victory_road | Come alive come alive

Come alive come alive

Who: Everyone attending the Contest Spectacular! (For more information about this event, check out the info post here!)
Where: Celadon City
When: February 15th-17th
Log:

Valentine’s day may be just past and most cities are relaxing back to normal after all the romance. But in Celadon City, the holiday hype wound up as a lead-in to the month’s main event: the return of the Contest Spectacular!

After Olivine had the honor of hosting in the summer, Kanto’s rainbow city has been eager to draw the event back and truly establish the new tradition. Not that it took much convincing to get Hoenn’s Contest runners back on board—not to mention the Aether Foundation’s assistance as well. They’d heard the city had had an on-and-off issue with pollution, so of course they’re here to supervise and ensure Pokemon safety!

Lusamine having the opportunity to judge more beautiful Pokemon is simply a perk to coming, of course.

Anne and Liz have returned as well, wouldn’t miss it for the world. They’re growing very fond of hosting for this new and interesting region, not to mention getting to meet all the people from entirely different worlds! Whenever they can grab a moment of downtime, they can be spotted out and about with their Plusle and Minun, and are eager to chat people up and hear their otherworldly stories. Just no questions about results!

As for the city itself... Celadon is always flashy, but they really pulled out all the stops this time.

Pink, red, and white tents and booths fill the streets between the towering green-glassed buildings. The fashion center of Kanto apparently didn't get the memo that the fourteenth was over and instead decided on having more hearts, more Luvdisc-themed decorations, and MORE cherry lollipops.

The Aether tents blend right in with the other lovey-dovey colors-- this time they're there to pass out hand-warmers and sanitizer, pamphlets about PokeRus and how to best avoid passing around germs. They're friendly as always (although there seem to be even more of them this time than there were back in August), but Celadon City made sure that there's far more to see than some geeks in white. Now that the Contest Spectacular has two massive successes under its belt, more people than ever want to get in on it.

It seems that every bakery in town came together to outdo each other, and extravagant sweets and pastries are being sold and sampled out at every turn. The usual photobooths and costume-rental stands (that, cough, are definitely not advertising from local fashion companies that want you to stop in and BUY the outfits from their boutiques later...) are present as always-- and the mini-games from last summer are back too!

One booth is surrounded by a near-constant crowd-- manned by a shiny Decidueye and his nervous-looking Trainer-- the regal owl Pokemon is signing copies of his newly-published self-help book-slash-autobi"owl"graphy ("Owl I Want Is You: Memoirs of a Hopeless Romantic") with one of his own quills.
And of course there's the official Contest stalls bursting with merch from the previous contests-- including (but not limited to) colorful additions like:

a sparkling necklace whose beads form the shape of an Onix (EXPENSIVE... but so stylin'!)
a clunky (but very popular with the Youngsters) action figure that transforms into a lumpy Tyrantrum if you follow a bunch of complicated steps
a short newsstrip-style graphic novel about the action-packed adventures of a crime-fighting Wailmer
a VERY dapper line of Joltik-themed bowties and cuff-links
a dainty music box containing a tiny ballerina Eevee figurine that spins when opened
a set of "Ink Blasterz (tm)"-- Octillery-themed squirt guns that come with packets of (nontoxic) black dye so that you and your friends can ruin your neighbor's drying laundry even more once summer rolls back around
a set of gleaming opalescent d20's in a Sableye-shaped box, complete with two hollow holes on the lid where the eyes should be where you can stick two of them!
a floppy green Deino doll that, when switched on, tumbles chaotically around the floor and emits growling noises.

But for those worn out on ~~capitalism~~ the shameless merchandizing, this year the real centerpiece of the outdoor attractions is a temporary but still impressive greenhouse erected in the plaza outside of the main tent. Gym Leader Erika and her underlings have worked throughout the month to feature the fruits of their labor (no pun intended) in the Celadon Gym, and the Greenhouse is a great place for a relaxing respite from the cold, slushy February streets outside. Visitors can learn all about exotic flora and even purchase potted Berry trees, houseplants and bonsais raised by the Celadon gym trainers themselves!

