004 | Goldenrod City | Text / Action;

[nostabbing]

[It's late afternoon, it's eighty-six degrees and sunny, and here on a Goldenrod City park bench sits Parker with her hair pulled back in a ratty braid that dangles forgotten over one shoulder. She's basically commandeered the whole bench at this point, even though she's only occupying one small end of it; the rest remains wholly unusuable because it's covered in all manner of stuff, from Pokemon plushies to coin purses to potted plants to other odds and ends you might find at the prize counter of an arcade (and yes, there's a red-and-white Pokeball tucked away in there, too).

But despite the heaps of stuff (and the Poochyena in a fedora standing guard over it nearby, and the Vulpix with the diamond necklace for a collar sifting through it with interest), Parker doesn't seem particularly happy as she hangs out on the bench, silent but for the sound of the pencil scratching idly over the sketchpad propped against her knees. One word for her demeanor here might be "indifferent"; another few that could probably also fit would be "apathetic", "detached", "listless", or even just plain "bored".

Page by page, she's filling the sketchpad with drawings that, to all appearances, she couldn't care less about. Which might be more accurate a description than one might expect, really; this time, appearances aren't deceiving.

But eventually she sets the sketchpad aside, screws up her face for a ninety-second impromptu theater of Frustration: The Facial Expressions, and then reaches for her Gear to posit a burning question to the network: ]

~
Hey, so.

How do you know when you like stuff?


[...What? IT'S A SERIOUS QUESTION. ಠ_ಠ ]

Comments

text

[onelevelmeaner]

This is a joke, right?

text

[nostabbing]

What?

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[onelevelmeaner]

There is no way someone can't figure out whether or not they like stuff. That's just stupid.

[Text]

[francia]

[Well, certainly not the weirdest thing he's ever seen posted in the network.]

By "stuff" do you mean a particular sort of thing or just "stuff" in general?

[Text]

[nostabbing]

Like...stuff. Like cooking or acting or being a control freak or...whatever. Stuff. That people...like.

How do you know?

[Text]

[francia]

Well, it is different for everyone, but when I like something, I desire to obtain it. When I do obtain it, the act of obtaining it and knowing it is now mine brings me some level of satisfaction.

Say, I'm rather fond of chocolates. Whenever I make them, I feel happy and look forward to eating them.

[rapid_dash]

Are y'asking about likin' people or things, here?

[nostabbing]

Oh, hi.

[IT'S YOU. THANK GOODNESS. HELLO.]

I dunno. Like anything. Like...what you do besides your job.

[rapid_dash]

[Good question, Parker, he's still actually getting used to that himself.]

Yo.

Man, I know where you're comin' from. Back in my world, all I did was work. I guess before that, though, I'd just try things that seemed interestin' and gave it a whirl. It's how I picked up flyin' choppers.

Text;

[stfuscarab]

[Uh.]

Is this a legit question?

Text;

[nostabbing]

You got a problem with it?

[action]

[rocketralph]

_{[AND LO. A huge shadow falls over Alice and her hoard.]}

What's all this stuff? Early Christmas shopping?

[action]

[nostabbing]

[Oh, boy! Someone she's actually kind of happy to see! The listlessness momentarily flees, replaced by a smile.]

Hi, Ralph! No, I won it. At the Game arcade thing.

[Yes. All of it.]

[text]

[triptoprofiling]

Would you like the short or long version of that explanation?

[text]

[nostabbing]

Which one answers it better?

text;

[eagletalons]

[... Well he's not smart in the slightest about emotions. This might be difficult.]

Personally, it's when I feel a positive emotion just by thinking about it.

[He might need some scientific methoding to do better at this later.]

text;

[nostabbing]

[Oh, hey, it's this guy.]

Like what?

[Really, it's an honest question.]

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[enjoymyatelier]

[...does he... really want to engage...

...okay morbid curiosity is getting the better of him]

What do you mean by that, exactly?

text

[nostabbing]

[Morbid curiosity is always the right answer.]

