azume | Week 1.

Week 1.

WEEK 1.

As Cynthia had promised, the sun does indeed rise the next morning.

Whether you slept or not (and sleeping inside the Pokémon Center you were in before seems totally fine by the attendant), it seems Cynthia kept her word; she left sometime shortly before sunrise, and you haven't been bothered by Team Galactic and those that work for it in the interim.

It isn't advisable to return to the headquarters building, however. At least not for the time being.

However, a new day does dawn, and with it comes the knowledge that you're in an unfamiliar city, completely on your own. There are several things to be done before you can leave: gathering supplies and provisions, finding maps, obtaining new clothes...

Of course, your new "companions" are still with you, and they don't seem willing to leave your side; they'll follow you dutifully, but they still seem...wrong, horribly so, and it doesn't seem to be wearing off. Maybe if you work with them a little...? Try to talk to them, train them, teach them to do things... Who knows? It might do them some good.

CURRENT LOCATION: VEILSTONE CITY
POKEMON AVAILABLE: WITHIN CITIES

MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY
[OOC: Welcome to week one 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. Don't forget that a write-up is due this weekend!

Feel free to investigate the city as you see fit this week; we ask only that you try to stagger investigations and be mindful of what's already been checked. If you wish to investigate, notify the mods in your comment subject for your top-level and we'll get on it as soon as possible!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[You know, he's been kind of wanting to check on Rey - not like he's worried about her, someone with a hard as shit life like that can definitely take care of herself - but she got a little...intense at Cynthia last night, and he'd noticed because he was trying to find a distraction from thinking about exactly how far he'd like to knock this Cyrus guy's teeth down his throat. But Camilla'd asked the important question of "why don't we just waste him" so you know, he'd imagined it was good to find something else to look at, leave all the ethics debates to somebody else, and he'd been looking for someone familiar and Rey'd just happened to be it, and there was kind of a lot of "oh" there, just in general.

So, okay. Here she is, and here's a lot of attempts to figure out clothing, good fucking god? And he's not really doing any better given that he's dressed like a fucking delinquent, though he doesn't have anything covering his face and he's kind of offsetting the entire thing by carrying his damn Scraggy on his hip like one would a worn-out toddler.

Yeah.]

Unfortunately I'm not really one for fashion, or I'd be a little more able to help you out.

[...]

Looks like your buddy's doing his best, though.

[It doesn't take much to draw Rey's attention away from the coat she's examining (lots of pockets, nice and thick...but so....pink), and when she sees who it is, her eyes soften slightly. She definitely hasn't forgotten Jake, and while she's still following the general rule of 'trust slowly or not at all', there's something about him that makes her feel at peace. It's rare to find someone who can empathise with her, let alone someone who actively wants to do it.

She decides she's happy to see him, and secretly hopes he's happy to see her, too.]

I don't know if I'd call this its best, but it's certainly doing something.

[Even if it is taking her semi-panicked order of 'just grab anything' a bit too literally; she's doesn't know what she's doing, but she does know she isn't wearing that ridiculous dress.

...maybe she should have been slightly clearer.]

You seem to have managed okay.

[...it's...certainly a look.]

[He shrugs at that, though his words are easy when he speaks.]

Guys used to dress like this a lot back home. Never really been my style, but it's good enough for now.

[...He's Slavic as fuck, not like Rey knows what any of that is. And because Resident Evil is a bastion of cultural sensitivity, that means lots of zombies in Adidas.]

I usually just pick stuff out depending on how easy it is to move in. Fighting's something else to think about, but somehow I doubt anyone's going to want to throw down with how everyone's been. So it's mostly just, can I move in it, is there too much stuff to grab onto or get snagged on shit, stuff like that.

Looks like your friend's got different priorities.

[...There's something kind of cute about this thing deciding that it wants to put its trainer in that frilly as shit dress, even if Rey seems like the sort who would rather die.]

[Rey turns as Jake indicates Golett and its....efforts, sighing in a mixture of affection and exasperation. She would indeed rather die than have to wear that...whatever it is, although an Adidas tracksuit could be another story.]

I told it to grab anything - maybe I should have been more specific. It sounds like you and I have similar taste when it comes to clothes, so you can probably understand why this-

[-let her just....gently take that dress off you there, Golett, you go find something else nice-]

-might not work too well.

[...not that its other choice was much better, but. At least it's trying...

Placing the dress back on one of the less-crowded racks, Rey observes Jake with interest. Fighting, huh...]

Do you end up in fights very often?

Well, yeah, it kind of comes with the territory.

[Mercenary and all.]

But then, I don't know how my job works where you're from - since you were asking everyone else earlier, what planet are you from, anyway?

Jakku.

[There's a soft laugh in Rey's voice as she says it - very 'yep, I know'. Wherever the hell Jakku is, it's obvious that it isn't one of the nicer planets in her galaxy.]

