victory_road | [video + closed action]

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[video + closed action]

So people sell Pokemon eggs, right? That's what you do...?

[Boober is holding one egg carefully against his chest, and carefully standing as still as he can manage. His mouth is pulled into a very nervous frown.]

Traveler and Tales have four more, too. It'd be nice if people wanted them, because five is a lot to take care of... More than I can do. So if anyone wants to buy one for 300P, just tell me. Traveler is my Hisuian Growlithe, and Tales is a Patra-- Well, no wait, he's a Watchog now.

...About that. Evolution is kind of weird, isn't it? It's like deciding to have a birthday, but then they change how they look too, and that just happens all at once.

(ooc: The post for claiming eggs is here! Please make sure to hit that up if you want one, regardless of if you tag here.)

Mando: Outside of Mt Moon
[Boober can't avoid the training he and Mando agreed on forever, no matter how many seconds thoughts he's having. He should know how to escape from dangerous situations, after all, and it doesn't seem like Mando expects him to actually fight. Still, he's hesitant as he goes over to Mando.]

Um... I think I'm ready to learn that stuff you told me about.

Riz: Inside Mt Moon
[The amount of preparation Riz is doing for the upcoming tournament is admirable. He's even got Boober in on it, by making flashcards he can use to test Riz's knowledge-- Which Boober much rather do than help with actual practice battles. It's helping him learn more, too, which is important. He can't avoid every challenge, especially with Archie so eager to fight. So usually, Boober pays close attention during these quiz sessions, but as they walk through the caves of Mt Moon, he's very distracted. It's such a nice, homey place for a little Fraggle.]

Wait a second... Darn. [He sighs as he flips the top flashcard back over to the question side.] I read that one wrong again. It should've been the use for a charti berry, not a cheri berry. Sorry, Riz.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, there's thousands of us. I don't think anyone's ever found the exact number. [He shrugs.] And that's just Fraggles. There's a whole lot of other creatures that live around us, too.

You've really never been in a cave before? [It's so hard to imagine for someone who's entire life was underground, aside from occasional excursions to the Gorgs' garden, or visiting the Trash Heap.] Huh... Well, then, you should know the best thing about caves is all the places to hide in.

Never. I guess my grandparents would've lived in a cave like this, but they immigrated to Solace long before I was born. I've only ever lived in cities. Kind like they have here, but, you know, with more than just humans in them.

[Boober's mention of places to hide earns him a slightly lopsided grin from Riz.]

I do like places to hide.

[Though for a very different reason than Boober.]

[Oh! There's that smile again. Boober couldn't explain why, but it makes him smile right back. He adjusts his hat, feeling a little flustered in his confusion, but... Places to hide, right.]

Yeah? Well, then. [Boober pulls out Tales' Pokeball, simply holding it for now. He's not his strongest teammate, but the Watchog is always good for keeping an eye out for danger.] I guess we should go find a really good one.

[Usually, Riz saw little cause to boast about his accomplishments. He didn't really desire public recognition. It was a concept very counter to being a rogue. He liked the people closest to him to know what he had done (and even then, not necessarily ever step of it) but if the larger public saw him as invisible, that was just fine. But right now, he was feeling the odd desire to brag.

Distantly, if he'd take a moment (many moments) to examine himself like he was a mystery pinned on one of his boards, he'd recognise the impulse as being very similar to the one that had fueled his early friendship with Fabian; he had wanted Fabian to think he was cool.

Now he wanted Boober to think the same thing.

Unfortunately, there was little to boast about when it came to hiding places. They generally weren't cool. A hiding place was useless if it was eye-catching. So, all he could settle on was--]

This one time, I hid inside a corn monster. Well, I wasn't really hiding, I was trying to take it down from the inside. But, technically I was hidden.

[Boober ducked his head and laughed a little as he processed that, because a corn monster was a very strange thing to imagine. Corn - any food - was something Boober saw as far from threatening. Food helped and nourished, even healed. Like laundry, it was the opposite of scary. But once he gets over that mental bump, he grins over at Riz.]

