victory_road | WHO'S THAT POKEMON?

[These weekends are always something.]

[Usually they're pretty good! Jack's got his diamond unicorn - the one he is currently riding - he gets to see his girlfriend who lives in another dimension - she's real, he can show you pictures! - it's generally a good time.]

[But sometimes screaming tweens who want to kill him show up. Sometimes people spontaneously start turning into Pokemon. You just never know with these weekends.]

[Which is why Jack is riding Butt Stallion right into a bar. She's got plenty of experience going through doors and maneuvering indoors. Jack rides her everywhere, when he can.]

Yo! Big ass bottle of bourbon, stat!

You got it, Brother!

[Drifter occupies himself pulling out three different bottles.]

You lookin' for somethin' a little sweet, somethin' smooth, or do you just wanna ruin everything from your tonsils to your gullet with no pretense of civility. No judgment here.

[Seems like he wants to celebrate.]

Okay, I hate to ask this but it's real relevant right now. Is the horse here to drink, too? I ain't gonna kick it out or check its ID, but I need to know.

Ha, nah, that's...that's a fair question!

[Jack snickers.]

Nah, Butt Stallion's just here to hang.

And just...good bourbon, I just want good bourbon. I don't have any local preferences or anything.

[He's a functioning alcoholic, he orders what people expect a guy like him to order, but he honestly doesn't care. He hops down off of his unicorn and stretches. He's not used to riding diamond these days.]

...Hey, we've talked on the 'gear, haven't we?

...Okay, then. How ya livin', Butt Stallion?

[Drifter greets before grabbing a bottle off the shelf.]

92 Proof. Single barrel, oak barrel, burnt caramel and vanilla vibes in the scald. But aside from the pleasantries, it'll put you on your ass faster than using a bad line on a woman in full armor.

[He leaves the bottle and a glass for Jack to use for however long he chooses to drink here, and he starts wiping down the counter.]

You got me. Decided a few days after showin' up I'd shout out and see who was listenin'. No one I knew. [Which he is eternally grateful for.]

She's always living large! Just like me.

[Jack eases himself onto a bar stool and pulls out his cigarettes. He feels like he's been going hard for days, and he guesses he kind of has been. These weekends, there's a lot to do.]

[He needs a little break.]

Cool to smoke in here? Some places get real pissy about that. And yeah, that's what most people do. What the hell else option we got? Sometimes ya get lucky, most times ya just end up shooting the shit with a bunch of strangers.

So long as it doesn't lead to a bar fight. Not that they ain't fun but I hate dealin' with broken bottles and busted furniture. Got real old during the dark age. Wild times, those were.

[He listens to Jack's assessment of the network as he pulls out a deck of cards from under the register, idly shuffling them as the other man mentions things.]

Shootin' the shit is the best way to find good company and a nice grapevine. And I ain't too worried about luck.

[He lays four cards face down, flips them. All Jacks.]

Lookit that. Four of a kind.

Who's gonna fight a guy with a diamond unicorn?

[Butt Stallion's got his back. It's fiiiine. He lights up and then snorts in amusement and approval at the card spread.]

Nice trick. Hey ya know what they say about people that are good with card tricks, right? Watch your wallet around'em.

[It's said in an amiable tone and with a wink, Jack making it clear he's just joking around. He's not worried about his wallet, his real wallet is kept in a pocket in his undershirt, he's got decoys in his accessible pockets.]

Also probably something dirty, cuz there's a dirty saying for friggin everything that involves good fingerwork. For...ya know. Obvious reasons.

Aww, you're breakin' my heart, here. [He says in faux insult at the suggestion, plucking a card out of his deck as he says it and holds it in front of his chest. It's an Ace of Hearts, as hammy as possible.]

[He replaces it into the deck and shuffles it back together, keeping his hands busy. Slight of hand he's mostly found has been good for pulling a gun first or pulling a trick to get out of a gun fight in the first place.]

These fingers can do a lotta things, I promise you that. [Is his response to that lewd last suggestion. But to be honest, it had been a long time. Like a few hundred years long time. He'd made a mistake of getting his heart hung up in all the wrong places.]

Breaking hearts is what I do! Among other things. I've got a lot of interests, got a lot going on.

[Jack lifts his drink in something of a toast. It's good stuff, he thinks? Like he can actually tell. Whatever, booze is booze. For all his talk and the way he presents himself, Jack's tastes are not exactly refined. He's a simple man, in that regard.]

[Which is also what causes him to quirk a grin and lift an eyebrow.]

Hey now, don't go making promises you're not gonna make good on.

['Wu Ming' isn't exactly refined, either. He is, however, a gratuitous opportunist. He's still not quite sure about everything going on, but he does feel a little different. No ghost, not right now, but he can feel the 'light' in him.]

I think for some reason right now I even got a few more options than I do on the regular.

[He puts away his deck of cards and pulls out one of those pesky coins of his. He shows Jack both sides. Snakes on either at first. But then he walks it over his fingers, and each pass over a knuckle each side has a different symbol. And then he holds it up between his forefinger and thumb. It sparks up like a lighter, flame flickering over it.]

[And then he closes his hand around it, snuffing out the fire on it that he just made with his bare hand.] Well at least I got the usual slight of hand when things aren't this interestin'.

