#askfuturesightcircus

Wait a moment... that glow, her cane; that's what it was? Oh, such a simple thing... he knew what that was, that glow, that energy, he'd felt it all before...

'Come on Cecil-baby, let's rip 'em apart~'

Mentha has something like this, it was a strange sight to behold, a Pokemon that could not evolve suddenly achieve it. Such a strange thing indeed, such an unsettling power-but it felt like it was met perfectly by his own. Was this... Ringmaster simply trying to fool him? Claiming something as simple as this stone-mega stone, Mentha called them, was something so great, so special that it warranted his anxiety?

Hah! Those nerves began to calm, a smile slowly etching across the cat's face; he wasn't afraid of this, no need, he'd seen it all before, just a different... flavor. That's why it felt so wrong; it wasn't the same as Mentha's, of course! Other Pokemon have the ability to do this mysterious evolution, oh, so simple, so non-threatening. He felt confident now, knowing what was coming, oh sure, it was different, a different energy that he wasn't accustomed to-only being exposed to the one Mentha held, but now he knew-it was that stone. Maybe in this land they referred to this form as these... 'Doppelgängers' she seemed so giddy about. Even more, there could simply be an ability that involves mirror-like attacks-maybe even one that would explain the strange feeling from that mirror of his; oh, hah! This was all just some game, some attempt to scare away skeptics... well, he was ready to play.

Maybe they all had these abilities, hmm, it was a theory, why not test it; she was willing to show, why be anxious now? "Why..."

'Remember what I told you boy.'

Oh... why now of all times was he reminded of that?

'Don't ignore it. Don't ignore your instincts-if somethin', even a little, feels off, you BETTER listen. Don't need you slowin' me down out there.'

Bah, his mother wasn't always right... but, still it was the faintest of feelings... doubt? Cecil ignored it; he was also taught to never let an opponent get the upper hand in what they knew about you-he had to know for the sake of keeping this game ‘fair’, thus his smile never faltered. "Yes, I'd love to see..."

Things began to mesh... questions he didn’t really wonder about, thoughts, feelings that something was there, it was just a series of hunches, curious ones that he’d jokingly play with in his free time, but now...

That mirror he had found, it was now far more than a mere trinket that bore a strange air. These beings, ‘doppelganger’ she called it, such a curious thing, a concerning creature for sure. Was it tied to that place? Would she-no... that was wishful thinking, no point in giving even a hint of what he or his ‘curious necklace’ had hidden away. But that question now lingered in his mind... how much did she see?

Cecil’s thoughts would have to wait, he’d been silent for a while, surely such a simple admission shouldn’t lock him into silence like this; the amount of time spent on thinking probably gave this... ‘Audino’  some sort of gratification-she had the upper hand in some game he wasn’t aware of-she knew something that only a select few knew... What now? “... I see...” Cecil finally uttered, his smile slowly returning.

“I’ve heard and seen many strange, extraordinary things in my rather short life...” He mused. “Among them: stories of a group of ‘monster’ Pokemon, lands that shouldn’t exist and Pokemon who have lost their will to love... take it how you will, this world we live in is a very... interesting place...” Cecil studied the Audino for a bit before continuing. “You call yourself a ‘Doppelganger,’ one of the eldest, the strongest... that’s something I’ll have to keep in mind... a new thing to add to my book of curiosities...” Cecil exclaimed. “... I doubt I could simply ask to know more...” He trailed off, as if he wanted to word it as a question, but hesitated; some unknown game was being played. Time to even the field...

Today’s warm up: Ringmaster’s New Clothes

So I just heard Panic at the Disco’s “Emperor’s New Clothes” for the first time this morning. @askfuturesightcircus and I were talking about it on Twitter. Here’s the Ringmaster doing a couple verses. I gotta say...I’ve been out of the music loop for far too long.