hashtagafreakingghost: ([bitty] Prologue)
Ashley Brown ([personal profile] hashtagafreakingghost) wrote2016-05-12 02:26 pm

Fourth 👻 Story [Video/Action for Goldenrod]

[VIDEO]

[It's flashback time on multiple levels. A waxy stub brushes over the PokéGear's lens, leaving the view muddy. A blurred hand swipes at it, as if it's trying to either knock the camera away or snatch it up and away, jury's out on which one. From the frustrated grunt accompanying it, seems like either would be preferable.

Whoever's holding the PokéGear, however, doesn't let go, instead jumping away. "Wick lit, wick!" Okay so it's a Litwick, now...desperately trying to get the camera to focus on the owner of the small hand. After a few seconds it works well enough, waxy fingerprints aside, and the one staring her down is an auburn-haired little girl, kneeling on a hotel bed. Around eight, maybe ten? Her small stature and incredible baby-face make it hard to tell if she's just a late bloomer or not. However old she is, she's pouting something fierce. A blanket's draped over her head and a discarded Pokémon Handbook lays open by her knees.]


Give it back, pl-please, I don't wanna!

[With each word, the defiant expression she's tried to keep up slips a little more, until she's genuinely...less distressed and more shy, and she pulls the blanket down so it's covering half of her face. Ashley is absolutely positively miserable.]

Go away. Turn it o-off, 'veryone's just gonna...

[...And there goes the other half of the blanket and she's just a blanket-girl now. Congrats.

Agatha the Litwick sighs and then lets out a confused "Lit?" The view shifts just a hair to the right, to a Ralts also standing on the bed. She shakes her head as the blanket-girl begins to whimper and just takes the 'Gear as if she's taking a selfie.]


Hello. Something seems to have gone quite terribly wrong. My trainer's somehow devolved, and she has no idea-

I WANNA GO HOOOME! 'V-VE NEVER EVEN PL-PLAYED A- A- [And now just wailing. Jane the Ralts winces.]

...where she is. We are...not doing very well in comforting her.

[Agatha's gone to try and fix Ashley! ...It doesn't seem to be working.]

I hope this isn't going to be a permanent change.

[ACTION FOR GOLDENROD / 3/12-3/14]

[Eventually Ashley will venture outside. At least she has a sensible outfit for this place. She's never out by herself, instead often holding hands with her Froslass (who is just a little shorter than her) or generally with any number of her Pokémon on hand, as she has never been out in a city by herself before. Back when they were actual kids Mike tried to get her to go exploring or adventuring but she always said no, because they could get in trouble or get hurt, and her mom would yell at her, so this feels bad and weird, but staying in that hotel room all the time's not fun either, and she has to find some way to call her parents!

While she has the natural instinct to clam up if anyone tries to talk to her or shy away from interaction, if she spies something that interests her like cute Pokémon or a bookstore or the Game's Corner, she'll get caught in one-track mode and go investigate. Curiosity, it truly is a beast. The earlier on you encounter her, the more withdrawn and upset she'll be, but she has to be brave! Or at least try to be. She's more inclined to get drawn in by an unfamiliar sight the longer the week goes on.

Ashley trips up a little on Friday night, as she...kind of gets distracted at the bookstore for too long, though, and when she realizes it's far too late, it's night. Like, pitch-black-stores-are-closing night. So that's a big problem, because guess who is absolutely terrified of the dark?
wing_attack: (what)

3/13

[personal profile] wing_attack 2016-05-12 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[There's a little blond-haired boy, sitting on top of a large bird who's carefully walking along. Really, Regal would rather be flying, but the little boy got understandably overwhelmed by the giant bear. He's got Tobias' bag in his mouth, but he wanders over towards the bookstore and sits down, letting the boy slide down, grab the bag, and head inside.]

[... He'll just wait here, he's a little too big for the store. Inside, Tobias runs over towards the fantasy section, looking up at all the books.]


... 've got weird names.
ratherbelocky: (Was not to be seen â–³)

[Video]

[personal profile] ratherbelocky 2016-05-13 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh. Oh, no. Is that...?]

Hey. Hey, Ashley? Is that Ashley.
wing_attack: (serious)

[personal profile] wing_attack 2016-05-13 05:52 am (UTC)(link)
[He turns and - oh. It's... a girl. A girl in a bookstore? It's not like he hasn't seen them but... she's got a big book and it's... weird to see a lot of girls reading big thick books like he likes to read.]

Y-yeah. They... um. I don't... I don't see Lord of the Rings here and I've gotta... I gotta find out what happens next...
motherfucking_ghosttype: (well ain't that something)

3/13 night

[personal profile] motherfucking_ghosttype 2016-05-13 01:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[Once Alpha is calmed down, for a given definition of calm, he doesn't see a reason why he should stay in the room he's in. He's got a body, whether real or constructed, and he's got a world (also whether real or constructed) to explore, and it'll get his mind off of awful things. Like any impending deaths or stressful scenarios involving his own incompetence and utter failure.

This is all a lot weirder and more fun than super space soldiers vs other space soldiers vs aliens. To be fair.

