Welcome to Gaia! ::

Salieri had her elbow propped on the table, resting her chin in her hand. Where was Jump? She stirred a glass of ice with a fork. All she wanted to do was leave, but this crazy cop was holding secrets above her head. Why did he even take her here if he wasn’t going to be around? And she didn’t even know anybody-

“This seat taken?”

A familiar voice. Salieri rose her eyebrow and looked up.

N stood before her. He wore a long white cape adorned with black hieroglyphic-esque symbols over a silk black shirt, which was tucked into a dark blue pairs of dress jeans. His signature puzzle was clipped to his belt loop as usual. The hat he usually wore was missing.

It wasn’t really formal at all. He looked like he was a kid dressing up as a prince.

She had said the same thing to him once before, in Striaton City at the gym. N gave her a light smile to try and express that he meant what he said as a callback joke. If she even remembered.

“Ugh, please sit down, I’m bored out of my mind,” she told him, smiling back. “Honestly, you’ll make my day.”

So N took his seat across from her. When he had entered the building, he knew that he couldn’t just interact with other members of the Plasma staff. Not that he wanted to. Although he assumed they were all loyal to the cause, N still didn’t like to talk to them. They were still human. N didn’t know what to do with himself aside from waiting for Ghetsis to speak.

But he saw Salieri sitting by herself. She was one of the few people who he felt was worthy. A possible candidate. Someone he could actually talk to, even if they may not agree on all things. Like Henrietta and Takamaru, N almost considered her a friend.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” he said to her. Salieri rolled her eyes and tipped back some champagne into her mouth.
“Don’t wanna be. It’s complicated.” She looked up at him. “You know those shockwaves that hit a few hours ago?”
N nodded. “The news said that it was an atmospheric phenomena. Though I doubt it was anything of the sort. I believe it was a pokemon.”
Salieri shrugged. “Well, whatever it was, I think it may have messed with me. I was training and got real sick. The doctors told me I was fine, but then this cop who saved me told me something else. And he said he’ll only explain it all to me if I came with him to this stupid thing.”
“I see.”
“Yeah. Told you it was complicated.” She rubbed her hands on her face, looking exhausted. “It’s been a long day.”

A thought sparked through N’s mind. Could Victini have released Victory Aura as a means to escape the containment field? If there was enough, it could have affected civilians. N had felt particularly energetic after the incident, and chalked it up to excitement. Now, he was beginning to have second thoughts.

“Hey, N, do pokemon ever get mad at you?”

The question threw off his train of though. “I’m sorry?”
“As far as I can tell, you’re like a pokemon magnet. They seem to like you. Plus you can talk to them.” Salieri leaned back in her chair. “Are there pokemon who you don’t get along with?”

N thought back on all the pokemon he had met in his life. Yes, he and pokemon had gotten into fights before. Even the ones he considered good friends. But all friends went through altercations in their relationships. It was normal. Sure they argued sometimes, but they truly got along.

“I wish I could always get along with the people I’ve met. But disagreements are natural, unfortunately. We don’t all see the world the same way.”
Sal sighed. “I really hurt Salem’s feelings today. I know it was wrong, and I said I was sorry. I don’t know if she forgives me. And Chen Zhen won’t talk to me now because of it.” The Battle Girl leaned forward, looking down at the ice in her glass melting.

“I don’t know what to do.”
“You’ve already said sorry. Time heals wounds.”
“Some wounds scar.”
“I’ve come to expect more optimism from you.”

The words rolled in Salieri’s head. “You know what?” She suddenly stood up, causing N to look confused. “You’re right. Do you drink?”

The question, like the one before, caught him off guard. “Do I drink?” he repeated, not sure how to respond. Did she mean water? It was essential to all living matter, so yes. "An average amount, yes."
“Don’t move, I’ll be right back.”

And with that, Salieri marched over to the bar, leaving N at the table alone. The green haired young man felt like he had been hit by a strong wind. Slightly disoriented, intrigued. But that was usually the way he felt when he talked to Salieri. She was an energetic one, that was for sure.

While he sat at the table waiting for her to return, he began to fold a napkin into a cube.

((Then this metaphor is about to get a whole lot more visual))

((I did some digging, and found some old pics of Jump. Two are sketches from Artemis and one is a complete drawing from Marsuru. Just so you guys who've never seen him before have reference, this is what Jump looked like ten years ago. He doesn't look too much older now, save for a stray wrinkle or two. But don't tell him that, he'll freak.





Daaaamn Mar, that detail level never fails to impress me.

In other, more awesome news, the first episode of Korra leaked. And it is glorious. And Salieri and Korra are different people, in case you had any doubts.))

Luka nodded. "Hrrmm...." There wasn't anything there that he could pick up on. Or was there. There was that genuine glee at the thought of mentioning 'Red vs Team Rocket'. Maybe that was the lead he could take. If this kid was so excited by such a prospect then maybe he would try and pull off some similar heroics. Luka had never really believed in the story. After all, how could a ten year old topple a crime syndicate all on his own? That was impossible. It simply could not be done. Still, it was a good story, much like the tales of the other regions he had been reading earlier. Still, maybe this kid thought it was true and would've tried something.

"Would you like to be like Red and take on an 'evil' organisation?" He air-quoted the 'evil' just to make sure that Kenta got the picture that Luka didn't think Plasma were evil. He thought they did some terrible things, but, as Henrietta had said, most of them weren't evil. They were doing what they thought was for the best, they just weren't going about it in the right way in Luka's mind.

((Old artwork! It burns! gonk That's gotta be like an artist's kryptonite; showing them something they drew a year+ ago. Same with writing.

Also yes, Giovanni's an upstanding citizen and social servant in this reality. All those nasty rumours you heard about him are simply that. Anyone who says otherwise is a conspiracy theorist))

((Quick Question Guys, Are there certain requirements that need to be meet to enter the plasma banquet? just Curious.))

the room was alive with music and talk. People Laughing, some dancing, other's indulging in the food. Over near the Bar however stood Hiba. The muscular Youth stood with his back to the wall, just to the right of the bar itself.

He was clad in a black dress pants, white dress shirt and a black suit jacket as well as a plain Red tie. Leaning against the wall, arms folded, he observes the party.

His reasons for being here were simple. Observation. Nothing more. He was curious what these plasma people where about. If indeed they where the extremists that Mikey had told them to be.

Either way, unless some thing happened or he was approached, he'd stay in his spot, observing.