bottlecaplogs | [OPEN] Dreams & Ghosts

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[OPEN] Dreams & Ghosts

Who: Mayaka & you !

What: 2 open prompts (reviewing dreams from last month + attempting to get over her fear of ghosts) and wildcard option

Where: Around Bottlecay Bay + Skull Town

When: Beginning of Feb

Warnings: none atm

a. dream review

Perhaps you're passing through the Archives, or the living hall in Skull Town when you spot a Sneasel sitting at a table furiously scrawling out various drawings on paper. Mayaka's gloves have been set aside neatly beside her for now, because she finds it easier to hold onto the charcoal pencils using her bare claws. She's experienced some weird dreams from last month. Though she doesn't remember the exact details, she's been dutifully drawing out the images that lingered in her mind upon waking up. Now, it's time to try to make sense of them. On the table you'll find the following drawings:

1. What appears to be a spaceship, though Mayaka's drawn it to look more like a truck with four wheels underneath.

2. A primordial-looking fish creature. She has given it a pair of cute, anime-sized eyes to make it look more approachable.

3. A black cat with an extra pair of eyes on its stomach. More cat-like than Mimikyu at this point.

4. The drawing she's currently working on, and struggling to capture. She's trying to remember what the alien beings in the final big nightmare looked like, though the large and erratic shapes on paper may not look recognisable to anyone. Mayaka is finding it difficult because she doesn't have an image in mind to associate with what she saw in the nightmare.

She's too caught up with this to notice if someone were to approach...

b. how to deal with ghosts

If you're wandering around Bottlecap Bay, you'll find Mayaka outside her house in the Lum Berry housing area, rooted on the spot.

Her attention is focused on a small clay sculpture she's placed in the garden of her front porch. It's a little handmade ghost figurine with a hairbow on its head. While it might look strangely cute, the more you look at it, the more you'll notice that it's two eyes seem to be gazing directly at you with an unblinking Stare™.

This is the ghost that's been chasing her in her dreams, but she's too scared to get rid of it! (Also, the fact that it was a gift to her from Catrina doesn't help!)

The Sneasel is shaking a little, and it's not from the cold weather. She's standing a safe distance away from the figurine, muttering to herself: "It's just a doll... it's just a dolll..."

(Dolls are creepy too, though??)

c. wildcard!
for any other threads or ideas that come up!

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Like her, Bigby's been trying to put it together in his own way. Asking around, digging through the Archives, but nothing's been fruitful at all so far. Even the tablet he's found on jellyfish-like creatures is only about Jellicent, much to his future frustration.

For now though, he takes the paper without hesitation, only to remember an important detail.

"I can try, but I'm not much of an artist." His head tilts down, thinking on where he could even start. "I could write down a description?"

"No harm trying," she says as she nudges a few charcoal pencils towards him.

"It's difficult to describe things with just words sometimes."

Maybe this is why a common feedback she's gotten from her manuscripts is to work on her dialogue.

“... Fine.” His ears droop a bit. Bigby is immediately out of his element. “Just don’t expect a masterpiece.”

The first thing he’s going to do is draw a shaky oval, followed by lines meant to be tentacles. His head tilts. He already hates it.

“I’m not sure we’re gonna get much out of this.”

"Art has value even if it's not a masterpiece."

It feels rather ironic for her to say this. The only reason Mayaka's dedicated herself to drawing manga is because she wants to create a masterpiece like the ones that inspired her.

"At least, if you're just a beginner," she quickly adds. Dabbling in art to express yourself is fine, but if you're planning to get serious about it, you should strive for the best. Why work so hard, otherwise?

She doesn't comment directly on Bigby's rudimentary drawing. "Hmm... you could make short notes next to it, to describe the stuff you aren't able to draw out?"

(When Mayaka's too tired to draw out the sky on a draft, she just writes 'sky' in the empty space.)

A bit awkwardly, he laughs: "I don't really know if this counts as art either."

At least he can find some humor in it, even if it's hard not to feel like he's back in school again, learning to read and write as a human for the first time with a bunch of kids who just think he's simple. He taps his pencil on the paper with a small frown.

"You know, it looked almost like... a girl in a hat." He can jot that down with ease, along with several other notes that look more in line with how a detective would do it. They're concise yet descriptive, with question marks highlighting anything that still needs to be cross-verified. "Is there anything else you remember? That you can't draw either?"

The Sneasel tries to peek at Bigby's notes, to see if she can decipher what he's writing and see how neat it is. Yes, she's the type to judge someone's character based on their penmanship!

"It was hot. Really, really hot."

To illustrate this, on the bottom corner of the paper she draws chibi versions of her and Bigby with gigantic sweatdrops on their faces.

