Who: ANYONE AND EVERYONE Where: ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE When: May 29 - 31 Summary: GET IN HERE AND MINGLE Rating: BUT PLEASE MARK YOUR THREAD CONTENT ACCORDINGLY Log:
[Well, the tendency to stare and sort of...awkward all over a social interaction certainly isn't lost on Jake — he's spent too much time around Ax in a human morph to not instantly pick up on that kind of thing — but the equally good news is that the person in question is just awkward enough that all signs point against him potentially being a Controller. The last thing a Yeerk would want is to draw attention by missing social cues, and this guy is all but a neon sign of them.
(Not that you can ever be sure, obviously, but it's probably fine. And he's trying to remember how to be a normal kid himself at the moment, too.)
But there's something about the way the guy is interacting with the cats that rings familiar, too, and it takes him a minute before he realizes: he's seen this tendency before, too, in the form of Erek the Chee when presented with a dog. The Chee had loved their Pemalite masters; it seems like there's a similar sort of affection present here.
And that's sort of reassuring.]
That still leaves me with the problem of finding one, but that's good to know, thanks. You're...from around here, I guess?
Oh - yes and no, I'm not from this particular region but this world itself is the one I've always belonged to. Is it yours as well...? My friends have told me about the ones that have been brought here from elsewhere.
[Or maybe you're from somewhere near Unova? You sound like you might be, but that isn't anything he's going to voice; Unova isn't something he's inclined to bring up right away, not after his father generally...did the thing all over the region, not when he's unsure of whether this person deserves an explanation or an apology.]
I...guess you could say it's a little of both. I'm not from around here, but I'm...familiar with some of it.
[Ah, the good old days when he had one cartridge and Marco had the other and many long summer afternoons were spent grinding and capturing to help fill out each other's Pokedexes...
Ah, the good old days when doing battle with Articuno was the most difficult challenge he had to face in life.]
When you say your friends, you're, uh. Talking about the...
[It's tempting to say "cats", but it's possible a native won't know what the hell a "cat" is, so he opts to just gesture and hope for the best.]
[And that gets him to glance behind him like he's verifying that they're still there; they are, and more importantly that's good enough of an indication that this guy's from nowhere near Unova, because he has lots of friends like this back there and they'd be easily recognized.
He relaxes at that, kind of a lot.]
Them too.
[...Right, acknowledge the person you're talking to again. Smile. Friends are good, and humans can likewise be friends if you let them and try really hard to not act like an abomination or a monster.]
The species name is Purrloin, by the way - they aren't the only friends I have, they're just the most recent, and they remind me of some I know back home.
[...Well, yes, he literally is a Natural, but that is beside the point; the point for the time being is that you are getting the weirdest look for your effort, Jake.]
...Is that what you're doing? Just filling the Dex out?
[His gaze darts at that, let's...try not to say something hideous.]
[It's the inclusion of the "just" that catches his attention, clues him in that he suddenly needs to start treading carefully; the weird look and shifting gaze only add to the weight of that suspicion, and he runs a hand through his hair to buy himself time as he tries to lock down what it is.]
You mean looking for the Pikachu? No, I...just hear they're pretty friendly. It'd be cool to see one while I'm here.
[Well, fortunately (after a few moments where he's back to staring at Jake's face like he's not entirely sure what to do with humans or their faces) that seems to placate him well enough; he thinks about it, certainly, and it's not an overly happy response, but there's still a very visible moment when the "...Oh. c:" sets in and we're back to business as usual.]
It would. I'm sure we can find one; there are all sorts of things in these woods, people and Pokémon that aren't usually here, maybe one was brought here to meet you. I wouldn't be surprised. What's your name, by the way?
[There aren't really transitions, as tangential though all that was - displaced people and pokémon let's find a friend that was brought here to meet you what's your name, all one solid line of thought. But at least it's an...attempt at an introduction at the end there. Tolerance!! He's doing so well today.]
[That...okay, that was some word salad but apparently we have #nailedit so let's just...let's just nod and smile and let the exuberant guy who can't social just keep on doing his thing.
...This course of action ends in Pikachu, that is what matters here.]
...Jake. My name is Jake.
[It is not weird to only have one name in Pokemon World; surely this will be fine and will not be remarked upon. Or so he hopes.]
[...in other words, someone with absolutely no right to comment on the one-name thing.]
It's interesting to me that you decided to befriend an electric-type, Jake; it's a good sign, I think. There are so many formulas dedicated to expressing the forces of electricity, and the way the energy of it connects the world and those within it - Pokémon and humans alike. Do you feel that energy as well?
[God, you can see the "UMMMMMMMMMM..." that hits in response to that as he just kind of...bluescreens for a moment; his gaze darts a little again, though it's not due to being bothered, it's just...
