awesmazings | 013

[It's actually a nice day out, today, and that's evident in this video when it starts. Several days of rain made for unpleasant traveling, but Jimmy was fine with staying in Azalea for a bit longer. It's a sleepy little town that he actually finds quite pleasant. He'd been so used to things just constantly happening, back home, so having long stretches of downtime like this had the tendency to make him restless. Traveling with someone helped to alleviate that, at least.

The dappled shadows cast across Jimmy's face and shoulders indicate how large the tree he's lounging under is, his Furret curled around his back to serve as a fuzzy cushion. He's not wearing his jacket for once since the rain finally decided to leave for a day, left in his usual green T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. The shirt is obviously not the same as the one he arrived in, if the pokeball insignia on the pocket is anything to go by.

Next to him in the grass is a Treecko, peering up at him with wide, yellow eyes. She seems to be running on the idea that if she can't see Jimmy, he can't see her, making her perfectly camouflaged in the grass and at a perfect angle to pounce playfully on his fingers when he's not looking. He doesn't seem to mind it, though, wiggling them a little to encourage her as she rolls over with a squeak before bounding off and to hide in the taller grass again.

Jimmy seems a little subdued today. Not unhappy or upset at all, just...thoughtful. It's a little unusual for him, but he's had a lot of time to think while on the road again. He never aged back home, so now that a year's gone by, time really seems to be flying in Johto.

After a moment he talks, not looking at the screen just yet.]

So there's somethin' I've been wondering about, lately. Back home in Miseryville, I never really...

[He pauses, trying to find the right words.]

...I never really did anything, yaknow? Like I mean- my friend Heloise worked as an inventor and helped design pretty much all the products sold back home. My friend Beezy...well, he didn't do much either, but his dad rules everything so he's gonna end up taking his job one day anyway, so he doesn't really have to do anything yet, I guess. Molotov's a body guard, Samy's a secretary guy...

I did have little jobs sometimes. Like, I was a product tester once...and then I worked as a cook at a restaurant for a little while. But other than stuff like that, I never really had anything I was known for. I guess it's just kinda weird to think about that, since I work with the Circus here...that's pretty much what I've done since I got here.

So, I guess I wanted to ask you guys what you do, back home? Did you have any cool jobs or businesses that you ran? Maybe just a hobby or something? If you wanna talk to me about it, I'm not really doing anything today.

[He turns to watch the Treecko jump at his hand again before switching off the feed.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Has she ever considering hiring assistants to mass produce old inventions, since she keeps moving on to new projects?

Well, she does have an assistant, I think...but he doesn't really help her build anything. He just tests out her inventions for her.

Testing is an important part of invention, but not the one that most increases productivity. Is she the only inventor in your hometown?

Oh no, she isn't! There's Doctor Scientist, but he and Heloise don't really work together. They're kinda like...inventor rivals, or something!

A rival? No wonder she keeps inventing, if she has someone to impress and defeat. It's a friendly rivalry, I hope?

Mmmostly, yeah!

[...it isn't. At all.]

That's great. There's no better motivator than a friend who is also a rival, believe me. It's a wonderful relationship to have.

[Except the part where the best friend/rival/archenemy dies at your hand. That part sucks.]

[Jimmy chooses to see the world through rose-tinted glasses, for sure; Heloise and Doctor Scientist aren't exactly the...closest people in the world.]

Yeah, no kidding! I think she makes awesome stuff anyway, but with Doctor Scientist around her stuff is, like, ten times better!

Is it the same with him? A generally high work quality, with even greater improvements in her presence?

Weeell...kindof, I guess! Heloise's inventions always are kinda...better than his, though. But it does make him want to work harder!

...I feel bad for him, still. Being the weaker one is difficult, even when you know you can still improve.

I don't think it bothers him too much. I mean, he is always trying to do her one better, so at least he hasn't actually stopped inventing things!

[Again: Jimmy's viewpoints of the relationships of his friends tends to be a bit...optimistic, at best.]

[Optimism is a beautiful source of delusions and misinterpretations. Ash approves.]

That's the spirit. Maybe if they keep improving against each other, they'll someday invent a device that can cure the Mars Rays disease, or something equally world-changing.

[...he isn't quite sure he knows what that is, but.]

Haha yeah, maybe! If anybody could do it, it'd be those two.

Think my world could borrow them for a few months? Or weeks; every little bit would help, we're not picky.

[Jimmy snickers at that.]

I dunno....Doctor Scientist would probably like to be somewhere where he could be the best inventor, but I don't know how much Heloise would like it.

I'm sure we could pay or bribe her satisfactorily. Does she need materials, equipment...?

That, and a laboratory to work in! Hers is built right into her house so she can pretty much work on stuff from home...y'see, she's already got a job as the head of product design at Misery Inc., like I said...so it'd probably take lots of convincing to get her to leave.

At... Misery Inc.? I hope that doesn't refer to their employees' work conditions. I swear we can offer better than that.

Oh no! ...well, not usually...

[Honestly, Lucius would probably be pleased as punch to hear that his workers are miserable, that being his intention.]

I know it prolly sounds weird, but all of the products that Heloise helps come up with are designed to make people miserable.

............What kind of job is that?

[Congratulations, Jimmy. You've broken Ash's brain.]

[YEAH HE WAS AFRAID OF THAT...Jimmy winces visibly, glancing away for a second.]

I...I told you it's weird. But that's just how things work where I'm from.

[I mean, what can you expect from a town called Miseryville?]

...The market for misery-creating products cannot possibly be large enough to make it a sustainable industry.

[Concentrating on the business aspects almost helps him visualize it. Almost.]

Well, those products are pretty much the only ones sold in Miseryville, s'far as I know. It's not like there's any competition or anything.

...I'm not sure if I want to know how much they cost, without any form of competition. Do they at least cause high-quality misery?

[video]

awesmazings - 2015-07-15 17:03 (UTC) - Expand

captainash - 2015-07-16 16:25 (UTC) - Expand

awesmazings - 2015-07-16 19:03 (UTC) - Expand

captainash - 2015-07-16 22:11 (UTC) - Expand

awesmazings - 2015-07-16 22:37 (UTC) - Expand

captainash - 2015-07-17 22:17 (UTC) - Expand

awesmazings - 2015-07-17 23:22 (UTC) - Expand

captainash - 2015-07-18 21:52 (UTC) - Expand

awesmazings - 2015-07-19 01:47 (UTC) - Expand

captainash - 2015-07-19 18:57 (UTC) - Expand

awesmazings - 2015-07-19 20:36 (UTC) - Expand

captainash - 2015-07-20 21:46 (UTC) - Expand

awesmazings - 2015-07-20 22:53 (UTC) - Expand

captainash - 2015-07-21 16:13 (UTC) - Expand

awesmazings - 2015-07-21 18:36 (UTC) - Expand

captainash - 2015-07-22 16:06 (UTC) - Expand

awesmazings - 2015-07-22 18:28 (UTC) - Expand

captainash - 2015-07-22 21:22 (UTC) - Expand

awesmazings - 2015-07-22 23:40 (UTC) - Expand

captainash - 2015-07-23 16:08 (UTC) - Expand