It's basically a giant desert; not much to see, and I wouldn't recommend visiting if you can avoid it. Does get really hot, though, hence why I'm trying to find something to keep me warm.

[...she's heard there's a city called 'Snowpoint' somewhere - the thought is quite literally chilling, and she (hopefully, anyway) won't have a lightsaber fight to distract her from the elements this time. Best to be cautious, even if she has to resort to wearing the bright pink coat.]

What's your planet like?

It's...

[He actually isn't sure how to describe it right off, and it's obvious.]

The climate' s kind of all over- some of it's like this, some of it's desert, some of it's rainforest. A lot of it's covered in really deep ocean, though.

Other than that...I dunno. I can't tell you what a lot of the people are like, because I've mostly seen the worst of them. [He shrugs a little; he's trying to be flippant, but his voice isn't quite there, and there's something hard behind his words.] There's a lot going on, though, since we've had a couple of different maniacs trying to end the world over the past few years. And we don't have space travel, so if they fuck the place up it's game over. Humanity dies, that's it.

[Rey doesn't make any move to interrupt Jake as he speaks (she's genuinely interested in what he has to say, after all), although judging by her expression, she's less than impressed with what he's had to deal with.]

So even though you basically only have one planet, you still get people who want to destroy it? That's horrible.

[The First Order tended to focus on destroying planets that they weren't on at that current moment, and they're the biggest group of maniacs Rey can think of. Just what kind of people did this man have to deal with on his planet?!]

...

[She falls silent for a moment, but for some reason, Rey doesn't feel awkward - there's something about Jake that she finds relaxing. Like she can really talk to him. It's a strange, but welcome feeling.]

...are you finding it odd, being around all these people? I mean, outside of the general circumstances. Maybe it's just me, but...I'm not...

[...okay on second thought let her trail off uselessly, words are hard and feelings are even harder]

I'm more weirded out that they all want to talk to me, actually.

[...you know what, yeah words are fucking hard let him amend that - ]

Not like talking to you, because you actually get it. But everyone's being all...friendship and camaraderie and shit, and that's not something you do before you know you can, you know?

[It's really rare for Rey to feel like she's genuinely on the same page with someone - this is one of those circumstances, and her excitement is palpable, but still constrained.]

That's exactly it, though...everyone's out here making friends and getting along and I just...

[Her expression doesn't fall, but her shoulders slump slightly.]

...I wish I found it that easy, but I just...can't. I'm not good at talking to people about...I don't know how to explain it, but you know, normal...stuff, I....

[wwwwwoooorrrdddddssssss-]

...I just never know if I'm saying the right thing.

That makes two of us, then. They all seem to be on a completely different level, and I guess I...appreciate that? Sorta? Some of 'em are pretty easy to talk to, anyway, but it still doesn't feel like they get it. It's like you've got to avoid saying certain things or they're going to get weird about it. Or you can't ask 'em stuff because you know what you're gonna ask is stupid, but you seriously don't know the answer and you're not sure how to figure it out because it's something everybody gets but you.

[He kind of...stops, then. Shrugs a bit.]

I'm probably not saying the right things either, going on like that.

Edited 2018-06-06 08:01 (UTC)

...you're fine. It's fine, I mean. I understand.

[Boy, does she ever. Some of these people are being so...genuinely nice, and she doesn't want to dwell on the fact that it feels so painfully unfamiliar and she doesn't really know how to handle it. She's well aware that her adolescence deprived her of a lot of things, but it's usually a lot easier to come to terms with it when she's not so bluntly reminded of how much she's lacking.

It turns the pain from a dull ache to something sharper, laced with a crippling sadness that makes her want to curl up in a ball and weep.

...]

...you don't have to be afraid of saying something stupid around me. I probably wouldn't recognize it as stupid anyway.

I mean, likewise.

[Just...saying.

That said, though, he's not concerned about saying something too dumb around her; not because she wouldn't be able to tell, but because, again, she gets it.]

You still there, to your knowledge? On Jakku. Or did you find some way to get out of there?

[...oooohhh boy. Hard question. Rey's eyebrows furrow slightly as her gaze drops to her hands.]

I did get off the planet, but it was...

[You know, don't you?

...

Or have you always known?]

...it's a long story. I probably could have gotten off sooner than I did, but...

[They were filthy junk traders, who sold you for drinking money.]

...I thought some people were coming back for me. I was...

[It takes all of her focus, but Rey manages to keep her tears in her eyes.]

...mistaken.

[...she's really quite glad you said you wouldn't mind if she said something stupid because her voice just went all weird and ugh don't. mind her if she just turns away for a moment and scrubs at her eyes just give her a minute-]

[...Ohhhh, shit, okay, that is either a crying woman or it's about to be a crying woman in a moment, and he doesn't really know what to do with that - he'd almost made Sherry cry a couple times by saying something fucking stupid to her, but Sherry's always been better at having problems quietly and under mostly normal behavior. But this is...something, it's definitely something, and it takes him a moment to find words and when he does they are probably not helpful ones, but they're the only ones he's got.]