~*~

[IMPORTANT: Please submit your contest entries here! For all other activities, feel free to make your own top-levels!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ dixie seems to not care about the grimace, and trots back over to jack, checking on bandit and scout, who are currently biting each others ears, entirely unbothered by the drama that just occurred next to them.

crybaby reaches out for kölliker, giving a cheerful skit! sure, she's down for fun that may or may not involve swearing. (she'll just wait until jack is out of earshot to try it).

jack chuckles a little bit, setting crybaby down so she and kölliker can have their conversation. he reaches out and scratches behind dixie's ears. ]

I found her - well, really, Crybaby found her - outside Goldenrod. She's a Houndour - a dark and fire dog. [ he clears his throat. ]

She approached us on our way in when Crybaby was upset, and wouldn't leave us alone. I, uh, never actually caught her with a Pokeball.

[ dixie snorts. if jack would throw one at her, she'd get into it! ]

Hmm. So she simply decided to follow you on her own volition? Perhaps this is another example of Pokémon purposely seeking out trainers that can take care of them.

[...Man, this guy must really like dogs. Or dogs must like him, because who just brings three dogs into a greenhouse like this?]

...I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Dr. Egon Spengler. Again, I apologize for the...swearing.

[Kölliker sort of sends a mental image to Crybaby of the Sushi-go-round game she saw while floating past everything. Suggestion? Food? Eat? She'll be able to be in contact with her dad, so everything's gonna be safe.]

[ jack is definitely the type to just have way too many dogs and take them everywhere. that's what makes the skitty such an outlier, but she's sort of made it very clear that jack didn't pick her by choice.

still, when egon introduces himself, he has a moment of surprise, and then laughs. ]

My name's Jack - or Soldier: 76. I think we've spoken before, about people disappearing. And I've heard worse; I used to be in the military.

[ crybaby makes a delighted noise. oh, she's so down to do that. she turns and mewls at jack, who looks at the two of them. he seems to get that she's asking to go somewhere, so he waves a hand. ]

Go have fun, kitten.

[ crybaby turns back and bounces up and down, as high as she can. yes yes sushi game now. dixie immediately trots off after them as soon as they start moving, though. ]

Edited (goddamn weirdo never says his last name) 2019-02-18 22:23 (UTC)

Oh.

[Egon blinks, then rubs the back of his neck. Kölliker disappears with Crybaby. To do totally good things, now that Dixie is supervising them and looking over their metaphorical shoulders.]

Yes, that's right, isn't it? Interesting to meet you in person for the first time. [He crosses his arms.] I have to say, my last few incidents with the military--at least, in my world-- have been less than positive. Do you have a United States where you're from?

[Just going to lay all his cards out on the table right now. He's not one to hide his opinions about things.]

[ listen, if kölliker wants to do some swears, dixie is not going to stop her. she's the most adult, but swears are fun, and no one will get hurt if they do it quietly.

still, he can tell that 'less than positive' probably doesn't cover egon's feelings. he gives a small nod. ]

We do, and we have a United States military, which is where I originally joined up. But I spent the bulk of my service in Overwatch - a United Nations organization - out of jurisdiction of the US of A.

[ he shrugs. ]

I'm not one of those oo-rah types who think the force can't fuck up.

The United Nations is a barely-functioning institution that only serves to make the people feel as though any sort of meaningful politics are taking place.

[Well, he's just...comin' out swinging, I guess. Also just assuming that Jack is from the 20th century, as he's mentioned the United Nations.

It's fine.]

It sounds as though the United Nations in your universe seems to have somehow obtained some policy enforcement. Though there are always downfalls to having any sort of military power on hand without any way to regulate it.

[ the thing is he's not exactly wrong, even in the 21st century. part of jack's conviction on talon infiltrating overwatch has to do with them infiltrating the united nations as well.

it's not anything he's going to disclose to egon, unfortunately, but he partially agrees. ]

When you get an organization on a global scale, things tend to take more time.

And, anyway, Overwatch was initially formed in response to a global terroristic threat that threatened to destroy humanity. Once we'd handled that, we moved to peace-keeping and integration - since like any culture, that 'terroristic threat' had real people on the other side of it that weren't bad guys.

That is true. You'd think humankind would develop some sort of technology to increase the efficiency at which things are accomplished. Such as easily accessible telepathy.

[He...He doesn't seem to be joking. Hm. Either way, Egon seems to perk up at the sound of 'global terroristic threat'.]

Hm. It seems that themes of 'saving the world' seems to be a present constant in the dimensions where other people come from. I'd ask if the threat was supernatural in nature, but I have personally never encountered any sort of spirit or ghost that was not malign in some way.

[He crosses his arms. In the back of his mind, he hears a faint "FUCK!" coming from the direction of the games, and he frowns. Oh, dear.]

In the end, it's all just politics, anyways.

