010 [ACTION FOR ILEX FOREST/AUDIO] [BACKDATED TO THE 11TH]

[enjoymyatelier]

[It was about halfway through the day before both realizations hit Kayneth. He found himself sitting down in the clearing next to the Ilex Shrine with his Pokemon for a lunch break after spending most of the morning training and trying to check the area out, and after starting to eat he began internally lamenting that he wouldn't have settled for these cheap excuses for ingredient a year ago before realizing that it had been exactly a year ago that he'd arrived in Johto.

This was followed up by the realization that he was also officially another year older, though that... probably actually happened a few months ago. He hadn't really bothered to work out the math, because he thought he wouldn't care that much.

...he actually kind of did, though, and he couldn't really figure out why. He'd always somewhat dreaded birthdays since it had always involved dealing with irritating distant relatives and ensuring that he didn't end up on the wrong end of family and Association politics-it was never dangerous for him and he was practically untouchable, but it was annoying all the same. Here, though... he didn't have to worry about any of it.

...now that he didn't, though, it just felt kind of empty and meaningless. Particularly given that... really, what had he accomplished since he'd gotten to Johto? Getting a starter that was positively useless, only getting the easy first badge in a year, losing to a teenage girl in the first round of a tournament, effectively having his engagement broken off by the woman he loves twice, meeting some acquaintances that he could possibly have called friends and having most of them disappear from this world within several weeks of this date...

...well, very little of that could be considered his fault, even though it was pretty distressing. He'd just run into a patch of bad luck, and it had continued for his entire stay here for whatever reason. That thought didn't make things any better for him, though.

After some time spent staring into nowhere as he ate his sandwich, he considered going for his PokeGear, but... no!! Venting to the network would be totally undignified!!

...but it wasn't like he could talk to his Pokemon about this. He had kind of weird opinions about them to begin with, and they were natives so it wasn't like they'd have any idea what he was going through...

...bluuuuh]

I suppose I'm feeling a bit philosophical on my one-year anniversary of arriving in this world, so I may as well attempt to ask one of those popular open questions to the network that are intended to be thought-provoking or... something.

[Kayneth sounds a bit tired and his tone has a hint of "I can't even believe I'm doing this I should be asking about something I care about," and... well, yes, that is precisely how he feels, but at the same time he needs to talk about something...]

What was your impression of this place shortly after arrival, and how has that changed-

[He stops suddenly after saying that, then lets out a curt, frustrated sigh.]

No, that's an awful question, and I wouldn't blame anyone for not being able to come up with a coherent answer to it. Honestly, I can't for the life of me form a consistent opinion of this place-some days I'm enjoying myself-or at least I may have managed to trick myself into thinking I'm enjoying myself-and other days I have nothing but hatred for this place. It's certainly an interesting puzzle to try and piece together how this world works and what's behind our presence here, yet there are so many things about it that are an absolute nightmare to deal with. Our inability to go home, random disappearances, the lack of infrastructure, the constant music...

[...as he trails off he realizes that yeah he just kind of ended up venting to the network anyway didn't he

how

inelegant he should be more controlled than this what has this place even done to him

ugh, he just

he just]

...anyway, is there anywhere in Azalea that has good alcohol? Or cake, I suppose. If I have to settle for just cake, I will. I rather like the place otherwise, but one bar in town is positively atrocious and I wouldn't be seen dead in there.

Comments

video;

[ex_cashcow493]

Congratulations. [ Said as flatly as possible.

At least he's alive?? And his head is on his shoulders instead of at her feet?? ]

You cannot possibly wish to know my answer so I will keep you from it. Why cake?

video;

[enjoymyatelier]

[congrats Kayneth you are older than you will ever be in canon

...not that he knows this but um]

...well, I did say I didn't exactly expect any answers, so I'm not going to pry. As for your question... I'd like cake because I may as well have cake on my birthday.

video;

[ex_cashcow493]

[ He could always find out if Saber broke the news to him. "Happy birthday, I killed you." ]

Oh.

[ Gosh, what does the King of Knights say to that? ] Happy... birthday?

audio;

[nostabbing]

Hey. You're the guy who Bernie belongs to, right?

[...]

Can I talk to him?

audio->text

[enjoymyatelier]

[







?????]

...Yes, I suppose so.

[...he'll just hand the gear off to Bernini, who, after a great deal of persistence, has figured out... letters and words...]

helloo???

text

[nostabbing]

[Oh man she didn't know Bernie could type, too! She was just going to ask Nate to translate or something. BUT THIS IS EVEN BETTER.]

Hi, Bernie! You're a smart birdy.

[And she is so proud of that.]

Did your egg hatch yet?

[The one...that is not actually your egg...because it is in fact a Slowpoke...]

audio;

[timelymaid]

I can answer that question if you did want!

Sadly I'm not sure about the cake or alcohol, though. Maybe you can grab a travel guide?

audio;

[enjoymyatelier]

If you have an answer for it, then by all means, go ahead. I simply wasn't expecting one.

I suppose I could, but I was hoping for something a little more personal.

audio;

[timelymaid]

I thought it seemed like fun! But then, the first people to reply to me were among my friends. And the situation back home was rather more tense than it is here! And...I suppose it hasn't changed too much. I wasn't sure this place would be as permanent as it has ended up being. It hasn't changed, or sent me away, I mean. And I'm glad for that. I rather like it here - and the people!

