FIRST CURSE: video/action

[cawsforalarm]

public gear video - location unclear

Oh, hey! It did a thing!

[Two faces pop up on the screen, against a beautiful blue sky; the framing makes it clear that the Gear is on the ground, and neither of the two figures are making any attempt to frame their shot whatsoever. One is a young man who is smiling at his incredible achievement of turning on a Pokegear; the other is a rather exasperated-looking Vulpix. The latter reaches a paw out, puts it on the screen, and begins chittering to the human… who actually seems to understand.]

When the red light is on, it’s recording… okay, got it.

[The Vulpix squeaks again.]

“Say something”? Alright… [The young man rearranges his position in front of the Gear a little bit. One can see that he appears to be wearing purple-and-tan robes with really creepy eye designs on the collar.] Well, people in there, my name’s Henry and I’m from the country of Plegia! My interests include dark magic, nature walks, explosions, murders, explosions with murders— what?

[Henry looks down. The Vulpix can be heard screeching angrily, probably telling him to stop before he gets himself turned in to the police on day one. There is a short scuffle for control of the PokéGear; flashes of amber fur and claws can be seen, the audio becomes nothing but extremely staticky wooshes, and eventually the feed cuts out.]

action - goldenrod rocket hq

[Good morning, Goldenrod Rocket Base. How’s your day been so far? Woke up, stretched a bit, eaten breakfast? Picked up the cup of dirty water that passes for coffee in this joint? That’s good. Everything you’ve just done is normal, and in here, normalcy is a valuable commodity.]

[A commodity that won’t last for much longer, because Henry the dark mage has just woken up in the building.]

[This morning, yet another Grunt seems to have joined the ranks. It’s a young man who can’t be much older than twenty, with snow-white hair and a standard issue uniform. ...Well, “standard issue” except for the part where he has some kind of cape thrown over it. (Uniform regulations? What uniform regulations?) By his side, a Vulpix is walking and grumbling bitterly, and if one looks closely they might see a Murkrow making herself comfortable in the Grunt’s collar.]

[He’s also going around touching things. The walls, the furniture, his Pokemon, your face…]

Ooh, your skin feels nice! It’s super soft!

[Look, just bear with him. He hasn’t had a working sense of touch for quite a few years.]

Comments

[video]

[ajustcaws]

Hey! That's not very ---

[...wait.

Wait, wait, wait, she recognizes that face and also that cheerful brand of grimdarkness]

...uh...

[IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME AND HE LOOKS YOUNGER THAN SHE REMEMBERS BUT]

...wait, Dad!?

Re: [video]

[cawsforalarm]

[Blink. Blink.]

[It takes Henry a second to register what's happening, though it most likely has more to do with the fact that his future daughter's face has just popped up on the screen than the presence of said future daughter herself.]

Cynthia? That you? Are you still in Ylisse?

[He's not 100% sure if he should be talking to it, but it's not as if anyone but the fox and the crow will see anyway.]

[video]

[ajustcaws]

...Oh, wow! I'm glad you recognize me after, like, I'm years older! Although, wait...

[she leans forward a little bit, with a squint.]

Is that some timey-wimey wibbly wobbly stuff going on...? Have we met yet, actually...?

[... SHOULD THIS BE TEARFUL YET]

Well, uh, anyway, I'm actually here! In Johto, I mean! I kind of showed up here instead of the past, haha!

[video]

[cawsforalarm]

Uh? Yeah, we met--

[...Ohhhh.]

Oh. You never met us, did you? Well, anyway, I'm glad you're safe.

[Video]

[peach_boy]

[Momo is very curious when this person talks to his Pokémon. IT sounded like he could understand them? Was that possible? He just... ignores everything else about murder and explosions]

Hey! You can understand your Pokémon?!

Re: [Video]

[cawsforalarm]

You mean you can't?

[He looks legitimately confused by this, but his Vulpix has already informed him that humans who communicate with Pokémon are nowhere near common. Granted, humans who communicate with animals are nowhere near common, either, back where he comes from.]

[He's just messing with you. Although that pleasant smile dampens the effect somewhat.]

[Video]

[peach_boy]

[And Momo is going to look heartbroken because he really wants to be able to understand his Oshawott, who just repeats his name again and again.]

Should I understand them? That's no fair! I want to!

[Video]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Wow, kid, you're not getting any brownie points from Veronica here, who looks about as grimdark as you do right now with her stitches and scars. Ako, the Murkrow, was perched on her shoulder, peering at this new face with curiosity.]

Murders, huh?

[That caught her attention right quick. That and dark magic.]

[Video]

[cawsforalarm]

...Whoa, is your face stitched together?

[A normal person might be concerned about insulting Veronica. But Mr. Tactmaster over here is far more interested in the fact that she's all sewn up.]

[Meanwhile, Cawdia the baby Murkrow pokes her beak over Henry's shoulder to watch the proceedings cautiously.]