...Suddenly he has a great appreciation for the very human emotion best summarized with "oh, honey, no," let's put it that way.
He kind of laughs after a second, though.]
It's okay! Not everyone knows what I mean, but I think sometimes it's okay to not get it. It's how you learn from people. So I don't mind.
Tell me what you like about them, instead. Those ones you named.
[But then he kind of pauses, because there's something about the way that bit of conversation was starting to go that's nagging at him, and he can't quite put his finger on why. Something about energy...something about choice.
Maybe he'll figure it out as he dredges up his dusty Pokemon knowledge and takes a swing at this.]
Well, Charmander — it ends up as Charizard, right? So that's just cool, this huge flying dragon breathing fire and everything...but like, he's not invincible? He's got problems too, like with his tail flame and stuff, and he's weak to...Water, and there's tons of Water-types.
[Okay, this is coming back a little easier now.]
Uh...Poliwhirl, what's not to like, he's this buff little guy with boxing gloves on, and Kangaskhan, you don't see those too often, so they're pretty special when you manage to find one. And then Eevee, it's cool how they can end up a bunch of different things, Flareon or Jolteon or Vaporeon, just depending on which way they go. They're...versatile, and can kind of choose what's...right for them, I guess?
...I understand, and I'm glad you told me. I'm interested in those that people choose to be their friends, but I think it's just as important to know the reasons they were chosen. So many choose for strength or power or their own benefit - and those aren't friendships, not usually. Sometimes they become that way, but often there's an imbalance there.
But you're mentioning things like vulnerability as being desirable in its own way, or versatility with relation to choice and not usefulness...that's not common, I think. Thank you.
[...Yes, see, and that is a victory for the subtle art of "having nunchi" and quickly grasping that game mechanics and good type coverage were prooooobably going to be a bad way to go here.
In reality his answers are probably something more along the lines of "because it's Charizard what kind of heathen doesn't like Charizard" but you know what, he's not looking a gift horse in the mouth.]
Trust is a big part of a team. You can't just...use people like tools, there's got to be that relationship there too.
[...JAKE THERE IS AN IRONY...]
So is there, um. Where you're from, is there...sort of like a Persian, I guess, is there like a...big cat...looking kind of Pokemon, at all?
We have Liepards, which are what Purrloins evolve into - they're leaner than Persians are, with yellow spotted markings on them. And I know about Persians, though they aren't very common. The rest aren't like that, they're smaller - things like Delcatty and Purugly, but I don't think either or those are what you're thinking of if Persian is the example you're setting.
[WELCOME TO GEN V, WE HAVE LIKE FOUR CATS AND WHAT IS A PYROAR WE JUST DON'T KNOW.]
[Whether he means that in the typical pretentious sort of way or...genuinely is a little hard to say; he tends to talk over people's heads a lot, but given the Purrloins earlier, it's anyone's guess.]
Do you have something like that, wherever you're from?
Maybe, or maybe not. It's difficult to say who will end up resonating with us; the friends I've made on my journeys weren't always those I specifically set out to meet. Some were, but most weren't; there's no set formula to apply or pattern to work out, it just happens when it does. It's happened with a couple of humans as well, which was absolutely not what I set out for but I ended up finding them anyway.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
(Not that you can ever be sure, obviously, but it's probably fine. And he's trying to remember how to be a normal kid himself at the moment, too.)
But there's something about the way the guy is interacting with the cats that rings familiar, too, and it takes him a minute before he realizes: he's seen this tendency before, too, in the form of Erek the Chee when presented with a dog. The Chee had loved their Pemalite masters; it seems like there's a similar sort of affection present here.
And that's sort of reassuring.]
That still leaves me with the problem of finding one, but that's good to know, thanks. You're...from around here, I guess?
no subject
[Or maybe you're from somewhere near Unova? You sound like you might be, but that isn't anything he's going to voice; Unova isn't something he's inclined to bring up right away, not after his father generally...did the thing all over the region, not when he's unsure of whether this person deserves an explanation or an apology.]
no subject
[Ah, the good old days when he had one cartridge and Marco had the other and many long summer afternoons were spent grinding and capturing to help fill out each other's Pokedexes...
Ah, the good old days when doing battle with Articuno was the most difficult challenge he had to face in life.]
When you say your friends, you're, uh. Talking about the...
[It's tempting to say "cats", but it's possible a native won't know what the hell a "cat" is, so he opts to just gesture and hope for the best.]
no subject
He relaxes at that, kind of a lot.]
Them too.
[...Right, acknowledge the person you're talking to again. Smile. Friends are good, and humans can likewise be friends if you let them and try really hard to not act like an abomination or a monster.]
