azume | Week 8.

Week 8.

WEEK 8

Snowpoint City remains as cold and unforgiving as ever, through no fault of its residents.

The city itself doesn't seem to see much change in the passing days; there's something you'll all become rather aware of on Sunday as the day goes on, and after so long with no incidents along those lines it's likely an unpleasant thing to deal with. There's also the fact that the changes to the world seem to be slowing; though the one alteration that's immediately obvious is a major one, it seems that things may be beginning to stagnate again. Will there be a slip back into apathy again, if this continues? Or will the changes you've affected already continue to hold?

Only time will tell, really.

That doesn't mean that nothing has changed, however - thankfully enough, the slugs seem to be settling. Or...well, more accurately, once in a while they stop huffing at each other long enough to drive up piles of snow with their heads and stare at them like they're trying to work out what they're attempting to create, but at least it's a collaborative effort. Are they attempting diplomacy? It's difficult to tell; after all, they are just slugs. But at least there seems to be a little less open hostility. Improvement...? Perhaps.

The local ghost Pokémon also seem to have taken an interest in you lately, though precisely...how is a little mixed. They don't seem overly mischievous or malicious - they seem about as odd as the rest of the wild Pokémon in the region - but they do seem more inherently trusting of you and your traveling group. They've taken to following you from time to time, and taking a general vague interest in what you're doing. So that's...new.

CURRENT LOCATION: SNOWPOINT CITY
POKEMON AVAILABLE: WITHIN CITIES

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY
[OOC: Welcome to week eight of Azume; feel free to make as many top levels as you'd like and tag out to other characters! This post is for all of your interactions this week... at least until the weekend.]

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[Oh, right. Actual demon. This is the one thing that separates him from Hiruma, Sena thinks. While he has the tendency to yell at them, and shoot at them with guns, and blackmail them, and trick them into things, and...

he's not building a good case here, is he.

the fact of the matter is that Sena's pretty sure that Hiruma cares on some level. That he's started to regard them as actual teammates and equals. Someone who doesn't regard humanity as cattle or something like that can't possibly see things that way.

So Sena idly doodles on his posterboard, trying to find the words.]

Maybe that's why you get along with the ghosts so well, I guess? They can tell that you're trying. I mean, that you don't instinctively think of them as something...creepy, or like a pet, or a lesser being. Or at the very least, you don't have that...um. Bias.

Mmmm. Maybe. Not the creepiest things I've ever seen.

[He props his chin on a fist, looking at Jane Doe.]

I really have to wonder what it's like normally. How normal people treat them, knowing all that. Jupiter's not a good example, she's obviously awful.

...I guess not.

[Sena can't even begin to wonder what you've seen. Or if you, the real you under all that skin and flesh, is far far more terrifying than any ghost type will ever be.

He's not sure if he wants to find out.]

Um...If we keep working towards going home, and helping everyone here...I think we'll find out, right?

[Vee hops up onto the table to sniff at his small collection of markers, and he can't help but grin at her before he decides on his answer.]

I think it'll be a lot like home, though.

[Why?]

[Michael starts counting a smaller pile of money out of what he has, having apparently decided on what his administrative fees will be. He has no real idea how much he freaks Sena out on an existential level.]

Yeah? What happens at home?

[Maybe that's for the best.]

Well, at home, it's not so simple either, right? There's good people and bad people everywhere, and we all do our best to reach our goals...some of us fail, and give up, or they keep trying and succeed eventually, some succeed at the first time, some of us find new dreams and succeed there...and we're all connected by that, right? 'Cause we're either working together to reach them, or taking down whomever's in our way to get there...

[Sena stops for a second, sticking his tongue out to draw out a particular line on the posterboard. Vee paws at it.]

Us working together with our Pokemon and each other is the same thing, right?

[He thought we were talking about home and its rituals around ghosts, tbh, but this is good too.]

I suppose. [.....] You know, you get a bit cut-throat when you talk about competition. It's unexpected.

[Just like, making an observation.]

H-huh?

[Sena turns red to the tips of his hair, clearly flustered.]

R-really? I mean, I don't think...I mean...

[He glances over at Michael hesitantly.] Shouldn't I be...?

I'm honestly not sure if you want my opinion on that?

[Demon and all. Cut-throat is the name of the game - but humans don't do it like that.]

You just don't really seem the type, that's all. Lots of humans don't like to talk about crushing others underfoot in pursuit of their goals.

Aha...it doesn't sound nice when you say it like that, right...?

[He scratches his cheek sheepishly.]

But you are right about that. I mean, even in Japan back home, it's better to do things in a way that we can all cooperate, right? So, I mean...if someone asks for help, it's not like I can say no, or anything like that...

[Except he totally could, but he doesn't, because he's that nice. Too nice. He gets taken advantage of very easily.]

American Football, though...that's different. I learned this way of thinking from playing...I don't think it's wrong, either. It's just different. It's own type of...sportsmanship, I guess? That's not the right word...

[Yes. It's different. We get it.]

Makes sense. To win at a sport, you've gotta have losers. It's the same in most things, really, just way more obvious there.

[His personal cash pile is actually comparatively small, in the end. Michael ferrets it away, in a separate pocket of his bag from the rest.]

Back home for me, no demon would ever think of asking anyone else for help. That's just a fancy way of telling them "hey, I'm down, this would be a great time to stab me in the back!" So I get it.

[That's probably not the impression of the American football ethos you meant to give.]

[Not exactly. Then again, it's kinda how Hiruma plays. Giving openings and weaknesses to lure the team into his tactics.]

Uh, kinda?

[He laughs nervously.]