"Hot... yeah. That's right. Almost like Furnace Mountain." He rubs his chin a little, trying to hone in on the setting as much as the beasts now. "Smelled like sulfur too. Felt like I could barely breathe."

Bigby starts to jot this all down with cursive handwriting that's altogether not so bad to look at. Luckily for him, he's had a few centuries to refine it by now, even if the lack of actual fingers does make it harder. Briefly, he glances over at what Mayaka's drawing next, only to pause and double-take.

"Ah." His expression flattens from serious to slightly embarassed. Her style definitely has a knack for making him look... extra cuddly. She's talented at least, and he could use a forensic artist one day. "Guess that's one way to get it down, sure."

"Huh... you're right." Mayaka had been so focused on visualising what she'd seen in the nightmare, it hadn't occurred to her to think about what her other senses could tell her.

Then, she peers over at Bigby's notes and smiles as she says, "Your handwriting's pretty good!"

"Thanks. Had plenty of time to practice." He smirks slightly at her compliment, glancing up again. Someone could easily call him old for saying it like that, but he's focusing again on trying to put himself back in the dream. Well, he was, until he realizes he should probably return the favor. "Your drawings are pretty good too. You do a lot of art back home?"

"I-I guess you could say so," Mayaka says self-consciously, slightly caught off guard by the question.

"When I have time, I try to draw as much as I can. It's what I like doing the most."

Perhaps it's because of Bigby's cuddly appearance, or the way he carries himself, but Mayaka feels safe sharing this knowledge with him. He seems to be the kind of guy who knows how to keep a secret.

"Huh." He didn't expect to throw her off, but he's clearly endeared at the response. Maybe he's just happy to know that there's at least one kid able to pursue their interests back home. He glances at her claws, then his (very less intimidating) paws.

"Glad you can still do that here then. Can't always be battling and cleaning up snow."

Says the guy who only barely started having hobbies outside of work. Do as he says, not as he does.

Mayaka puffs up her cheeks and says resolutely: "Even if I got turned into some Pokemon without hands, I'd make sure I could. I'd rather be doing this than battling, that's for sure."

Then, softly, she adds: "... It helps me feel like I'm still me."

That indignant look, cheeks puffed up and all, feels a bit like how he'd respond if asked. Even the way she softens, wanting to hold onto who she is despite the circumstances, hits close to home.

"I know what you mean," he sighs. His head tilts at her with a quiet understanding. Living as a Morpeko has been nothing short of an adjustment for someone like him, especially when he's been fighting against it any chance he gets. "With everything this place keeps throwing at us... anything that helps us feel normal is good."

Maybe even necessary if they want to get through it, but he also adds: "Battling isn't for everyone, but you can still defend yourself, right?"

She scrunches her face at this question. The only thing she's confident about defending herself against is catty highschoolers.

"I don't know. I haven't gotten into any big fights or gone on expeditions. But Ume-kun has been helping me train." That being said, she hasn't really sought out opportunities to actually apply what she's learned from the Lucario.

“Ume. Of course.” Judging by the casual fondness in his tone, he’s not surprised to hear Umemiya has already taken her under his wing. “Nice kid. He’s good at that whole mentoring thing.”

His head tilts at her as he softly sighs. Maybe he’s thinking of offering to train with her too, but one thing at a time.

“I know battling’s not for everyone, but better to be safe than sorry, yeah? Can’t have you wind up in the clinic. That’s not a good place to draw.”

Mayaka nods in tentative agreement. With how dangerous the environment is, and aggressive the wild Pokemon can get, she knows this topic isn't something she can ignore. She continues working on her current sketch as she poses a question to the Morepeko.

"Do you have lots of experience battling, B-chan?"

"You can say that."

There's a smaller reaction to his nickname this time around. He might actually be getting used to it. Glancing between her and her drawing, he rubs the back of his head. As much as he doesn't want to get into the details, he can't ignore why he's so comfortable with fighting here in the first place.

"Been here long enough to get used to it like this, but... I had to take care of myself back home too."

Mayaka decides not to press further, seeing as how Bigby's so guarded about things. She's made good progress today, she thinks!

"Next time, let me tag along on a quest, okay? If it's with you, I don't think I'll mind learning how to fight a bit better."

That and, she's curious to see what a small Morpeko would do in a fight.

For her troubles, she even gets a genuine smile out of him. Imagine that.

"Sounds like a plan, kid," he says in earnest. Teaming up on a quest together would mean he'd get to keep an eye out on her too, should things go sideways, not that he's expecting to take her on anything that's too dangerous.

"I'll come find you next time we have a few new quests up. Just make sure to keep training with Ume for now, alright?"

Mayaka wants to retort that she's not a kid, but knows that that would kind of prove the point.

"Mm. I will."

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[OPEN] Dreams & Ghosts

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good to wrap!

i loved this thread <3