jasper the Agreeable Ghost sort of type.

[ jack shakes his head a little, giving a chuckle. ]

No, it's - Dora the Explorer was a show from when I was a kid. She was always travelling around and stopping people from stealing her things.

[ so, g-rated adventurer ghost was clearly the explanation here. ]

What kind of G-rated adventures did Jasper wanna drag you around on?

I don't know. He never got that far before a pair of category twos came and chased him off.

[And thank god for that.]

Really all that I learned from him was that I was glad ghosts were not my primary area of study. And to not take a ghost to a rave unless you're interested in seeing what a ghost's skeleton looks like.

... I did not take him to a rave. [SHOULD PROBABLY... CLARIFY...] The blacklight was one I had with me for not-at-all rave-related purposes.

[ jack gives a little quirk of his eyebrow, taking a drink as ford hastens to explain that he didn't actually take him to a rave. ]

I would have questions on what exactly you were studying about ghosts, if you were taking them to raves.

[ but, he smirks a little. ]

Were the category twos more trouble or did they leave you alone?

Edited 2019-02-04 04:44 (UTC)

They were mostly after the category one. It was the Dream Hipster that was a real issue.

[Not that he sounds particularly uh... traumatized? Mostly just disgruntled.]

A being that can shape dreams is one thing but a being that can shape dreams and is insufferable about it is another. Do you know how aggravating it is to be having a nightmare that keeps stopping and starting so some blowhard with a bad complexion can ask you if you got his heavy-handed symbolism?

Sounds like a dead film school reject on your hands there.

[ jack takes another sip and then rests his cheek against his hand, elbow on the table. ]

Nice to know that even ghosts and monsters can have egos. Guess that makes them easier to catch or stop?

Sometimes. Hubris is certainly one of the easiest flaws to take advantage of.

[That's how they got Bill, after all. It's also kind of a heavy statement even in a fairly-innocuous context so instead of following up on that thought he downs the rest of his Paloma. He also makes no move to immediately order a second drink. Food, maybe? He'll think about it.]

Unless it's unicorns. Don't even bother with unicorns. It will never be worth it.

You're not wrong.

[ but jack can sense that's a subject not to touch, at least. he takes another sip of his drink, assessing if he'll need to order a fourth.

of course, he feels a little.. weighty, already. it's an odd sensation he's not used to feeling so fast. it makes him frown, but he ignores it for the moment. ]

Regular horses are already assholes, so I doubt giving one a pointy stick on its head would improve its attitude.

It does not. All you get are pastel equines that think they can tell if you're a good person just by looking at you. As if 'good' is an easily-defined absolute and morality isn't relative.

No, see, you have to meet the asshole pointy horse's scale of good. Which, considering the legends about them - probably isn't that great in the first place.

[ he has to blink slowly after he says that. his body is already feeling heavy, much heavier than it usually would after a couple of drinks. at the same time, his head feels like it's much higher up.

he frowns deeply, and cuts off whatever ford was saying in response by placing a hand on his shoulder. ]

Ford. Buddy. Do they do anything to you when you arrive here? Say if you had somethin' changed about you.

[Uh.

Ford looks down at the hand on his shoulder and then back at the man who just drank a lot of straight whiskey very quickly. His expression goes distinctly owlish.]

As far as I'm aware, changes upon arrival mainly hit those who weren't human before intake. Several among our number used to be of another species altogether and were given human bodies on arrival.

[He's met several aliens that he got to be really unhappy about not being able to meet as aliens. That's one of the reasons he's not too jazzed about the idea of Jheselbraum showing up here. Sure, he'd have a huge crush on her regardless, but if she's not ten feet tall with seven eyes and no nose then what's really the point?]

Then there's removal of weapons, which you already know about-- this covers built-in bionic enhancements; I know a man with a metal arm that functions as an arm but not much else, when it used to have extra capabilities.

[It made arm-wrestling that man a lot less of a challenge than it could have been, which was sad.]

Occasionally a few things slip through; oddly-colored eyes, sharp teeth, but that tends to be it. It's a defense mechanism, a self-regulation algorithm the universe uses so that newcomers don't violate the local laws of normalcy. Many universes have them; it's far better to assimilate while on vacation than find yourself as, say, a 3D being in a 2D world. I would not like to repeat that experience.

[ that is... a lot for jack to take in when the whiskey is hitting him all at once. he can't say he hears all of it, but he absorbs most of what ford is talking about. the universe equalizes.

it makes normal. which jack has not been for nearly five decades. he squeezes ford's shoulder a little, before he lets go, putting that hand against his forehead. ]

So - if you were the subject of genetic changes and enhancement, it'd wipe those changes out. Right?

Edited 2019-02-04 06:00 (UTC)

I... imagine so. I haven't personally seen such a case.

Before right now, I assume.

[Stanford Pines: able to read between the lines, very occasionally, when it's not anything to do with interpersonal matters.]

We should get some food in you before you fall of your stool.

[WHERE'S THAT AIPOM]

You like science. Now you get to do the observation thing.

[ he, very nearly, doesn't get through observation without fucking it up. He braces both his elbows on the bar, covering his face. ]

Water, too.

[ under his breath: ] A damn idiot is what I am.

[This is not a science he was expecting to do tonight but alright, here we go.

The Aipom scampers over and Ford puts in an order for a water, some edamame and some karaage. The Aipom takes one look at Jack and seems to get why; no doubt it's seen that particular slump before.]

If it makes you feel better I had no idea that wasn't simply your normal baseline. My old college roommate was probably a third your weight and that was around his usual pace.

I just assumed it was a farm boy thing. Something in the corn that makes you immune.

[Is that... farm racist?]

[ jack... actually looks up from his hands and gives ford a bit of a side eye for that. then he manages a laugh, but stops pretty quickly. everything's too heavy - don't need to fall off. ]

My normal baseline is a whole bottle, and I wouldn't even be here. If I knew I was back to where I was before...

[ he would have paced himself.

also, ya farm boy racist. ]

Side effect of the changes. Alcohol's a poison, and all that.

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