He takes the Mareep along with him (unsure of any of their given names, unsure if they even have any), because she insists, because she keeps her head and is utterly fluffy. And now she's even more useful because the bulb on her tail lights up, any immediate darkness not lit by street lights banished by her glow. And Voltorb's contented sparking. It also insisted on coming. But Alpha's not sure if it's for his sake or because Mareep is comfortable and static charged. (Buizel is following behind somewhere, trying to stay inconspicuous and failing, while a Gastly is invisibly stalking. Somewhere. Invisibly.)]


Reeeeeeep. [The mutant sheep pauses, noticing a little girl, and how there seem to be plenty of children lately, all alone but for their pokemon. Alpha stops mid-step and looks over.] Hey there? Hi?
wing_attack: (unsure)

[personal profile] wing_attack 2016-05-13 11:31 pm (UTC)(link)
That's... that's dumb. It's... it's not the same.

[Why would they have weird knockoffs?]

How can you have a bookstore without... without Lord of the Rings?
ratherbelocky: (And watch the muzzles flash  â–³)

[Video]

[personal profile] ratherbelocky 2016-05-14 02:16 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh, no, honey.]

No, I...here, I'll start over. My name's York, I'm here to help. This device, it connects you with a lot of people who can help, okay? So you're safe. And your Pok--uhh, your candle friend and the little thing with the horns, they're there to take care of you, too. You're not in any danger.

[Why isn't North here, why did York open his big mouth, he does not know how to kids.]
knightoftimeout: (ok)

5/13, night

[personal profile] knightoftimeout 2016-05-14 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
[It's late, very late, and Karkat is dead asleep after two days of watching him. Dave just takes a keycard, the Pokéball of one of his dearest nighttime friends, and his huge, fluffy blanket out to the hall, padding a few doors down until he deems himself sufficiently far away not to wake his roommate. Not that he's crying. He's not, he's totally not. He's just sinking down against the wall between two doors and huddling in a blanket large enough to drown in, muffling soft, hiccuping, snuffling sounds into fur as he clings to his Umbreon like he's a life preserver.

No more. No more, not ever again, please.]
wing_attack: (what)

[personal profile] wing_attack 2016-05-14 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
Nuh uh. If we were in a video game we'd see the... the pixels. 'Cause they're all blocky.
ratherbelocky: (This hotel's home to me â–³)

[Video]

[personal profile] ratherbelocky 2016-05-14 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
[Fuckkk.]

Well...maybe not right away, kiddo. How old are you?
knightoftimeout: (uh oh)

[personal profile] knightoftimeout 2016-05-14 04:50 am (UTC)(link)
[Dave almost jumps out of his skin when Ashley speaks up. He clutches to Hutch, eyes wide behind his shades and cheeks grubby and wet, and then he ducks to hide his face. He has neither the time nor the presence of mind to school it, doesn't want her to know he's crying anyway. His shoulders shake and he rubs the back of his hand over his eyes, knocking his sunglasses askew, miserable.]

Hi. H-hey. 'Sup.

[His voice is quivering too much, his breath hitching, to even pretend to be cool. Hutch, settling down from his surprise, recognizes Ashley as Not a Threat even to his shrunken trainer and goes back gently to nuzzling Dave's hair.]
Edited (Misclicked the icon) 2016-05-14 04:52 (UTC)
wing_attack: (uhh...)

[personal profile] wing_attack 2016-05-14 05:13 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah but that's just commercials. The pictures in the magazines don't look real at all.
knightoftimeout: (hat)

[personal profile] knightoftimeout 2016-05-14 11:18 am (UTC)(link)
[He shudders, and his arms tighten around Hutch. Half a beat, and he shakes his head jerkily, forces his voice into some semblance of usability.]

Uh-uh. I don't...no. No. They're not here.

[He shrinks into himself, as grieved as he is relieved, and both too much for his tiny, shivering frame. As Dave rubs his eyes again and loosens his hold, Hutch turns to look at Ashley, to measure how much comfort she needs, too. He's not really the nurturing type, but he's here, and...well, he's here.

Dave swallows a pathetic noise and tries again.]


I'm, 'm not crying. I'm...there was onions. O-okay? Onions, they make people c-cry. [Deep breath. He's not a baby.] And I didn't wanna wake up Karkat. 'Cause of the onions.
motherfucking_ghosttype: (uhhhhhhhhhhh)

[personal profile] motherfucking_ghosttype 2016-05-14 12:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[He looks down at his fucked up critters and then at her little plant pony?? thing and then to her.] I uh. I think that depends on how you define monsters, kid. Are you waiting for someone?
ratherbelocky: (I am a soldier baby â–³)

[Video]

[personal profile] ratherbelocky 2016-05-14 01:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay. Ten. That's pretty big, right? Think I had my first overnight field trip around that age. I mean, that was to the moon, but...

[He's half talking to her, half to himself, but he shakes his head and does his best to appear reassuring.]

All right, here's the plan. You know how, if you ever get lost, you're supposed to stay in one place, and sometimes make an announcement so you can get found? See, you're already doing a good job. There anyone else there with you, besides your Pokémon? People you know, a grown-up you can trust?

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