[ jack... can't say he'd be excited for telepathy for everyone, for various reasons. thoughts should stay in their own heads, please and thank you.

but he takes the other thread of conversation, regardless. ]

It wasn't supernatural. At it's core, it was manmade. A company made factories - Omniums - with self-evolving and learning AIs, then abandoned them. Most of those AIs decided we were a threat and created Omnics - robots, essentially - to attack us.

Some of these Omnium AIs weren't bad, and they wanted peace. They were key in helping us defeat the other programs - but of course, after that, most humans didn't want to trust Omnics. So that was part of Overwatch's job after the war - making sure that Omnics were protected, since some countries refused them rights.

[ he shrugs a little bit again. ]

Didn't envy the guys in charge of that.

[ ittotallywasnthim. believe him please. ]

Hmmm. Self-learning AIs? I'd be interested in learning how that came about and the technology behind it. Such advanced technology seems unfeasible in my dimension. Are you from a century further than the 20th, then?

[...Either he's ignoring the part where they, like, killed a bunch of people, or he just completely forgot the moment he heard about the robots. It's entirely possible that it's both. He just wants the cool science shit.]

At least some of the Omnics seem relatively benign--or, at least as benign as humans can be. Ghosts rarely offer us any respite, though most of their hostility is borne from the fact that their aggression stems from the properties of being ethereal. And the fact that most of them have abilities that make them think they can take over the world without consequences.

[He states this as if speaking a simple fact like the weather.]

21st century. I was born in the year 2000; the Omniums came into their own in the 2020s. It was the 2060's when I showed up here.

[ ~~canon is never more specific than that so pretend there were hard dates.~~ ]

As for the technology behind it - I'm a soldier, not a programmer or scientist. All I know is what happened and what I fought, and who was left after the dust settled.

[ he shrugs. ]

Most Omnics I met were like people - some nice, some assholes, but not homicidal maniacs. As for ghosts, I can't say I've run into them outside of those corn field ghosts and the hitchhiker I mentioned.

Edited (i done fucked up) 2019-02-20 03:05 (UTC)

The twenty-first century? Fascinating. I thought that self-learning and humanoid-like AI would appear in the 23rd century, at best. This is truly a testament towards human innovation.

[He scratches his chin and opens his mouth to say something when Kölliker comes whizzing back, nearly colliding with Jack. For some reason, there's copious amounts of sushi suspended in her cytoplasm as she rolls around in the air. Egon blinks, looking towards the little blob.]

I'm assuming you had fun.

You would have thought so. But we ended up with people creating programs and wanting to advance them towards AI -

[ he doesn't even get to smart phone assistants or internet inputted AI when kölliker comes flying back. he's a little confused as to why she has sushi in the rest of her, until dixie comes loping back in.

crybaby is on her back with the most impressive gut she's ever managed to have, and she looks almost comatose with joy. jack reaches down to scoop her up, getting a little noise for his effort. ]

What did you two get up to?

[ dixie sits at jack's feet. clearly these two ate their weight (and more) in sushi. ]

[Kölliker bubbles in a friendly manner, reaching out a mental hand towards Jack's brain. If he lets her in, he'll receive snippets of memory of what she was just doing--eating sushi, eating sushi, getting called out for cheating, eating even more sushi....you get the point.

Egon frowns, reaching out to poke his psychic baby. She giggles, then spins around and basically hocks out a piece of slimy sushi onto the ground. Egon pauses, then kneels down to inspect it. The sushi has been covered with a thin layer of green cytoplasm and looks...rather unappetizing.]

Fascinating. [He picks it up, then tosses it into a nearby trashcan.] Thank you, for...that, but you know I can't eat things that have landed on the ground.

[ jack definitely mentally twitches away, at first, but after a moment he accepts the mental hand. getting the flash of images clears some things up, and he smirks down at the two pokemon. ]

I see.

[ crybaby makes a dramatic moan. she's so full she'll never walk again. dixie snorts a little bit about hearing that. jack keeps her tucked into one arm for now, trying not to jostle her.

of course, when egon tells her he can't eat one on the ground, jack tilts his head. ]

So you'd eat it if she didn't toss it in the dirt?

[ he sounds.. genuinely curious. and maybe a little daring. ]

[Egon turns to stare at Jack, as if he'd suggested something so blatantly obvious he can't help but scoff a little.]

Of course. What kind of scientist would I be if I didn't expose myself to a multitude of experiences and tests?

