foolishwren | 99. [Text/Action for travel group]

Current Mood: indescribable
Current Location: Saffron City hotel

99. [Text/Action for travel group]

_{[SO YEAH, UH. IT'S BEEN. A FEW DAYS. SINCE... YOU KNOW.]

[Since the whole thing on the weekend that they all remember now.]

[In those few days, Heather has been holed up in her hotel room like a dysfunctional pop star hiding from the paparazzi. What's she been doing in there? GOD ONLY KNOWS. Actually, the people IN that hotel room know and it's mostly being quiet and sleeping a lot, but there you go.]

[BUT LO AND BEHOLD: a text!]

[A text with a request.]}

SUP PEOPLE

I have a mission for all of you


send me funny shit

any funny shit

I don't care if it's a joke or a story about the time your drunk uncle bill mistook your annoying aunt sally's drink for a spitoon or a video of that fat Meowrth that likes to get in boxes i forget his name it's like Maroo or something

1 2 3 GO

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[Which is exactly why bubble wrap is a great subject right now.]

Sorta, yeah.

... I'll be in my room if you need me.

[With that, he turns around and slowly walks towards the exit (he promised not to take too much of her time, after all), but stops after taking just a few steps. It doesn't seem right; he came here with the intention to help, but frankly, it doesn't feel like he achieved much in cheering Heather up...]

Hey.

[The duelist turns around, looking distinctively more alive than just a moment ago.]

Remember that one time I said I was gonna join the police?

[He gives her a slightly goofy, if somewhat forced grin.]

Some people actually believed that!

_{[She doesn't laugh, not much anyway-- so maybe it's not the response he was hoping for.]

[But she does speak up.]}

Hey, Crow...

... You can stay.

I was exaggerating about the girl crap.

_{[And by 'exaggerating' she means 'outright lying', but there you go. A year-- or hell, even a few months ago, she probably wouldn't have admitted that. But... Crow has quite frankly been a better friend than she deserves.]}

[Well, in all honesty, he didn't expect a lot, so it's not really disappointing or anything; he'd just feel bad walking away without saying at least that much, so--

... Wait what.

Having not expected to hear that, Crow blinks in surprise. He hesitates for a moment, glancing briefly at the door before looking back at Heather. Granted, there is lots of bubble wrap waiting for him back in his room, and he's quite certain he's already proved himself not to be such a great companion today, but how could the duelist refuse a friend's invitation to stay?

... Even so, he tilts his head a bit with a questioning expression.]

You sure? I don't wanna get my head ripped off for no apparent reason or something.

Please.

I do have some self-control.

_{[She scoots over a little, reaching out to pat the spot next to her.]}

[Crow watches her a bit more, still not sure what to do, and then just shrugs with a small smile.]

Fine, I believe ya.

[He walks over to the bed and flops down on the spot he was pointed to.]

It was just a rough weekend. I haven't felt like talking to anybody.

_{[She offers this up as an explanation, but doesn't elaborate. Instead, she holds up the bubblewrap again, snapping a few of the tiny air-pockets.]}

... So... who recc'd the bubblewrap?

[He's never expected even that much, so he finds himself taken a bit off-guard at the explanation, but chooses to leave it at that.]

... Fair enough.

[It's not like he's been much of a social butterfly lately himself, either.]

Hayate. [Although he does give her a tiny smile while answering, it's suddenly replaced by a very displeased grimace.] Y'know, when I first heard it, it sounded just like a terrible waste of perfectly good bubble wrap, [that he could use in his deliveries, mind you] but turns out it's not such a bad idea.

Hayate?

Not surprised.

_{[That guy always seems to have a solution for everything. Or at least some sort of helpful suggestion.]}

[Crow gives a small nod.]

Yeah. That's just like him.

[... He thinks. Not that he knows the guy very well or anything, but he just seems to be the type.

The duelist tilts his head a bit to look at the bubble wrap in Heather's hand with a tiny smile.]

Think it's working?

_{[Heather doesn't know him too well either, but by virtue of both of them having been around for a long time, she's more or less gotten a good impression of him. Helpful guy.]}

... I dunno.

It's slow going.

... Maybe if I had some help.

[For a brief moment, he can't help but wonder if she means the bubble wrap or something else entirely, even considering asking, but decides against it. Doesn't feel like it's his place to do so anyway.

