IC Inbox - Victory Road

[officerdown]

You have reached the voicemail box of

[Five seconds of silence]

Please leave a message after the tone!

Comments

[bugbeverage]

fear and disgust are kissing cousins

[officerdown]

You asked my opinion.

[Does he look like an author? The last thing Scar would think to be a good idea would be revealing what he finds frightening to BJ.]

[bugbeverage]

fine fine nevermind i'll ask somebody else

A Violet City Department Store

[goldeneyeball]

Ma-gi-karp! Do do do do-do! Ma-gi-karp! Do do do do-do!

[ JW's scarred eye twitches as he stands tall and silent at the register, a sentinel. There hasn't been a customer through in an hour. It hadn't bothered him at first, not really. It had just been something that made him aware that he would be helping a customer soon, probably. But then it went on...and on...and on. He glances at the clock over the door and sure enough, that tinny little song has been playing for thirty minutes. ]

[ In this world, there is a culture around retail workers that demands them be generous and accommodating and very polite, always polite. JW knows this, and for the most part, respects it. But today a war is happening within him. He makes a deal with himself. If it continues for five more minutes, he will do something about it. He prays in those five minutes to Arceus because he knows God can't hear him here. ]

Ma-gi-karp! Do do do do-do!

Oh, for fuck's sake!

[ JW slams his fist on the register, causing it to beep in dismay. In a whirlwind of flyers and receipts, he whips out from behind the counter and strides toward the small toy section with all the gravitas of an executioner on his way to the chopping block. ]

[officerdown]

[Ever alert in public, Scar very much notices when there's an outburst at the front of the store. He takes note of it, but quickly returns to his post: Pushing the "demo" button on the tiny plastic keyboard to refresh his Skitty's fixation as soon as the redundant, infuriating song ends.]

[As JW rounds the shelves in a righteous, justified fury, Scar is pushing the button yet again.]

[The song starts. Again.]

[Miriam is chattering with delight, bouncing up and down with delight.]

[Scar notes that a disgruntled employee is storming in his general direction, but he's still minding his own business (at the expense of the noise pollution in permeating the store). JW will find a very tall, very built, very frowning man wearing sunglasses indoors, standing with his arms folded and waiting patiently for the song to end so that it can begin once again.]

[goldeneyeball]

[ He sees Miriam before he sees Scar. Ugh. Of course it's a cat Pokemon that's the cause of all this. ]

[ JW marches right up to them and without a word, without a glance spared for Scar or his cute little pink cat, snatches the keyboard off the shelf. He tucks it under one arm and storms away with the same stiff walk he arrived with. ]

[ Naturally, it was the only one. ]

[officerdown]

[Employee Man, have you no respect for never-ending cycles? Death and rebirth?]

[Surprised momentarily into paralysis (??? What is his problem?), Scar doesn't make a move from his spot, though his eyes track JW as he marches away.]

[Miriam, however, is making chase. She is at JW's ankles, bobbing and weaving and pipiing underfoot in that remarkably precise, inconvenient way that cats are born to be good at. Where is stranger going? Why is he taking Magikarp with him? Questions she is determined to answer.]

[goldeneyeball]

[ JW almost gets smited off the face of the fucking earth because he doesn't make a huge habit of watching his feet when he's on flat terrain so he JUST ABOUT steps on one of Miriam's little paws. Her pipiing gets him to look down at the last minute. He half-dances to the left. ]

Go on, scat!

[officerdown]

[As JW's heeds toward the tiny, excitable cat fall on deaf pink ears, the Very Large Stranger is making chase, now. He rounds a corner in the aisle after JW disappears around it to reestablish his line of sight before speaking up.]

She was using that.

[No introduction, no nothing. Just. Hey. My cat wants to keep pissing you off.]

[goldeneyeball]

[ The frown sliced into JW's face tugs even further downward at either end. He can hear the big man's footfalls following him before he speaks. He weaves his way around Miriam and just keeps walking. ]

Sorry

[ Not sorry. ]

This one is sold.

[officerdown]

[Scar lingers at the corner, his frown unmoving as the shop attendant goes about his business.]

Surely there's another one.

[He knows SOME things about this world! You have this thing called mass production! There is another piano.]

[Miriam, meanwhile, will be perfectly happy to follow JW all the way to the stockroom.]

[goldeneyeball]

Nope.

[ JW continues to walk, but not without the occasional shake of the sneaker in Miriam's direction. ]

[ The front counter is now within eye shot as they've turned the corner. JW walks to this counter, places the toy on its surface, and resumes his post behind the register. ]

[officerdown]

[Scar continues staring in mild disbelief as the attendant continues his stalwart march toward the front. He only bothers to follow once this surly, skinny man is once again out of sight, and he only stands partially out of the aisle once he's reestablished line of sight.]

Can you check the back.

[He has no idea what a memetically infuriating question (statement) this is.]

[goldeneyeball]

[ JW had let his eyes fall closed as he stood behind the till and savored the silence. Then, he feels a shadow fall over him and he opens his bad eye. The blurry form of Scar stands before him and he lets out a long breath through his nose. ]

If it's not on the shelf, we don't have it.

[ He wants to go home. ]