That's very clever! I mean, it must have been harder for the monster to hurt you in there, and it was a useful hiding place, too, since you could still hurt it.

[Then his smile falters, as he wonders what will compare to that, even in such a great cave. He's not sure, but he's going to do his best to find something that will, for Riz.]

[Riz never would've thought corn could be monstrous either until he had to deal with Momma Corn Blob and her gremlin babies. Frankly, creamed corn still isn't the same, to this day. Riz'll eat everything, except that.]

Yeah, it couldn't hit me at all. Except I kinda started to choke cause it turns out there was no air up its ass.

[Did Riz mention he had dove up the creature's ass? He may have passed over that little detail.]

But I was-- Fabian said he could feel something inside of it when he stabbed it, so I figured it either had to be animating it or was some kind of weakness. And, people were already going down and-- [He shrugs.] It was risky, but it was worth it.

[Riz is definitely too caught up in his retelling to notice any downcast looks.]

[There's a lot to take in with this story. It's pretty scary, and extremely gross, but Boober finds that's not what his mind latches onto as he slows to a gradual stop and just stares at Riz.]

Wow. You're really a hero.

[He already knew Riz was smart and cool, but he didn't quite realize how much courage was packed into that little guy until now. Boober, of course, is also a little guy, but his bravery isn't even at full capacity, much less beyond it. He's more or less okay with that; courage isn't everything.

The thing is, Riz was already all of the things Boober most admires in a person. The brave people Boober knows are usually not smart and practical and reliable and brave. Two of those things, maybe three, sure. But all four? Wow, indeed.]

Heh.

[Riz reaches up to rub the back of his neck. Boasting about finding cool places to hide or the adventures he had been on was one thing; to baldly proclaim himself a hero --even if, technically, he did meet the requirements-- went a bit too far. Who was he? Fabian?]

Maybe. I never did any of it on my own though. It was always with the rest of the Bad Kids. We are adventurers. It's what we do.

I don't see how being part of a group makes you less of a hero. [He shrugs and starts up walking again. His flustered feelings can take a backseat for now; Riz needs to understand this point.] You still thought to go inside a monster, and you even did it! I mean, you could have just told one of your friends that it would be smart to do, but you went right ahead.

That's very heroic.

Well, none of them would've fit inside. I was the only one who could do it.

[Though, the thought of Gorgug trying to wrestle his way into a cornblob's asshole was a funny one. He'd probably do at least a 1D8 of damage just by muscling in.]

It's just... it's kinda weird to call yourself a hero, you know?

Oh... Yeah, I guess I can understand that. [He would never call himself a hero, after all. It'd feel wrong. The only thing is, unlike Riz, he's not one. But if it makes Riz uncomfortable, it doesn't matter much what he thinks, does it?] Don't worry about it, okay? I can just say it was a brave and clever thing you did.

When you're smaller than everybody else, you gotta be smarter and braver. That's something my dad told me.

[Paraphrased somewhat, but that is what Pok had meant -- when the world looked down on you and saw you as nothing more than a poor joke, you had to work harder and smarter than anyone else. And if that meant thinking out of the box and jumping inside a cornblob's asshole to save people, to save your friends? Then, of course Riz was going to do just that.]

[Boober is quiet for a moment, only responding with a little shrug.]

...That's good advice, but being brave can be hard. Especially when you're smaller than everybody else. At least, it is for me.

It's easier when you have friends there. I don't think I could've done half the things we've done if it wasn't for the Bad Kids. They are incredible.

[Riz's face immediately lights up when talking about his friends. How could it not? They are his friends. Apart from his mom, they are the most important people in the world.]

[Boober nods, lighting up a bit himself. The way Riz talks about his friends, that is very familiar to him. Clearly, the Bad Kids are just as close as his own little circle back home.]

I know what you mean. I've done some things I never thought I could, because of my friends back home. They make things feel a little less scary.

You should tell me more about your friends.

[The words are barely out of his mouth before Riz's brain ping-pongs to an even better idea, one he immediately must declare!]