[Video]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Ako peers at this new bird, finding them a bit more interesting than whatever the humans were currently doing.]

....Umm...

[Veronica is... momentarily confused by that question. It's one she gets asked regularly, but it always manages to throw her off.]

Well, it sort of is...

[video]

[scizor_sister]

[Well, don't YOU seem interesting.]

Would those be murders BY explosion, or murders FOLLOWED by explosion?

[There is an important difference.]

[video]

[cawsforalarm]

Hey, I don't discriminate! [HELLO FELLOW MURDER ENTHUSIAST] But murders by explosion are usually better, as a rule, because sometimes you get to see the blood and guts spray everywhere! Ee hee... yeah. Blood.

Re: [video]

[scizor_sister]

Hm, seems like it might be hard to see up close, though.

[Blood stains are HELL to get out.]

Immolation would probably be cleaner, and sometimes the whole building pops even if the body doesn't!

[...it doesn't actually count as a confession if she doesn't explicitly mention first-hand experience, right?]

video

[islandshore]

[Riku opens his mouth to speak, but stops, replaying the footage real quick. Okay, so black magic was harmless enough, but murder? Explosions? Explosive murders?

Yeah, he's kinda awstruck right now. The Weavile in the background, however, is laughing rather gleefully. Do pardon his rather fake sounding accent.]

Quite the character, isn't he? There's something delightfully morbid about--

Shut up, Slash.

[The Weavile throws up his hands and walks off screen, presumably leaving the room. This in turn puts Riku in a position where he has to talk.

So right, how does he even respond to that?]

Hate to break it to you, but there aren't many murders around here. Kinda tough to pull that off when nobody dies.

video

[cawsforalarm]

[Henry looks highly amused about the proceedings currently happening on his screen. Whoever that 'Slash' guy was, Henry likes him.]

[The amusement quickly dies, though, and the smile nearly drops. Nearly.]

...Wait. What?

video

[islandshore]

[Riku snickers. Man, this guy's totally clueless, isn't he? Well, better get this over with.]

Nobody told you? Death doesn't happen here. You can get thrown off a building, kicked into a pit of boiling lava, chewed up by a dinosaur... doesn't matter. The worst you'll end up is mild to severe injuries and wake up back at the Pokémon Center.

video;

[venturesomely]

[ EVEN AS A SHONEN PROTAG HE'S NOT GONNA JUDGE YOU FOR MURDERING SOMEONE. There's something else that catches his attention! ]

You can understand your Pokemon, too!

video;

[cawsforalarm]

...Wait, for real?!

[ !!!! ]

[HE'S SERIOUSLY VERY EXCITED RIGHT NOW.]

Could you speak to animals too, back home?

video;

[venturesomely]

Yeah! A lot of my friends back at home were animals. [ A KINDRED SPIRIT? kinda. sans the murdering part. but he's done that, too. not a hobby he'd really take up... ] How about you?

[action]

[ortion]

[You know, it actually was a normal morning for Dist. He'd finished applying his makeup and slipping on his lab clothes, and was heading down toward the Science Department with his Roserade by his side...

He's not sure how he didn't see this guy coming, really. But there he is, all up in his personal space.]

Wh--!

[Normally he'd be totally flattered by that compliment, but he has no idea who this kid is or why he's touching him--

With a small hand signal from Dist, that Roserade is now pointing one of her arm bouquets at the stranger, sharp barbs just visible amidst the petals.]

Back off, immediately. Touching my elegant skin is a privilege, thank you very much.

[action]

[cawsforalarm]

...Ooh, look at those! Nya ha ha!

[Henry takes a moment to appreciate the bouquet being brandished threateningly in his direction, and then casually pulls his arm back. He should probably be more careful who he messes with now that he can actually feel pain again -- but that would require him to think ahead and control himself, two things that he really hates doing.]

Aw. Well, what can I do to earn that privilege? Your skin really is nice.

[action]

[ortion]

[Surprisingly, Dist doesn't readily have an answer for that question. So he stammers for a second.]

Th-though I appreciate the compliment, it's not something you can actually earn at this point in time. It has already been reserved by a select few.

[Yes, that's good enough.]

Honestly, you recruits are getting more tactless by the day. Just running up and touching your superiors like that...

video;

[throw_stone]

[A man who can speak with these beasts--?! That's cool. Really cool. But Ramza opens up with a frown.]
I've not heart of Plegia - may it be close to Ivalice?
[It sounds like it could be close to Ivalice. He'll probably ask about the magic and murders later.]

video;

[cawsforalarm]

Ivalice? Um... nope, don't think so!

video;

[throw_stone]

I see. A pity - though I imagine 'tis a pity to leave your land.
[A pause. He tends to pause a lot, to gather his thoughts.]
But your land still has enough murder for it to be an interest?