Instead, he silently reaches over to the other end of the wrapping and proceeds to snap three of the air-pockets between his fingers.]

... Better now?

Yeah, actually.

_[TEAMWORK.]

... Wanna watch a movie?

[Being of some use actually makes Crow feel better, too. TEAMWORK IS THE BEST.]

Sure, why not?

[A movie sounds like a neat way to occupy one's thoughts, after all.]

Got anything specific in mind?

Not really.

My only criteria is that it be one that can be improved by the sound of popping bubble-wrap.

Pretty sure most movies are like that.

[Especially here in Pokémon World.]

Guess our best chance is TV. Where's the remote?

_{[She fishes briefly in the blanket and pulls it out, handing it over to him. SHE'S BEEN DOING A LOT OF TV-WATCHING LATELY.]}

[... To be honest, that's hardly a surprise; Crow's noticed Heather seems to be... rather fond of watching TV, be it in times of sadness, boredom or... in general. There again, maybe it just appears that way to him, given how he's never been all that much into it, even back when he was one of the very few Satellite residents capable of hacking the TV signal for themselves.

Grabbing the remote, he turns on the TV.]

'Kay, let's see...

Hello and welcome to today's episode of "Watchy the Watchog"! Yesterday we focused on discussing the pros and cons of Focus Band, but this time we chose an entirely different topic - Choice Scarf! What are the advantages of letting your Pokémon hold one? Are there any dangers of doing so? Find out, this and more, on "Watchy the Watchog" - right after this commercial!

[...........]

_{[He'd be right in that observation. She's not overly into the stuff she watches, but when she needs to take her mind off of more unpleasant things... it's a good distraction. It's mindless, even numbing to watch in a way, letting you sink into a stupor and zone out instead of having to confront whatever it is you're trying to avoid for a bit. ... And, most importantly, it's background noise.]

[If there's one thing that everyone who's been through the things Heather has hates... it's silence.]}

... Y'know, I never understood the point of those things.

Those Choice thingies.

I mean, I'm all for the 'hit something with a sword until it dies' strategy, but isn't the point of Pokemon battles NOT to spam the same move over and over?

_{[Yes she is just taking that Watchy the Watchog topic and running with it.]}

[He figures it might be something among those lines, even if he doesn't really see the appeal-- to each their own.

Maybe it exactly because he doesn't watch all that much TV that he's still baffled by certain programs on it, Watchy the Watchog being no exception.]

Huh? Oh, yeah...

[Crow shrugs a bit. It's not something he'd invest in, but he can see other people doing so.]

Probably, but I guess some people prefer it that way? Especially for some stronger moves... like Earthquake.

[... Which never fails to serve as an endless source of amusement to Crow, seeing as about 90% of his Pokémon are immune to it.]

I guess....

Personally, I like keeping my options open. Limiting yourself to just one move seems like a good way to get backed into a corner.

Yeah. Sticking to just one combo or strategy -- no matter how effective -- may seem convenient at first, but in the end, it leaves you wide open to counterattack. Being flexible works much better!

[Whether he's still talking about Pokémon or has switched his train of thought to Duel Monsters is questionable, so it's probably better to assume he means both.]

Yeah.

Like... if you run outta bullets and a gun's all you have, you're screwed. But at the same time, if you don't have anything BUT some kinda melee weapon, that means you have to get up close and personal all the time and that's a thousand times riskier.

... S'pretty much the same thing with Pokemon. You know, to be metaphorical.

_{[Likewise, Heather can't talk about fighting without subconsciously applying her own experiences into it, SOOOO....]}

[Crow raises an eyebrow at the comment, finding it a little... well, extreme. Granted, his own example was referring to a different kind of fighting, but at least it didn't sound like it was something out of survival horror.

Which could mean one of the following: either Heather really does watch too much TV, or Crow should honestly think twice the next time he decides to approach her during those girly crap days.

Or maybe even both.]

... "Metaphorical".

[He can't help but smile a bit at that.]

Yep. And we didn't even need Watchy to figure out that much!

[He nods in the direction of TV screen, where the reporter interviews some trainers on the topic of their favorite Choice items.]

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99. [Text/Action for travel group]

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