Why does everybody keep asking me that?

[action]

[ardent]

[It's a nice day outside, the sort that Ishimaru still can't quite get enough of experiencing; it's kind of impressive how little he's willing to take for granted at this point - not that he took days like this for granted terribly much even back before Hope's Peak, given that he's just that sort of person, and he's generally so energetic that it wouldn't be surprising if he were somehow solar-powered anyway.

He still hasn't mastered the art of dressing like a normal person and at this point he's not even trying, but at least the white uniform means that he's not dressed like some sort of hoodlum; the military-style boots do ensure that his tread is heavy as hell, however, and his approach is a fairly obvious one.]

Good afternoon, Alice-san!

[okay so the fact that he's kind of yelling before said approach is even complete kind of ensures that it's a really damn obvious approach but he's pleased to see her okay -

...wow, that is a lot of stuff. Let him just. Kind of pause a bit in front of her because good lord, stuff.

...it's likely rude to question her too much about the stuff, but someone should probably talk to her about the comfort-shopping eventually...as it stands, his attention has actually been diverted by...whatever it was she was doing a second ago.]

Were you drawing something just now?

[action]

[nostabbing]

[It's pretty hard to sneak up on a thief, and Parker does see him coming — and would've even if he hadn't been really super obvious about it. Of course, this also means that Nate and Sophie see him coming, too, and they both perk up as well, in that peculiar canine way where you're not quite sure if they're going to trot over for a pet or bite your hand off.

Nate and Sophie are perhaps a little bit protective over their Parkermon.

Fortunately, Parker's already perked up and engaged by the question, because unlike the one about liking stuff, at least this one is easy enough to answer.]

Oh. Yeah, just the people walking by.

[As she hands over the sketchbook, which is filled with sketches about on the level of detail of a police sketch artist's — impressive, considering the passerby in question aren't staying stationary; she's drawing them from glimpses as they go past her.]

Nothing really important.

[ video ]

[gracefall]

Um...what do you mean like stuff?

[ video ]

[nostabbing]

Hi, Xiaoqiao.

[She waves a little.]

You know, like...stuff you do. For fun. That's not your job. How do you know what to do?

[ACTION]

[diamondo]

[Better look out Parker, because there's a Scraggy eyeing your stuff. She seems to think she's a sneaky little thing because she oh-so-casually approaches, picks up one of the Pokémon plushies, and makes a run for it.

This would work better if she didn't have such baggy "pants." She promptly trips over herself and falls flat on her face, the plushie bouncing out of her hands. She scrambles to her feet and reaches for the plushie--

Only to have her irritated-looking trainer snatch it away from her.]

Ryder! How many times am I gonna have to tell you to stop stealing! Fuck, you're gonna get me in trouble one of these days!

[The Scraggy pouts and turns around, eyeing the other plushies mischievously. Clearly she's not done yet.]

Hey, sorry about her. She's... kinda a handful and I'm still getting used to her.

[Mondo approaches, holding the Pokémon plushie out for Parker to take.]

[ACTION]

[nostabbing]

[Wow, EXCUSE YOU, fail!thief, Parker's actually more offended at the terrible attempt at thievery than she is at the fact that the Scraggy was actually attempting to steal something in the first place. Like come on, at least have some standards. That lift was terrible! No distraction, no misdirect, and the exit strategy was a joke. That's just sad, man. That's just sad.

Nate the Poochyena (in a fedora) and Sophie the Vulpix, however, do not appear as lenient about this attempt on their trainer's stash; Ryder the Scraggy might now find herself the unfortunate recipient of two very intent sets of watchful eyes, and possibly the warning flash of bared teeth on the part of Nate as well.]

Got yourself a little thief, huh?

[Parker seems entirely too merry about this as she takes the plushie back, regarding it for a minute before giving it an affectionate squeeze against her chest.]

She's only gonna get you in trouble if she doesn't get better at it. I mean, it's only a problem if you get caught, right?

[...ha-hah, what is social normalcy.]