It keeps happening

[forcegalactic]

[After that horror show of an execution, Mordecai is still restless from the investigation and trial. He has too much pent-up energy, and plenty of others are sure to be upset, too. Ashley was loved by nearly all of them, the trial was mentally draining, and that execution was crueler than it should have been.

Two hours after everyone has returned to their rooms, they'll find a note slipped under their doors.]

We can't go on with empty stomachs. There's food in the kitchen, and the dining room is always open if you need someone to talk to.

Please keep anything outside of eating and civilized conversation away from the dining hall. That room is meant to be a peaceful place for those of us that need it.

-Mordecai Benmont Jiminy

[Today, there's cream of tomato soup warming up on the stove with a set of bowls besides it. It's a more mindless dish to prepare than mashed potatoes, as much as Mordecai wants to vent his frustrations on the potatoes.

He decides to follow Cabanela's tradition and lights one more candle, and after some consideration, lights a sixth. Let those who cared about either girl pay their respects.]

Comments

[oftheland]

Ohhh, so they're all from off-world, then? I suppose I just misinterpreted. Or am I confusing terminology?

[forcegalactic]

That's why we use "space" when talkin' about what we humans use to differentiate from "Martian" stuff. The latter's all about the aliens native to Mars.

See, humans have been in space for a long whole now, and Mars is much more recently settled. Anythin' not from Earth is Moon Whatever or, more often, Space Whatever. "Martian" is a term only for the natives.

And yes, I do get a lot of off-world customers. Mars ain't a most popular destination, but it gets visitors from time to time

[oftheland]

Oh, right, of course. And native Martians don't drink alcohol, which probably makes sense because their body chemistry is likely different from human chemistry, so they might have more of an adverse reaction to it.

So I guess in the end, I'd want to try a space cocktail, then.

[forcegalactic]

Then I'll need a supply of space rum and other brands the Conductor don't have. Buuut all we got is this. [Stupid fake booze, coming back to him every time he throws one away like a boomerang.]

Thought it may be a bit hard if we get outta here and back to Mars, as my saloon is long gone. But there's always stores and house bars, right?

[oftheland]

Oh... right. That would put a damper on things, unfortunately... well, I suppose that's another reason to get out of here, right? I'd really like to try space rum, at the very least.

[forcegalactic]

Right, all the more reason for you. For me, just goin' home to my wife is reason enough.

...She must be worried out of her mind by now.

[oftheland]

...well, of the myriad reasons, but I imagine that would definitely be one. It'd be nice to even have a frame of reference for whether someone might be worrying or not, honestly...

[forcegalactic]

You've been gone for three weeks weeks now. Of course someone's gonna notice you gone. You seem to be the important type, judgin' by the manner of your dress.

[oftheland]

Well, it's not really like I haven't disappeared for long periods of time before, although I suspect people would think that I would have at least learned by now...

[forcegalactic]

What, on..."business" trips? [He's saying that as skeptically as possible. You still look like a mobster or some rich businessman, and everyone know they're all jerks to some degree.]

[oftheland]

...well, kind of, though I've also been off training and...

...I'm not entirely sure, but I definitely know there was another absence that I can't really remember the reason for.

[forcegalactic]

Another one of those blank memory spaces, I take it.

...You go to the gym for weeks? [Because...you don't train Pokemon to do tricks for more than an hour or so.]

[oftheland]

Something like that.

...and... no. A gym is something I actually left behind that one time... really, it's more going off into the wilderness and surviving for a while to toughen up. Of course, catching a few new Pokemon helps, too.

[forcegalactic]

I thought that was the point of gyms: to toughen up without havin' to go out to the wilderness.

[Giovanni has some weird hobbies...]

That's quite a bit of free time you have on your hands. What do you even do for work? Sit at a desk and manage a huge company for a few hours a week? [Goddamn wealthy Earth people.]

[oftheland]

Well... you technically train there, but they're honestly more like... Trainers go to Pokemon gyms to face off against the gym's leader, and if they win, they get a badge that will give them some slight advantages and will allow them to compete in the Pokemon League if they get all eight of them.

Actually, I tend to do a lot of fieldwork just because I like it. Mostly, I'm managing things, but I don't really like working in an office that much. I'd rather be out doing something constructive.