2nd gear | video + action to goldenrod city

[paishodown]

[It's around midday, and Asami's 'Gear is propped up to record her sitting at a small table in the park. Her Riolu sits quietly beside her. The worn table is inlaid with a chess board, and the seat across from her is empty for now.]

Where I'm from, we have a game called Pai Sho.

[She speaks while she reaches into her bag to pull out a newly purchased chess set- mainly, the directions.]

It's a game of careful thinking and ruthless strategy. There doesn't seem to be a real equivalent here, but someone did point me toward this. Chess.

[Asami begins taking out the pieces and laying them out on the board.]

Anyone know anything about it?

[She'll be here for a while, reading over the rules and trying to teach Teruko how to play with her.]

Comments

[ video ]

[paishodown]

More like broadening your vision, I'd say.

[She taps her chin.]

Taking all the variables into account.

[paishodown]

I've noticed that, too. Even though everything is completely different in a lot of ways,

[Those ledges?? wtf is up with that?]

there's still a common thread. People play boardgames, go out traveling, write each other letters...

[friendyousohard]

Correct on both counts, and no I don't know how that's possible. Certainly none of us who have abilities that the humans here would call supernatural have been allowed to keep them.

[She's just going to try to keep her bitterness out of her voice.]

[enjoymyatelier]

No, it's... definitely simpler. Honestly, other than the Gym Leaders and the odd Nurse Joy, you're going to get better conversation out of your Pokemon than most of the people here.

Unless, of course, you're absolutely riveted by the saga of Joey's Rattata and how it is, indeed, in the top percentage of all Rattata.

[ video ]

[teammother]

Hmm, that's not really a bad skill to develop, when you think about it... maybe I should give playing chess another try sometime.

[in_praetego]

I think the biggest factor of all is how everyone looks remotely human. No matter how different everything seems to be... we all kind of look the same.

[usedwrench]

I'm ...not sure. It's been a really long time since I last saw her. Last time I think she was mostly worried about probending shows after just getting into the team.

[That was one really early Korra back from episode 3 of first book or so. She's so sorry for being so unhelpful with this. |:]

[paishodown]

That's what's weird. I don't have any... particular abilities, so I didn't have anything taken away when I got here, but I know there are a bunch of people who lost something when they got here.

That says something about whatever's taking us here, I think. I don't know what, but...

[paishodown]

[Asami lets out a bit of a restrained laugh at that.]

I think I'd go crazy if I were the only one here.

[paishodown]

I never even considered that, actually. That the people here might be fundamentally different in some way.

[ video ]

[paishodown]

Exercising your mind can't hurt!

[paishodown]

Oh.

[Asami isn't sure if she should be relieved or disappointed... Should she even have an opinion? There isn't nearly enough information about all of this for her to be able to make any sense of it. Why even try?]

Then... she might not have known me, at that point. When did you last see her? Was it more than seven or eight months ago?

[enjoymyatelier]

Wouldn't we all? It's not as bad when you have people to commiserate with, but it's still utterly baffling in every way.

[paishodown]

I've wondered how they even manage to keep their industry afloat, to be honest. It doesn't even seem like there's enough people to run everything or build the cities they do.

[friendyousohard]

I think the idea is to keep the focus on the Pokemon, which is why weapons don't tend to work either. There's a certain logic to that, but still, it's aggravating at best.

[in_praetego]

It's one of the first things I noticed, actually. Even the natives of this world look similar to the typical human look.

For a different world, it's kind of surprising.

[enjoymyatelier]

Well, you could assume that it just does work... or you just assume there's a shadowy Illuminati-type organization making sure everything functions and, most importantly, tells us where the meat's actually coming from.

Re: Video

[dreamsofahero]

I'll keep that in mind.

Ah, I'm Sion Astal, by the way.

[usedwrench]

Mm, somewhere around there. [You'd think a girl would know to not say about these things at this point of her staying here.]

But people tend to come back here when you least expect them to wake up in that strange woman's house, and then they can also be from whatever time of their life too so... if she ever comes back [or when, because apparently it's a thing from their world too.] she might know you really well too.

Re: Video

[paishodown]

Asami Sato.

[paishodown]

I would hope so...

[But at the same time, she doesn't know if she really wants Korra here. Wouldn't that be selfish?]

Re: Video

[dreamsofahero]

It's a pleasure to meet you, Asami.

[usedwrench]

[Nope, it's not selfish at all but then again, Winry has been in that situation many times before... Ugh, she wants to give you the biggest hug ever.]

We can hope so together! If you don't mind that...

M-Meanwhile -- [SOMETHING ELSE TO THINK ABOUT! REALLY, something else, anything. Oh right, intro, sort of again.] -- my name is Winry Rockbell, I'm an automail engineer back home and guess you'd call me just a mechanic here. [She doesn't really need to make automails here, not that she minds making them but ...] I don't actually know about paisho or chess, or strategy games like them - I'm more a board game type myself I guess, but I've been here for over two years, so if you ever need help with anything...

[paishodown]

I'm... well, I'm Asami.

[Proper introduction, sure, even though she's already mentioned her name.

But hold on.]

...Did you just say that you're an engineer?

[usedwrench]

[Never hurts to repeat the names, except sometimes it does but...]

Yes? We have very advanced prosthetic limbs called automail where I come from! I work with them from building one from a scratch to installing them to people who need them to maintaining the ones I've made. Well, and I've been mostly "just" a regular mechanic here, doing whatever a mechanic can do here, but that's what I do for living back home.

[...not to mention she could go on about these thing called automail all day...]