Hey, I'm sorry - we don't have to talk about that shit if you don't want to, I should've known better. I thought it was something like that.

[Not...helping, he knows that's not fucking helping- ]

Not...like there's something about you or anything, just from what you said. To Cynthia.

[There aren't too many reasons why someone who's been a scavenger since they were a kid would find it so urgent to know whether they were just left on some world by people they seem to trust; he didn't know for sure, but he had a guess.]

I... Sorry.

[Fortunately (since it looks like everyone here is rapidly dying inside), Rey manages to get her tears under control quickly, waving a hand at Jake as she does so.]

No no no, i-it's not...it's not you, don't apologize-

[There's a part of her - the part that she does her best to silence whenever it decides to contribute something - already chastising her for getting so emotional so quickly, for potentially driving away another person who seems to care for her. As comforting as Cynthia's presence was, being in Sinnoh is making her feel like she needs to start all over again; she was so comfortable with her Resistance companions, with Be-

-no, not with him, she needs to get him out of her mind because the Ben Solo she thought she knew died right before her eyes-

-and now that she's had a taste of real friendship, of what it feels like...she wants it back. Desperately.]

I only found out recently, that's all, so it's still....a bit raw.

[How about we just...change the subject while she sorts out her appearance.]

What about you? Are you...somewhere good?

[Rey is well aware this topic could backfire spectacularly - as it did for Jake - but for now, she'll take the chance.]

[Thankfully for everyone involved, the topic change brings with it a deep breath and a reasonably easy confirmation that this is probably not going to backfire spectacularly.]

Well, we stopped the latest crazy person from ending the world, so at least it's back to its usual level of insanity instead of sitting solidly at Terror Level: Bugfuck.

[...]

...I'm doing pretty okay, actually. Looking after a bunch of kids in one of our desert regions right now, I promised 'em I'd make sure nothing was going to fuck with them. I look out for them so they don't have to grow up doing the same shit I did, you know?

...that's really lovely of you.

[For a moment, Rey's mind wanders, imagining what her life would have been like if she'd had someone on Jakku looking after her - not necessarily a family member, just...someone. Someone who cared enough to make sure nothing bad happened to her. Someone strong like Jake.

...

...she had promised herself that she was going to stop the tears, not restart them, so she manages to keep her emotions in check. But still...what a nice thought. Maybe she'll return to it later.]

...I can confirm that growing up in the desert is a pretty miserable experience when you're alone, so.

[...that was an attempt at humor, she promises. Look, she'll even smile so you know she's fine! No more tears!

...

why is communicating so hard]

I mean, it's a pretty miserable experience in Edonia, too, for what it's worth.

[...communication...]

You look like you came out pretty okay, though. Your head's still on right, and you've got your priorities figured out. Who cares if they're not everyone else's, you do you.

Edited (pretend i speak english) 2018-06-06 09:34 (UTC)

[...o-oh

what...nice compliments]

...thank you. I...well, I just survived, that's all.

[...]

I feel the same about you. I mean, in regards to priorities and coming out okay after your experiences. You seem like...a very kind person, even though the world has been cruel to you. You actually remind me of a friend from back home - I think you two would get along really well.

[Growing up as a Stormtrooper was probably similar to what Jake went through, after all.]

And at least we're both free from the desert for now. I've never actually been in a city this big.

[...is it obviously she's overwhelmed just by the shopping experience alone? Because she is.]

[god, what the hell does he do with all of you people

thinking he's a nice person and everything

...talk about nothing, apparently, that's what.]

Some of the cities back in Edonia are bigger than this, but they're kind of a mess right now because of everything that's been going on. [You know, the...world-ending attempts and everything.] They'll straighten themselves out, though, they always do.

[...yep.]

Tell me about your friend, though, I'm curious.

Ah, about Finn?

[This is a far better topic than if she had escaped Jakku - well done, Jake!]

He had an awful childhood too; raised from birth to be a mindless soldier. But he managed to escape from the First Order - the organization that trained him - and now he's part of the Resistance fighting against the First Order, like me! He's the one who helped me escape from Jakku, actually. He's...a really good person. I miss him terribly.

[Finn would know what to do about all these clothes. Or at least, he'd pretend to know and they could both laugh about it.

...]

That's why I think you two would get along. Similar stories. There's something...I don't know, sort of...comforting, about talking to someone who really understands.

[Huh.]

He sounds pretty great; it's...good, knowing you've got someone like that. Hopefully you'll get to see him again soon.

I hope so. I'm trying not to worry about him too much.

[Since it's pointless, and all. Still...]

What about you? Do you have someone you miss?

[...Well, when you put it like that, good lord.]

Yeah, kinda. I haven't seen her in a while so it's not like I'm around her all the time, but still. Her name's Sherry, she...sorta saved me.

Week 1.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)