Hm, I just never spent much time there, sadly, or I could try to give you a more personal recommendation!

video

[dreamsofahero]

There isn't.

*...because clearly the alcohol is the most important part of this post*

video

[enjoymyatelier]

...there's not even a separate store...?

[his. luck.]

Re: video

[dreamsofahero]

None that specializes in it, just the general mart.

*believe him, he's LOOKED when he stayed there fore several weeks...*

[audio]

[failures]

[At first, Larry carefully listens to the recording. Judging by that tone and those questions, he can tell what sort of stuff Kayneth's going through right now. Only because he's gone through it a couple times himself.

He chooses to instead respond to the second bit because who wants to talk about depressing stuff?]

Gonna have to dash your hopes and say nope on the alcohol part. Me and one of my best friends, when he was here, had to bring our own booze from other towns when we stayed in Azalea because it was that bad. Not sure about the cake though.

What are you doing in Azalea, anyway? There's like nothing there except for the gym. [...wait.] Is that what you're there for?

[audio]

[enjoymyatelier]

...how is it even possible that an entire town has no decent alcohol whatsoever? I'm not walking all the way back to Goldenrod just for a drink.

Mostly that, yes, though I'm also interested in the Ilex Shrine.

[audio]

[failures]

You're underestimating Azalea's ability to be terrible at alcohol, man. Maybe you can get something flown in?

Oh yeah, I remember seeing that thing. It's in the forest, right? What's so special about it?

[video]

[darkenedgales]

We'd sit here until your next anniversary if I tried to answer that, so I'll stick to the short version: it sucked, but got better.

[There! Short, simple, but carries the sentiment just fine. He thinks.]

... Can't say I know, I was only there for a short while and ages ago. [A beat.] Buuut I could always deliver you those!

[video]

[enjoymyatelier]

...honestly, I'd say there was more of a series of bell curves for me, but I can understand getting used to it.

...wait, would you really...?

[man he isn't even going to care how common you are if you pull through you will be his new best friend]

[video]

[darkenedgales]

... I guess there have been some downturns, but... That's how things go in every world, no?

[But forget that! Booze and cake are more important.]

Sure thing! 'S my job, y'know.

[Video]

[babel_hacker]

[Anniversary...speaking of anniversaries, his second one should be coming up this month.]

Congrats on being in Pokemon land for that long. Maybe you'll lucked out and be here for another anniversary.

[As for his other questions.]

Dunno about alcohol [Atsuro's not a drinker, even when he's almost at drinking age by Japanese law.] or cake. But my impression of this world was pretty good. My best friend and my teacher greeted me when I arrived.

[An easy way to make him happy, seeing the people he trusts on his first day.]

[Video]

[enjoymyatelier]

It's not something that I really deserve to be congratulated on, and would really rather not.

[...usual issues with this sort of thing aside, he should have been able to figure out how to leave by now]

I spoke to people I rather vaguely knew, but our impressions of each other weren't exactly pleasant.

[Video]

[babel_hacker]

Depends on whatever decides on who leaves and who stays, and if they want to keep you around.

[Hey, Kayneth's not the only one looking for a way out.]

Rivals of yours?

cries @ my pokefandom references....

[licentious]

I believe there is a bakery called The Apricorn, and there's definitely a saloon of sorts called Slowpoke. [ Yeah. Lust is pretty much the Johto version of siri.

ANYWAYS, Lust just silently nods her head at his rant. ]

I concur with your rather impassioned talk. Some days aren't so bad, even if I'd much rather be back at home. I believe that insipid music gets worse as time goes on. It's almost taunting you for your patience.

[enjoymyatelier]

I've been to the saloon, and I have to say that it's absolute swill. The fact that there's a bakery is good, though. Can you tell me about the quality?

...well, I'll admit that I forgot myself, but yes. The music is really one of the worst parts of this place. Just when you think you've stopped paying attention to it, you arrive in a new location and you hear a slightly different tune and then it takes forever to get used to it. It's completely absurd.

private

[usedshooshpap]

Shit's a bit conflicting on my end, to be honest. There's still a fuck ton of things that are going on and shifting back where I should be. When I first got here, all I wanted to do was get the mighty fuck back so that these goals could be accomplished. This place? Being human? It was startling and made me pretty damn sick to my now squishy and far more vulnerable human organs.

None of that really changed until I went back, I guess. Shit really hit the whirling device in ways that I couldn't predict. I'm not a Mind player, you know? Just Blood.

I realized that here, in this place, I'm pretty damn successful. Back there? Not so much. I let the people I thought I was leading down and was just a loudmouthed little bulgesucker that wanted attention and recognition. Like I had to prove my worth or some ridiculous notion like that. So when I came back and reflected upon the time I spent here and compared it to the time that I would be spending flying around in space, hurtling towards a destination and session in which I had no confidence in myself about...

Well I figured that being like this, right here, might not be a bad thing.

private

[enjoymyatelier]

[...he didn't actually expect anyone to answer in that much detail, uh

...and he really doesn't know how to feel about that answer]

...honestly, I feel like I've had roughly the opposite experience that you have, which... would certainly explain a few things.