GOTTA CATCH (EM) ALL

[hobocop]

WHO: Harry Du Bois | OTA | Plus some closed stuff
WHAT: I MEAN, a bunch of stuff. Consider this a catch-all
WHERE: Aaaall across Dualis
WHEN: Feb, possibly stretching into March
WARNINGS: The usual stuff with Harry, so alcoholism for sure, but will add as needed!

[Some open top levels will be thrown within sometime this weekend! love u, bye xoxox]

Comments

PAWN STARS | Tidus and Duke

[hobocop]

[It was already dark when Harry stepped out from the gates of the Dualis Central Zoo to begin that daily end-of-shift hike back towards the dorms. It was darker still when the usual creeping voice slid its fingers across his skull, suggesting a quick detour. A very predictable detour — it's one he makes every other day, after all.

Somehow, though — be it from his volition kicking in just in time, or the vague pang of loneliness that comes with a silent stomp home — he reaches for his phone, instead. Stares at it with a kind of guilty contemplation. He had promised, right?

Which is how he finds himself marching the backstreets of the city with Tidus in tow, head twitching this way and that while he... fails to actually locate the pawn-shop.]

Guy's kinda like, uh... half-cat, I guess? [A beat. Maybe that's not a cool thing to say.] It's so close. Trust me.

[He'd seem a lot more confident if it weren't for the way his eyes are raking each shop sign and window, desperate for some familiar landmark.]

Any second now.

[And then he does that thing again. You know, that thing where he just suddenly stops what's practically a jog by freezing and locking his knees in place. It can't be good for his joints.]

Isolated Pawn!

[He practically crows it, thoroughly delighted with himself.]

[blitzcheer]

[ What was he expecting to find?

Tidus knows where his mind had been when Harry first brought up the pawn shop: Home, a place a million miles nowhere away. Somewhere that no longer existed, and he wasn't so distracted by the clutter that made Harry's space his -- nicotine smell and all -- to make that mistake a second time.

But his mind still went to the rest of the world, the parts of it that did exist, and what would some shop in Dualis have of any of that? Tidus is half-listening to anything that Harry's been saying, nothing about it really needing an answer, but better attention with a slightly slacking pace never may have saved him from being Jamrock'd.

That is, slapping into Harry's back with his stop so abrupt, Tidus's delaying magic should take some classes from the guy.

His back more a wall than jello, Tidus bounces out of it more by his feet, his nose disgruntled and Tidus rubbing it after the fact. Looking at Harry with a dazed, ] Huh? [ then seeing the shop in question.

The announcement is more extravagant than the shop front itself, but that's not important. Tidus comes up beside Harry, not sure what the nerves in him are: anticipation? worry? Some strange desire to leave? But he ignores it for a put on, halfhearted cheer. ]

We might be able to find more of your music anyway, right?

[ If nothing else. ]

[hobocop]

[There's a quiet huff as Tidus rams into his back, but the staggered stance Harry's legs froze into saves him from having to do anything more than cast a concerned glance over his shoulder.

PAIN THRESHOLD — I got this. Doesn't even hurt!

It slightly hurt, but hell if it's enough to knock the proverbial wind from his sails. This whole outing falls under the banner of him helping out — doing something good for someone other than himself. At least in his eyes, anyway, which is why Tidus's comment throws him a little.]

If he's got some Sylvia Trainor hidden away in there, maybe I got a reason to haggle, but, uh... [He smiles (not unkindly).] Last I checked, we didn't come here 'cause I needed to expand my library.

[With a nod of his chin over towards the sickly neon glow of the window:]

What are you hoping to find?

[blitzcheer]

[ Despite his own question, he thinks at first Sylvia Trainor to be some kind of funny tech, then realises it to be a name right around the question gets turned back on him.

Tidus's mouth opens for an answer he isn't ready to give. Closes, and starts again with a small huff. ]

I... don't know, [ he admits, head bobbing slightly. ] There's... music spheres in Spira, I guess. Those might be nice. [ Would they? He isn't so sure. ] Maybe they have some spheres of blitzball games. I can finally show people what I mean.

