explosivecombat | 004. [Text/Action for Goldenrod City]

004. [Text/Action for Goldenrod City]

[ACTION]

[Three days gone, with no explanation.

Kimblee had awakened strangely on Tuesday, feeling as though he hadn't slept much at all, and throughout the day he'd been unable to shake it - it's the same sort of feeling he gets when when he's been overstimulated, maybe, or spent time on a particularly difficult assignment. He would have chalked that up to a simple failure at restful sleep - he's not immune, and it happens - but then he'd checked the Gear for the time and date.

Three days gone. No memories from those three days whatsoever.

That. Doesn't. Happen.

He'd spent most of the day more wary than usual; he doesn't like this any, nor does he like the fact that there's nothing he can do about it. Even the normal solace he finds in sound isn't coming to him; he usually finds the music in Johto to be a nice constant, but now it's just grating on him - hell, he can't even be sure that anyone else is hearing it at all, and that's no use to him whatsoever.

Bluntly put, he's been feeling disoriented, Johto makes next to no damn sense as it is, and this entire thing is leaving him just a bit irritable and not wanting to stay in one place for very long. So! Today he's out wandering around Goldenrod; he doesn't seem too terribly bothered by the snow, though the heavy coat he has on over his suit and the long, pale scarf he has wrapped around his neck and shoved into his collar is definitely helping, as are the gloves he usually wears. He's determined to find something to clear his head; after a while, he finds himself in front of a building that's both stupidly loud and gaudily done-up. He kind of tilts his head at it for a moment; the place is pretty much an exercise in sensory overstimulation, isn't it.

It's perfect.

He pauses for a moment before entering; the music playing softly through the streets is the same as it always was. He doesn't want to ask if anyone else is hearing it; that's just asking for trouble. However, there are ways to get some sort of response without asking directly. He pulls out his Gear briefly, sending out a quick message via Text before entering that...casino. Game Corner. Thing.]

[TEXT]

Has anyone been able to locate the source of the incessant stream of music, or is that another of those mysteries that we're encouraged to not think too much about?

[OOC: Action-wise, you're more than welcome to catch him outside the building itself...otherwise, he fully intends to spend the next good while wanting to kill a slot machine in the face, so he won't exactly be hard to meet up with if he's seen.]

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Amestris.

Have you met a man named "Victor"?

Edited 2011-12-15 07:16 (UTC)

I haven't, but you're the second person who's mentioned him to me. Do you recall what he looked like?

[ Honestly? He's never actually seen this guy up close and personal, and that Pokegear thing doesn't have a large enough screen for him to see much clearly. ]

Erm... honestly can't tell you much, I've never met him personally. He has really weird hair!

[ Yeah, that's about it. ]

[...really...]

...define "weird hair."

[ There's probably a word to perfectly describe what he's trying to get at, but Maes really isn't hip in the culture of hair or whatever.

He pauses for a moment to think of a way to describe it.

And finally gets up to pull out a pad of paper.

... And then draws something similar to a palm tree. Or, at least... tries to draw something similar to a palm tree. His artwork is about as good as his cooking, honestly. ]

[Holy shit, he's good at this sort of thing! It took Archer weeks to get enough for that damn Abra!]

If you win enough to purchase a Porygon, I'll pay you back. I don't have the time or patience to sit at these machines all day and lose, but I really do want that Pokémon.

[He'll return to the original topic after a moment though, frowning at the machine in front of him. Kimblee looks like he hasn't been sleeping. If the time and date on the 'Gear was correct, then Archer's been passed out for three days. That never happens. It seems Kimblee hasn't gotten any sleep over those three days. It's not something he intends to bring up.]

I gave up after that cat hatched from the egg.

[That will get a rueful smile out of him, at least.]

[...Hughes, what the hell is that? Kimblee just kind of headtilts at it for a moment; really, the last time he saw a hairsplosion like that, it was when he was being picked up from Central Prison by that soldier who randomly turned into En-

..................

Really.]

...well, I certainly can't say I recognize it; if anyone were wandering around Amestris with hair like that, I'd definitely remember them.

[Well, that drawing is definitely giving him more than enough of a reason to not be making eye contact - he's generally terrible at that when he lies, usually staring at a far wall or the ceiling/sky instead, and he has next to no poker face besides - and given that he's still working with Lust, to his knowledge, he isn't about to sell her out by telling Hughes about the Homunculi. He supposes, in a way, that his promise of silence can extend to Envy as well; Envy may not be from his world, but that's a minor detail in terms of this, really.]

[ He's too busy staring at his drawing to notice anything. Because... he's not quite sure if that drawing is altogether correct.

Shrug ]

Ah, either way, I've heard this isn't the first time.

...really, I'm not entirely sure if that's good news or not.

[ He taps his chin thoughtfully. ]

Do you remember drinking or eating something strange?

[ Though, the idea of an entire city being drugged was kind of ridiculous. ]

[...okay, that's actually managed to amuse him, good job. His tone is decidedly lighter this time around, moreso than it usually is when this topic comes up; simply teasing this time around, nothing more.]

Well, at the very least I've noticed far less shrieking histrionics over the network; perhaps it really is for the best if you leave well enough alone.

[...as for that Porygon, damn it.]

And you think I'll spend large amounts of time sitting here for the sake of getting something like that for you? If you want it that badly, you can win your own.

[But that's neither here nor there, is it? Not really, if he knows Archer at all.]

...somehow I doubt you were seeking me out just to make small talk like this, Archer.

[Gorthan, now back in his perfectly human and terrestrial body, doesn't get you, Johto. Which is... quite alright, since he loves being surprised. Why is the paramount attraction for the loftier classes in Goldenrod... this? A casino, of all things? And the music, dear Evron! Who would ever want to listen to this? The fast, cheery sounds make Gorthan's head ache, before he realizes that there is no way that tune is ever getting out of his head now, so he might as well enjoy it.