Oh! Actually! How about we do an information exchange? [Like cool spies do.] You can tell me something about one of your friends, and I'll tell you something about one of mine.

[Boober's smile grows at that idea. While the homesickness has become easier to deal with over the weeks, he still misses his friends. Talking about them helps with that, even if it's in a bittersweet way. When he's telling a story about the gang back home, it's almost like they're here with him for a little while.]

Yeah, yeah that sounds good!

[He's genuinely excited, which isn't all that common for him-- Especially when laundry or cooking aren't the subject at hand. But here he is, ready to jump right in, although for a moment it's hard to decide where to start... Oh!]

My friend Wembley, he's a li'l guy, but he can be really loud, so his job is to be the siren for our fire fighters. He's good at it. [A little snort and a toss of his head as he goes on to clarify:] Well, he's good at making a lot of noise, anyway. Once he ruined a soup I was making by alerting the rest of the fire department to it.

[A siren? Boy, Fraggles certainly have weird jobs, but then, Riz is certain that Fig would absolutely jump on the chance to be a fire-station siren. Though if she were allowed to do so, the alerts would probably get a whole lot more rock-like.]

Was... was the soup on fire?

That's the thing, it wasn't at all!

[Judging by his volume and emphatic arm gestures, this is something that Boober has not yet put behind him.]

I was almost done preparing a lovely green pea gazpacho! Do you know what that is? That's a cold soup, Riz!!

[Riz cannot help but snicker at the retelling, biting on the inside of his cheek. He doesn't begrudge Boober his annoyance, but also, there is something very funny about the sheer level of affront that Boober managed to pack into the single word 'cold'.]

What did he think he was doing?

[With a very tired sigh, Boober shrugs.]

I have no idea. I mean, I usually don't understand the way my friends think, to be honest, but Wembley's logic is especially strange. [But Boober can't help a bit of a smile.] He always means well, though, and he'd do anything to help the rest of us out.

Yeah, same. Sometimes I check out for five minutes when my friends are talking, and when I check back in, they are arguing about whether Centaurs are technically insects or not.

[Riz just shakes his head. The Bad Kids can truly be on a different level.]

Yeah, that's exactly it... I think. I don't know what a centaur is? But I know what it's like to have friends who are different. Or, well, my friends aren't different. I'm different.

[It's still a bit of a sore subject, because that goes far beyond his tail glowing. But he does his best to shelf that for now.]

Okay, it's your turn now.

[Riz could explain what a centaur is, but it doesn't hugely relate to their friend information swap. Also, he doubts that learning that a centaur is a half human-half horse creature would help Boober understand the insane argument between his friends any better. Riz knows perfectly well what a centaur is and he still hadn't understood how they had even gotten onto that subject.

And as for being different. Well. Riz knows more than his fair share about that.]

Right.

[but which of his friends to start with? They are all great!]

Well, you told me about your loudest friend, right? Then, I should tell you about Fig. She's definitely the loudest of my friends. She's an actual rock star, you know. Like, she and Gorgug went on a tour and everything. People wear her shirts.

[Riz shakes his head. It's still a bit insane to think about the fact that the girl who carried around a dead oyster for a few weeks is now a goddamn superstar.]

She's also crazy. But like. In the best way. She comes up with all the craziest plans, but she is so good at fucking faking it, that it works. You know she once smuggled me into a hospital pretending to be a doctor. We even ended up doing a surgery cause her disguise was that good.

Edited 2022-10-03 23:53 (UTC)

[Boober prefers his music not be very loud, but all the same, music is the lifeblood of Fraggles. Even Boober! So he's pretty keen on hearing about Fig.]

Fig sounds like she'd fit right in at the Rock... The music stuff, but also the craziness. Does she play an instrument, or is she more of a singer?

But, um.... [Okay. While most of that was interesting, part of it was very concerning. He's not sure he wants to know the answer, but he just has to ask.] What happened with the surgery?

[Fraggles do not have the means to perform surgeries, but ever since he got a handle on looking things up with the Pokegear, Boober has been reading medical sites. It's nerve-wracking research, but you never know what you'll need to be prepared for!]

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