[Without even hesitating, he holds out his hand to Kölliker. She burbles, slightly puzzled as she oozes out another piece of sushi--tamago, from the looks of it. Like the other piece, it's also covered in a shiny layer of cytosol.

Making sure to maintain eye contact with Jack, Egon pops the whole thing into his mouth. After a moment, his eyebrows furrow and he scratches his chin.]

Hm. Slightly saltier than your standard piece of sushi. Would you like to try one?

[He doesn't seem to be joking.]

[ jack knows several scientists. one is a gorilla. one was obsessed with genetically creating the perfect human.

he is pretty sure none of them would do what egon just did. he apparently decides not to pick up what he's put down, and shakes his head. ]

I'll pass, mostly because I don't want to know what's making it saltier. Thanks, though.

[ to kölliker, he looks over. ]

I take it you won?

Oh, that's easy to answer. You see--

[He then pauses, remembering that Jack said that he doesn't want to know what's making it saltier. He clears his throat, adjusting his glasses.]

Nevermind.

[Kölliker rolls up and down in the sort of approximation of a nod as she continues to drop sushi onto the ground. Apparently, she's getting tired of carrying it around with her. Jack might hear a child-like voice in his head speak--]

sushi yummy, eat a lot. also crybaby cat baby aaaaaaa eat a lot. [She rolls over so she's floating upside down in mid-air.] i'm tireddddddd

... Does it have to do with what her goo is made of, or is it something grosser than that?

[ he's not sure how to articulate that better, but egon seemed prepared with an answer and jack can admit to some curiosity.

kölliker explains herself pretty well, and at least to part of it he says - ]

Yeah, she's a black hole for food. She's almost worse than the dogs.

[ and then she says she's tired, and jack glances to egon. ]

Your kid's sleepy.

It has to do with the composure of her cytoplasm, yes. Given that she is essentially an oversized, sentient cell, I think it's safe to say that her cytoplasm is made up almost completely out of water, barring a few exceptions, such as what she eats and absorbs into it. Think of it as an egg white.

[So what he's saying is he ate the Pokémon equivalent of raw egg whites. He absentmindedly reaches out to Kölliker, then wraps her in his arms like some sort of plush toy.]

Well, at least you didn't have to spend any money on feeding her this time. Perhaps it is because she is a juvenile and has a faster metabolism than fully-grown creatures.

[Kölliker blinks sleepily, then says--]

old white fur soldier man is funny

[ okay it's significantly less gross than what jack was thinking, all told. ]

I knew a few guys in basic who swore by eating raw eggs. Still gonna pass on sharing some secondhand sushi with her.

[ he adjusts his hold on crybaby, who has all but passed out by this point since she's full and warm. ]

It could be. I think she was the runt of ... I guess they don't have litters, they have eggs, huh. Anyway, in my experience runts tend to eat more, though.

[ white fur soldier man? jack laughs at that. ]

[Egon, on the other hand, looks somewhat embarrassed by that. He rubs the back of his neck, adjusting his grip on the egg baby.]

Ah--I apologize for that. She, uh, has some trouble differentiating between fur and hair. [He coughs.] It's better than being called "serious glasses dad". Or "loud screen yell dad". She considers my other partners to be her fathers, as well.

[He shrugs.]

...Perhaps I should be getting back to them, actually.

It's no problem - I've been called worse things, honestly.

[ serious glasses dad, loud screen yell dad. jack tilts his head a little. ]

Venkman and ... Ray, right? I've spoken to them before. They seem nice.

[ this is jack's not so subtle way of letting egon know he knows and approves?? he doesn't really have a partner to namedrop outside of the guy he hasn't seen in years. ]

They're probably wondering what's keeping you. I should let Crybaby sleep off her meal.

Edited 2019-02-23 22:47 (UTC)

That is correct. Perhaps you'll meet them some day.

[Unfortunately for Jack, Egon's not good at picking up signals and it completely flies over his head. Sorry, man. He's just oblivious when it comes to social situations.

He inclines his head towards Jack, putting one of his hands into his pockets.]

Good luck taking care of your small mammal. I'm sure all will be fine with enough discipline and care.

[...That probably sounded better in his head than out loud.]

[ no one can say he didn't try, and jack grins in response to the comment. ]

If it works with the dogs, it'll work with the cat, right?

[ WRONG. ]

See you around.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Come alive come alive

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oh god jack is younger than i am. what the fuck

it's horrifying

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cat baby aaaa

because she's a cat baby and she scream (aaaa)

three months from now jack is like "i never left her alone on the stage. whomst"

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/wrap?