Seventh Viking Charge [Video]

[punchandkiss]

[Astrid is sitting on a bench outside of one of the big stores in Goldenrod, looking...a bit cross. After a minute of glaring at the camera, she reaches off screen and holds up a blue and yellow guitar.]

Whoever told me you could buy axes in Goldenrod, if this is what you meant...

[Yes, she's cross!]

This is not an axe! It's some kind of music...thing. I don't know. I asked for an axe and the guy sold me this. I don't even know what to do with it! I thought maybe it was a carrying case for an axe, some kind of modern...trick.

But it's not!

[She huffs and sets her guitar back down in her lap, plucking irritably at one of the strings.]

I don't suppose anybody does know what to do with it? I bought it, I have to do something with it.

[Another pause, and then she seems to remember something.]

Oh right, also. There's a thing that teaches pokemon to fly? A disc or square or...I don't know, whatever the word is. Someone said you can use it more than once, does anybody in goldenrod have one I could borrow for a couple minutes?

Comments

[video]

[punchandkiss]

Okay. I'll...uh. wait.

[And there she sits, plucking at her guitar absently. It makes a couple neat sounds, at least.]

[action]

[paladinlost]

[She won't have to pluck very long, as Cecil arrives two minutes earlier than planned, his Clefable in tow.]

Getting any results from that guitar?

[action]

[punchandkiss]

[She stands up when he arrives, holding the guitar awkwardly by the neck.]

Not really.

[action]

[paladinlost]

I have a friend who can defeat monsters with little more than music, but I have to admit that a normal axe would be easier to use.

[As he speaks, the Clefable looks through his bag, finally taking out a box and presenting it proudly.]

Ah, there they are. Thank you, Rosie.

[action]

[punchandkiss]

[Astrid considers the Clefable as she waits, one eyebrow raised.]

That's what a Clefairy turns into, right?

[She fishes around in her bags and then pulls out a pokeball, holding it out so Meatball, her (kind of fat) Pidgeot appears. The pokemon bounces a few steps and then turns to peer at the three of them curiously.]

[action]

[paladinlost]

That's right. From Clefairy to Clefable, with the help of a moon stone.

[He looks through through the disks in the box until he finds Fly, which he offers to her.]

There you go. You only need to break a piece of it over your Pidgeot's head.

[action]

[punchandkiss]

I caught a Clefairy when they were running around everywhere. She's kind of...[What's a nice word for it.] Hyperactive. And annoying.

[Not that Astrid minded, precisely. But some of her other pokemon did. She takes the offered disk and turns to Meatball, who hops over to her, peering up at her curiously. Astrid hesitates though.]

But if I break it, it's broken. You can't use it again.

[action]

[paladinlost]

Perhaps she'll grow out of it as she ages. Goodness knows Rosie had some bratty tendencies at first.

[Her second comment gets a wider smile out of him.]

That'd be the case with TMs, but not HMs. It'll repair itself after you're done, somehow. I've used it seven times already.

[action]

[punchandkiss]

Maybe. I hope so. She's driving my Dratini nuts.

[She hesitates for a moment, holding the little disc in her hand as she considers the pidgeot standing there waiting. She reaches out to give her a pat on the head, and then she brings up the disc and bops her over the head with it, her eyes a bit wide as she waits to see what happens.]

[action]

[paladinlost]

Chances are she'd still find ways to do so.

[The disk, its purpose activated, cracks, shines a little, repairs itself... That's it. Done. Ta-da. Not very visually impressive after the first few times, sorry.]

Re: [action]

[punchandkiss]

[It's enough to make Astrid almost drop it though, and then quickly had it back because that SHOULDN'T WORK THAT WAY.]

Uhm. Thanks. I guess I was expecting something...bigger.

[action]

[paladinlost]

The 'bigger' part comes when you try using it for the first time, I assure you.

[He places the disk back in the box, leaving Rosie to take care of it.]

[action]

[punchandkiss]

[Astrid looks from Cecil to Meatball and back.]

So she could already fly, but this means I can fly on her. I tried before, and it didn't work, I just...I don't understand why it works that way. Or how it works that way.

[action]

[paladinlost]

No one does, as far as I know. Even the list of creatures that can learn how to transport us makes very little sense at times. But I'd say that being allowed to fly with them is worth a little confusion.

[action]

[punchandkiss]

Yes, I hope so. I mean...I miss flying. [She looks a bit embarrassed.] But it still should make some kind of sense.

[action]

[paladinlost]

If you expect sense from this world, you'll find yourself disappointed. You might as well simply enjoy it.

[action]

[punchandkiss]

[She huffs at that.]

I don't see why wanting the world to make sense should be hopeless.

[action]

[paladinlost]

...Because the more you try to make sense of it, the more you realize that there's something wrong with it.

[punchandkiss]

Is this like Karkat claiming this is all a game?

[paladinlost]

Quite a few people have said that they previously knew this world through video games... But there is also the untraceable meat, the lack of government, strange happenings that took place nearly two years ago...

[It says a lot about his stay that he can say that in such a casual tone.]

[punchandkiss]

...strange happenings?

[paladinlost]

Weeks of stale air, all the music being replaced by a single tune, all the locals repeating a single sentence over and over again, the world itself being made of squares and a handful of colors, the Pokémon no one could identify...

[Funtimes.]

[punchandkiss]

...Okay, that's pretty weird. It hasn't happened since?

[paladinlost]

[He shakes his head.]

Only the once. At midnight on the first of November, everything was suddenly normal again.

[punchandkiss]

...Isn't that soon?

[And now she's a little paranoid.]