[ Which actually would be be, despite his earlier uncertainty if he ever wants to see anything from Spira at all anywhere in the city. But his doubts are low. It's hard to make real in his mind. ]

[hobocop]

[There it is - the sphere thing again. He doesn't know if that's some kind of generic term, or if Tidus is referring to those physical memories he mentioned, but... Hm. If he was, why not just look for however that shit came up originally? Surely they had some kind of tech there before Sin stepped in.

And now he's thinking about it, what would a sphere even look like? He realizes he's been imagining little floating disco balls this whole time, which seems a little ridiculous. He should check. Later, though. Once they're actually inside and not stood there like a couple of plums.]

Hey, if you go in with an open mind, you won't be disappointed. And maybe they don't have anything this time, but, uh... I mean, we can always ask. You never know what a place like this has stored under the desk.

[With that, he swings his arm up, giving his hand a little flourish in the direction of the door.]

After you, kiddo.

[blitzcheer]

[ He gives a hummed aye-aye from behind his mouth, a tip of his head to go with it, and Tidus goes for the door with no added optimism about this search despite Harry's encouragement, but only in the inside -- he's not going to be a downer on the out. Especially since Harry took the time to bring him out here in the first place, on his request.

Still, regardless, the shop itself is a sight to behold, packed with all sorts of stock that has Tidus bewildered as soon as he enters the shop. Stopping maybe too close to the entrance, but thinking to move away before too long, his eyes not sure on where exactly to look first.

Well. There is the massive skull of some creature taking up a decent chunk of a wall that he's going to point to. ]

What was that thing?

[ And was it real? ]

[exceptionalcrook]

Not totally sure. I have it written down somewhere.

[Isolated Pawn has a varied stock of many things that might be of interest to the discerining customer, offering a wide variety of collectibles, antiques, media, and tech. They even stock the rare unusual item that wouldn't be available to the average customer. (And yes, they are owned by a cat person, but she isn't in every day.) Duke remains behind the counter, serving whatever customers come through the shop and hoping someone either buys or sells something.]

Welcome back. [He nods at the repeat customer, then looks to Tidus.] Anything you're looking for?

[hobocop]

[Harry's eyes lock onto the skull the second Tidus points it out. It's an eye-sore, and no doubt completely unaffordable for a guy like him, but it's—

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT — A badass skull for a badass cop. The missing puzzle-piece in your life. An antidote to fragility.

He catches Duke's welcome in time to nod back (just two cool guys, nodding) and notice the man's alone this time. No sign of the cat. Which is devastating, considering the solid two minutes he spent describing this place absolutely had that as the exciting apex to it all. Now it's just a pawn-shop with a long-faced guy.

Not that he's ugly, but—

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT — Buy the damn skull, it's powerful!

He still hasn't answered, has he?]

Spheres, right? [He's glancing over at Tidus, both hands spread in front of him as he mimes... a ball.] Sports spheres?

[He's helping.]

[blitzcheer]

[ The owner of that response is a lot less furry than described, and a lot less blue than Tidus might've been expecting, but the more human-shaped guy isn't disappointing or anything beyond a small surprise for Tidus to hear with the skull staring death from the hollow of its eye sockets.

He looks away from it to Duke, then to Harry at his (actually helpful!) answer. ]

Uh... yeah! [ He'll bring his hands up in a round shape, but much flatter: his middle fingers and thumbs meeting each other in a more disc-representing shape. ] They're like bands of gold. And there's a blue...thingy in the middle. Energy? They pop out into spheres if there's visual in them, or they stay flat if they're audio.

[ ...Is this normal to ask for? He can't help but feel like he's speaking another language, frowning uncomfortably. Asking uncomfortably, or at least hesitantly: ]

...Is most of this stuff really from other worlds?

[ Maybe he's getting the wrong impression here. It'd be so easy to believe. ]