He doesn't quite see Kimblee at first, since he's too dazzled by the bright colors and dazed by the brain-adhesive tune. Is this really what Earthlings believe is high-class entertainment nowadays?]

[...not...high-class entertainment, no. More like entertainment for those with money to burn - there's a difference.

Of course, Kimblee doesn't exactly have a whole hell of a lot of money to burn, but he's here anyway. Constant stimulus tends to have an odd effect on him, calming him down instead of winding him up; he can simply shut his brain off for several hours and not have to think, though he never really loses himself in it - Pride had discovered that well enough, hadn't he? That had been amusing; he can't say that he hadn't died satisfied with himself.

He's at a point where he's not frustrated with the machines just yet; rather, he's morbidly fascinated by them, perfectly content to be overloaded by the constant barrage of colors and motion and sound. It's almost hypnotic, really; that said, his gaze remains there rather than on those entering and leaving the place.

...the fact that he surprisingly doesn't suck at slots is helping immensely when it comes to holding his attention. As little as one can actually be good at slots, his luck is actually holding up rather well, and he's currently in the process of trying to figure out line combinations and how they work; however, as the volume within the place is keeping most of his thought process internal, for all intents and purposes Kimblee appears to be just kind of zoned out in front of a slot machine. Once in a while muttering something to himself or reaching out in a vaguely dazed manner to trace something over the screen, but for the most part just kind of spacing hard.]

sounds about right.

[Envy thinks your lineface is amusing, Kimblee.]

well, if Johto keeps following patterns like it has, you can look forward to this happening again around May. this incident was the third of its kind.

[Finally, Gorthan spots Kimblee. His step as the alien approaches him is slow and leisurely. Eventually, he opts to stand a few feet behind Kimblee, hands joined behind his back as he always does when he's just standing idly.

How interesting that Kimblee would be into this kind of thing. And even more than that, what is interesting is the fact that he seems to have chosen a fairly methodical way of going about it.

The thing about Gorthan today is that there's quite a bit of... stuff on his mind. And as, as is often the case with him, he's halfway between wanting to share said stuff with more or less the first known person he sees and wanting to keep it to himself at all costs.

... As always, quoting lines from the Bard, followed by a small comment, is always a good way to test the waters before deciding to go in either direction. So, Kimblee, there will be a fairly long bit of murmuring going on behind your shoulders, the sound just loud enough to be heard alongside with the music as opposed to over it.]

"Wine loved I deeply, dice dearly; and in woman out-paramour'd the Turk;
false of heart, light of ear, bloody of hand; hog in sloth, fox
in stealth, wolf in greediness, dog in madness, lion in prey.
Let not the creaking of shoes nor the rustling of silks betray
thy poor heart to woman..."

... Women as temptation from some form of demonic force. ... Then again, this is from King Lear, a world where beauty and sin go hand in hand. But is that truly always the case? I think not.

[Kimblee bristles slightly as he becomes aware of someone standing behind him, though he doesn't sense any malice coming from the individual; he simply continues with what he was doing, resisting the urge to turn and snap at the person because really, standing behind someone in such a way is rude and if you would like to know how to operate one of these damn machines he'd be more than willing to show you -

...but then speaking happens. He recognizes the voice, of course, as well as that usual style of nattering on about relative nothing; he doesn't turn around, instead keeping his focus on the machine.]

...difficulty with the ladies, Gorthan?

[... You are quite the perspicacious fellow, good sir. As a matter of fact, you just provided a remarkable summary of Gorthan's current troubles.]

Perhaps. Perhaps not. How does the Red Lotus Alchemist perform in that department?

[...somewhat ridiculous, yes, but sadly a logical conclusion, given Johto as a whole.]

I wouldn't say so, no, but we're also being made to consume whatever's available here. If something has control over a large part of the region, wouldn't it be easy to taint the supply as a whole, at the source?

That makes as much sense as anything else, doesn't it.

[It isn't exactly a question, but that doesn't render the statement any less rhetorical.]

Are there any other bizarre occurrences I should be aware of, or is this about the worst of it?

[Well, you're being ridiculously passive-aggressive; he might as well cut directly to the chase and not sit here through a lot of senseless waffling while you try to make him give enough of a damn to ask. More efficient this way, you see.

...Kimblee has been in a bit of a foul mood lately, don't mind him.]

That depends on what kind of answers you're looking for.

At this point, I can't say I'd be surprised if the latter proves to be the case, as nonsensical as it is.

[ You never know, Team Rocket could've put drugs in the water supply and...

.... wait... he's not going to give you ideas, Team Rocket... ]

A little too easy, for comfort, actually.

[And Gorthan thought he was the one with a tendency to read too much into things. Does he need to make you coffee again?]

It's an entirely new territory to me. At this stage, any insight you'd be willing to share on the subject is a useful one.

[Actually, no, randomly breaching a topic that had nothing to do with anything in a vaguely cryptic yet ultimately transparent way, in order to get someone to ask what the hell you're talking about...that's passive-aggressive, honey. But nice try.]

Well, you might want to start by not comparing them to any sort of demonic force. At least, not to their faces.

[His tone is light, however; just teasing, really, nothing more. Honestly, this is one of the rare instances where he actually wants to talk about someone else's problems - it keeps him from focusing on his own right now.]

In all seriousness, now - surely you can't expect me to give you insight when I don't know what it is you're trying to do. When it comes to women, there's a difference between wanting a relationship with one and just wanting to...ah, enjoy one's company for a while, if you get my drift.

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004. [Text/Action for Goldenrod City]

gentlemenly scholars who get it all wrong.

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