Closed;

[golisolation]

WHO: Guzma and Rupert
WHERE: Out in the desert in Nevada, at Rupert's weird shipping crate
WHEN: A few hours after this post.
WHAT: Meeting up to discuss the clues they've been given for the MYSTERIOUS puzzle
WARNINGS: It's Guzma and Rupert, let that be the warning.


[Maybe most people wouldn't just jump at the chance to meet up with some mysterious dude who openly announces he doesn't give a single shit about any of the other imPorts, but Guzma's not like most people. With a similar distaste for the general imPort populace, it really isn't a red flag to him. Not that he doesn't assume this could end badly for him, or that Rupert's intentions couldn't be something other than he's presented.

Guzma knows better than to trust at someone's word. He doesn't trust that easily.

So, when he arrives (after giving his grunt a thrashing for his idiocy), he's on the back of Scizor. Only one of his many Pokémon that'll serve to guarantee his safety. Hopping off of Scizor's back, he keeps the metal mantis out as he inspects the shipping crate. Three knocks to announce his arrival, huh?

After an exchange of looks between himself and Scizor, he knocks on the large steel crate, the loud hollow sound reverberating as he waits for some signal that he didn't just waste his time coming out here.]

Yo! Big bad Guzma is here!

Comments

[leatherboots]

[ The noise of Rupert's arrival is terrible, because the noise of forcefully tearing a portal through the fabric of reality is pretty terrible. And perhaps it's some kind of pathetic fallacy, considering how terrible Rupert is in himself. Like when dogs look like their owners, except with imPorts and their powers. A door-shaped hole in reality is torn away as a figure steps out from somewhere dark to emerge on the roof of the container, dressed from head to toe in a black masked costume. The masked figure leans out over the edge of the container, spotting Guzma and his Pokemon on the sands below. ]

Well, well. You arrived.

[ The voice is heavily mechanised, almost toneless in how robotic it sounds. But then Rupert pulls the mask from his face, revealing his face (young, handsome, obviously pleased to see Guzma) and a sweaty mess of mask/helmet/cowl hair. He beams delightedly down at the other man, and when he speaks again it's with an unmistakably German accent. ]

Aren't we a couple of naughty boys...

[ He drops down to sit on the roof of the container, legs extended over the edge, and pats the hot metal next to him. Come up and join him, Guzma and Ugly Small Animal Friend! ]

Come, sit.

[golisolation]

[While Guzma noticeably winces, his face scrunched with irritation, at the sound, Scizor merely narrows his eyes. Both look to the source, and while Guzma's eyes widen with surprise and awe, again Scizor looks on stoically and unmoved. He's just like that. The Skull boss is grinning as Rupert speaks, finding that little voice modifier a cute touch to the whole presentation going on here.

Then he removes the getup and he's not exactly surprised that the dude's handsome (after all, a lot of imPorts were pretty damn hot), but he's not exactly what he was expecting. Not that he had much of an idea concocted in his head in the first place, but whatever.]

Tch, naughty boys, huh? Sure is a way to put it.

[Considering Guzma's in all black, he probably should look hotter than he is in the desert, but when you come from a tropical environment that's as humid as it is hot, dry heat's not so bad. However, at Rupert's request, he obliges: scaling the with relative ease. Primarily because of his wall-climbing power, but he's a pretty fit and acrobatic dude on top of it. Scizor merely flies up, landing solidly with a clank of his feet. He's a heavy bug, what with being made out of steel and being the size of a man to boot.

A seat isn't what Guzma takes, but rather a squat. Resting his arms on his thighs as Scizor stands guard behind him, staring Rupert down with that same narrow-eyed stare he gave the portal earlier.]

So, what the hell is this? Your crib or somethin'? Gotta say, I ain't diggin' this desert at all, yo.

[leatherboots]

[ 'Crib'? Rupert's expression flickers in confusion before he realises what Guzma means. He laughs easily. ]

Good grief, can you imagine? The heat is terrible! No, this is just a handy place to store a few things. [ He pats the hot metal again, this time out of fondness. ] I'll move it later. Somewhere a great deal cooler...

[ Because, yeah, the desert is sweaty as hell! The idea of needing to be 'close' to his home in Jeopardy is a moot point when you have a portal power; Rupert could drop it in the Atlantic and still be able to access it in an instant.

He produces his comms device from a pocket, waggling it gently, and raises his eyebrows at Guzma. ]

So. A mutual clue swap? All our cards on the table, so to speak.

[golisolation]

[Guzma just seems to confuse all the non-modern day people with his lingo, but at least Rupert catches on quicker than Andy does in this case.

He nods at that, though. Moving to someplace cooler is a better idea, because this shit's miserable even if he can tolerate it better than most people. Though, he imagines that this is a pretty good deterrent for thieves.]

Handy place to cook shit, more like it. Hope nothin' you're "storing" is combustible.

[But as Rupert pulls out his comm, Guzma raises his eyebrows. Right, they were gonna do the whole "show me yours and I'll show you mine" exchange, huh? Guzma likewise digs his out, glancing at it for a moment, before looking back to Rupert and holding it up, though the screen isn't facing Rupert.]

That's why we're out here bakin', ain't it?

[leatherboots]

Other than working on our tan, yes...

[ Tanning, another wonderfully modern idea! He thumbs idly through his inbox, navigating his way through a veritable cornucopia of highly nsfw messages from various dating platforms, and pulls up his clue. ]

Look here. [ He holds his device to his chest for a moment, shielding the message for now. ] I don't fancy wasting my time with 'you-go-first-no-you-go-first' nonsense. I think we're both of a similar mind when it comes to what to do with those who fuck us over, yes? Besides, it's hot and I'm hungry. So...

[ He hands his communicator over with two messages clearly displayed, side by side. The first reads: ]

>

t-r-i-h
m-i-r-e•
s•-o-n•-r•
a-d•
s-e-e-r-n-a
e-,-a-w-w-p
r-,-i-l
c-e•-e

[ Followed by the second: ]

you have the message

eight pieces total
clock

[golisolation]

I feel ya man, ain't no point wasting each other's time playin' games. Don't need our tan to turn into a burn, right?

[So, when Rupert hands over his communicator, Guzma does the same. He had already pulled it up, so when Rupert takes a look, he'll see that just like him he got two messages. The oddity is that Guzma's were in a reverse order:]

the message will soon come

dot marks an end
clock

[And the second:]

1st letter

V

s-e•-:-g-r
o-g•-s•
w-f•-h-a
o•-h-o
t-a-’-t-e
g-c-o-s-r•-r-a
c-h-h-h-m
c-o

[Guzma's brow furrows a bit as he looks Rupert's over. Still just jibberish to him, but the differences in the clue is interesting. But so too is the similarities. Clock in both.]

Eight pieces total, clock. As you can see, mine also says clock, but somethin' about the dots. One of my boys let his clue slip, but I think it said somethin' about "wise" and the eight pieces thing.

Makes ya wonder why there's some repeats, huh?