I mean in other sports...there's usually a second and third place, right? Consolation medals...you tell yourself that it's okay that you didn't win, that you did your very best...you'll try harder next time. But American Football...there isn't anything like that. The only truth is winning. There's no consolation or thought given to the losers. Every game, every play...You have to tell yourself you can do it, that you will win. If you settle for anything else...you've already lost.

[He looks a little nervous saying all of this, but he hasn't stuttered.]

I've...never had to think like that before I started playing. It's...I'm not sure how to describe it. But it feels right, somehow.

Edited 2018-07-26 03:09 (UTC)

I've got a friend, an American, who's really into football. Roots for his hometown team - they're literally the worst. It's pathetic, but at this point I think I'd be disappointed if he decided to side with a winner instead.

[It's something Michael's not quite sure how to name. Crushing other people with no regard, that he gets just fine, but the other thing? He folds his hands together, then unfolds them and clasps one fist in the other.]

I mean, obviously they're worthless. Idiots like Jason are the only people who give a damn. So...I guess that doesn't make a lot of sense.

They're not worthless to him though, right? Even that kind of bad team still carries the hopes and wishes of its players and fans...so even that kind of team, it means something to someone when they're crushed.

[Scribble, scribble. He can't help but feel slightly offended at the idea of Michael putting such a team down, so his rambling ends up with him going off on a tangent.]

Even those people's dreams...they get crushed by others trying for the same goal, but since they're trying their hardest, you don't feel pity for them. You can't. It's an insult. You just keep moving on.

[Sigh. He stops coloring, propping a hand under his chin and looking up.]

My football team...was a team like that too. So even that kind of team...has value in what they bring to the game. I'm sure of it.

If all that matters is winning, then what value could they possibly bring? What is there to feel for that?

[If it matters, Michael doesn't seem scornful. There's not much there at all, he just keeps fidgeting a little with his hands.]

[It helps that he's not outright scorning them. It helps a little, but that doesn't stop the question from hurting.]

It's the thrill of the fight. If you go up against strong opponents...even the weakest teams can pull off surprising plays, or have that one star player that stands out...playing against teams like that are what makes football fun, I think...

[He blinks, then turns his head to look at Michael, hand still propping up his chin.]

I mean...everyone who plays football was bad like that once, right? People don't just start out being good at everything. [Sena grimaces, thinking of Agon. That guy...] ...Most people don't start out being good at everything. They need that experience of going up against someone better than them if they want to improve, so it's important for them.

[He grumbles a little, not really feeling like the question actually got answered. Also, he's realized he's fidgeting, so he takes a little stress ball out of somewhere to toss from hand to hand instead.]

So the good teams are valuable to the bad teams, and the bad teams are fodder unless they secretly turn out to be good at it?

[Let's change tacks.]

If you think your team is bad, couldn't you find another one?

[Is there really one answer to that kind of question, though?]

Um...That's a straightforward way to say it...

[Sena's brow crinkles. It's like he never thought of the possibility.]

I mean, if I ever tried to change schools, yeah. But why would I do that? I like my team. We've all made a promise together. Besides, it's not the same team as when we started. We've grown.

[At this point, he's just sort of...jumping from tangent to tangent. Point to point. There's a story that he's telling, but it's fragmented.

Sena's not very good at this explaining thing.]

[Humans complicate things; there should be.]

Well, if the point is to win... [He inclines his head, raising his brows.]

Mmhm, and that's what our team is doing.

[Somehow.]

Um, when I joined the team...it wasn't really much of one. There were only two other people, and all the other players were helpers borrowed from other clubs. It's only after we were able to build our own team that we really started winning. But people thought we were the worst team since, um...most of our players, they only had just started playing football. Including me.

[At least half of the Devil Bat's roster weren't even regular athletes at the time. Yes, seriously.]

Do you think a team like that has no place in this game? That we don't have a chance to try for the top, too?

Edited (H. T. M . L . NEEDS. TO. DIE. ) 2018-07-26 18:41 (UTC)

I don't have opinions about football, Sena.

[this is a lie, but he's only recently developed them and isn't about to commit]

You're the one who was all "crush the losers beneath your heel and cast them aside". So if your team started losing, what's stopping you? They'd be standing between you and your goals, wouldn't they?

Mmh? It's the opposite. Without them, none of us would have reached our goals.

[Maybe...he's not being very clear.]

When we were losing, it's because weren't really a team yet. Not everyone had committed, or had that same desire to move forward...

[Sena gestures with the hand holding the marker.]

After America, it was different. We were able to become a real team after that. Compared to other teams in the tournament, we weren't as strong, but we still managed to charge forward and take down everyone in our way regardless. So...I guess the only thing stopping me at this point is...um.

[A shrug.]

Me.

[And the small fact that he's trapped in a different dimension training fire monkeys and footlong cicadas.]

No, no, no, it's a hypothetical.

[He waves a hand irritably, holding the ball in the other.]

Say your team was just bad at football. What then?

[Sena frowns. He's seen this reality before. Weak teams, replaced with players from other clubs. Formerly strong teams, rendered weak because all their stronger players betrayed them, left for greener pastures. The Deimon Devil Bats themselves, just barely hanging on to the teams that streak far beyond them, only held together by Hiruma's leadership and their own guts.

It makes his answer all the more certain, and it comes without hesitation.]

I'd still play with them.

[He sounds so certain...]

[Michael rolls the stress ball around in his palm for a second.]

Well, good.

[.....

That seems to be it.]

[Seems so. But still, Sena wonders why Michael asked. He seemed kinda...intense for a little bit there.]

...Are you okay?

(no subject)

eudaimonikos - 2018-07-27 14:10 (UTC) - Expand

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