The species name is Purrloin, by the way - they aren't the only friends I have, they're just the most recent, and they remind me of some I know back home.
no subject
[LOOK AT THIS SMOOTH TALKER NAILING IT WITH THE LOCAL TERMINOLOGY
god bless many summers of his misspent youth.]
They really took to you quickly. You must be a natural.
no subject
...Is that what you're doing? Just filling the Dex out?
[His gaze darts at that, let's...try not to say something hideous.]
no subject
You mean looking for the Pikachu? No, I...just hear they're pretty friendly. It'd be cool to see one while I'm here.
no subject
It would. I'm sure we can find one; there are all sorts of things in these woods, people and Pokémon that aren't usually here, maybe one was brought here to meet you. I wouldn't be surprised. What's your name, by the way?
[There aren't really transitions, as tangential though all that was - displaced people and pokémon let's find a friend that was brought here to meet you what's your name, all one solid line of thought. But at least it's an...attempt at an introduction at the end there. Tolerance!! He's doing so well today.]
no subject
...This course of action ends in Pikachu, that is what matters here.]
...Jake. My name is Jake.
[It is not weird to only have one name in Pokemon World; surely this will be fine and will not be remarked upon. Or so he hopes.]
And you are?
no subject
[...in other words, someone with absolutely no right to comment on the one-name thing.]
It's interesting to me that you decided to befriend an electric-type, Jake; it's a good sign, I think. There are so many formulas dedicated to expressing the forces of electricity, and the way the energy of it connects the world and those within it - Pokémon and humans alike. Do you feel that energy as well?
no subject
Like, E=MC squared?
[CONVERSATIONS ARE HARD WHEN NO ONE KNOWS WHO'S DRIVING]
I dunno, there's a couple I always liked a lot. Charmander, definitely. Poliwhirl's pretty cool, Kangaskhan — Eevee, Eevee's pretty great...
no subject
[God, you can see the "UMMMMMMMMMM..." that hits in response to that as he just kind of...bluescreens for a moment; his gaze darts a little again, though it's not due to being bothered, it's just...
...Suddenly he has a great appreciation for the very human emotion best summarized with "oh, honey, no," let's put it that way.
He kind of laughs after a second, though.]
It's okay! Not everyone knows what I mean, but I think sometimes it's okay to not get it. It's how you learn from people. So I don't mind.
Tell me what you like about them, instead. Those ones you named.
no subject
[But then he kind of pauses, because there's something about the way that bit of conversation was starting to go that's nagging at him, and he can't quite put his finger on why. Something about energy...something about choice.
Maybe he'll figure it out as he dredges up his dusty Pokemon knowledge and takes a swing at this.]
Well, Charmander — it ends up as Charizard, right? So that's just cool, this huge flying dragon breathing fire and everything...but like, he's not invincible? He's got problems too, like with his tail flame and stuff, and he's weak to...Water, and there's tons of Water-types.
[Okay, this is coming back a little easier now.]
Uh...Poliwhirl, what's not to like, he's this buff little guy with boxing gloves on, and Kangaskhan, you don't see those too often, so they're pretty special when you manage to find one. And then Eevee, it's cool how they can end up a bunch of different things, Flareon or Jolteon or Vaporeon, just depending on which way they go. They're...versatile, and can kind of choose what's...right for them, I guess?
no subject
But you're mentioning things like vulnerability as being desirable in its own way, or versatility with relation to choice and not usefulness...that's not common, I think. Thank you.
no subject
In reality his answers are probably something more along the lines of "because it's Charizard what kind of heathen doesn't like Charizard" but you know what, he's not looking a gift horse in the mouth.]
Trust is a big part of a team. You can't just...use people like tools, there's got to be that relationship there too.
[...JAKE THERE IS AN IRONY...]
So is there, um. Where you're from, is there...sort of like a Persian, I guess, is there like a...big cat...looking kind of Pokemon, at all?
no subject
We have Liepards, which are what Purrloins evolve into - they're leaner than Persians are, with yellow spotted markings on them. And I know about Persians, though they aren't very common. The rest aren't like that, they're smaller - things like Delcatty and Purugly, but I don't think either or those are what you're thinking of if Persian is the example you're setting.
[WELCOME TO GEN V, WE HAVE LIKE FOUR CATS AND WHAT IS A PYROAR WE JUST DON'T KNOW.]
Why?
no subject
...Something you said earlier. About feeling a thing's energy.
[... :|a ]
I'm not sure if I really know what you're getting at, but my best guess is, my energy would be for...something like that.
no subject
[Whether he means that in the typical pretentious sort of way or...genuinely is a little hard to say; he tends to talk over people's heads a lot, but given the Purrloins earlier, it's anyone's guess.]
Do you have something like that, wherever you're from?
no subject
[Absently, he shoves his hands into his pockets.]
I guess we'll see; if something shows up here destined for me, it's...probably going to be something like that.
no subject