[Jack lets out a low whistle. Now look at that. That's interesting. Real interesting. He likes interesting. Interesting can be useful. And he gets the feeling that wasn't some fancy trick done with a gum wrapper and a match or something.]

Okay, see now you're just teasing me. Also kinda outdoing me, I got like the one move here, it's the diamond pony. And she pretty much just does this.

[Butt Stallion swings her head in their direction and blinks, then goes back to nosing a napkin on the bar.]

I can do better than that. But not in a bar, and generally I figure I might as well keep a few surprises to myself less I need 'em later. Even if means I just need to really show off.

[He's seen some weird shit. Last time an inappropriately placed horse was presented before him he ended up talking to a massive bust of his former-best-friend-turned-psycho-mannequin.]

So if you can afford whatever, sounds like you got yourself a good deal goin' here.

So what you're saying is you got some tricks to show me in private. Bet I got a couple I could show you.

[Jack honestly can't tell if he's getting anything back here, but he hasn't exactly been shut down. And he's on his own like all the time now, of course he's gonna flirt with anybody age appropriate and a six or above. Why the hell not?]

Yeah, yeah, I got it pretty decent. I make plenty of money, I got two houses, badass Pokemon... but I gotta say, there's not too many of my kind of people around, ya know? Lotta kids, lotta young people, lotta let's raise cute shit and play house types...

Just not my scene.

Maybe later. When you're not fixin' to get sauced. I've been a bartender off and on long enough to know how that goes.

[Six or above! Better stats than most would give him. But he's at least stout. Most guardians come in various forms of pretty fit. He's assumed Ghosts always favored fighters.]

Yeah, I noticed that. I mean, I like the part that's good for wanderin'. This whole place is set up to move around! You're fine movin' on from place to place.

But the rest of it I can take or leave. Alright, I'm full of shit. The food. The food is good. [And he can actually sate his hunger for twenty minutes.]

Okay one... I'm not getting sauced, I'm having a couple of drinks. Two... eh, okay, I was gonna say I don't have that problem, but at this point, I probably do. So...rain check?

[That's fine with him. And honestly a reasonable call, really. Jack's not planning on getting wasted, but who knows? It's one of those weekends.]

Oh yeah, you're into the nomad thing, you're set. Get yourself some badass critter to ride around, you can go all over. And there are some cool places to see, depending on what you're into. Food, though...hit uh...Ecruteak, I think? They got a whole foodie thing going on over there.

I heard good things about Onixes. And I got an aesthetic with my pokemon.

[As if he's not wearing a jade snakepiece right now. And has snakes on his jade coins. The man is to snakes what a little girl is to dolphins or ponies.]

I think I'll set up shop here for a little while, though. I'm really wantin' to try my hand at getting back into runnin' games. You know, if you're into that kinda thing.

I hear ya on aesthetic, but that's not gonna last. It never does. There's too many of the things and if ya wanna be any good at it, ya need all different kinds.

[Jack had started out with an aesthetic in mind. Not that anyone could tell looking at his assortment now.]

We-ell...depends on what kinda games you're talking about. Ya talking literal games or being euphemistic about grifting?

Yeah, I arleady got a cat. Creepy ass cat... [He mutters, but then continues on about the games.] Literal. I used to run some games back where I'm from.

Problem is, like with these gym battles? It's all cut and dry. But the real world works differ'nt. I like to see how people handle things when a fair playing field also includes obstacles you can make for each other.

Think of it like this, you could watch a race, right? You could watch a relay race? [He spreads his hands.] What I'd do? Teams of two. One a racer? One a blocker to slow down opponents and protect the racer. The big one back home was a collection game where one jerk could come over to the opposing side and ruin their progress by makin' 'em lose their items. Gauntlets where someone has to choose their type and stand up to a barrage of multiple opponents to win. Challenges so rough they don't gotta win. They just gotta make it.

That's the type o' games I run.

Huh.

[Jack taps his fingers on the bar, nodding as he listens.]

Yeah, battling is a little limited. There's towns that have some places with gimmicks and shit, obviously, but...eh. I could never get into the Gym thing. Everybody does it. What's the point? Oh wow, I did something ten year olds do on a regular basis, huge accomplishment.

[He rolls his eyes. He doesn't get it, he never has. So many people get so into it and go hard, but Jack can't bring himself to care.]

Interesting concept ya got though, there might be something there. Seems to be plenty of room for creative competitive stuff.

See, that's my problem too. It ain't nothin' tactical. No real risk. Reward is good cash an' a badge, but is that enough of a challenge?

Nah.

[Drifter lives for competitive drama. It's his favorite.]

You got any good games back home?

[As he's asking, someone comes in and orders, of all things, a hot toddy? In this weather? To each their own, brother. He picks up the the small pan he usually boils water in and fills it to the right amount, and then holds it in the palm of his hand.]

[He's thinking hard about it as he adds the lemon and honey while it's still sitting in his fingers.]

[His palm glows and it starts boiling almost immediately. Looking far too pleased with himself, Drifter grabs another bottle of whiskey for that one. A cheap one. Don't waste good whiskeys on mixers, man. It's useless.]

WHO'S THAT POKEMON?

Tending Bar

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