Putting My Words Down Somewhere [Random Shorts Weekly]

[BT]

Now here's the thing, I don't do this thing called "writing" but I wish I did. I'm making a thread to force myself to commit to writing a short (1k words? 2k words?) every week. I'm not thinking too much on whether this will work or even if it's a good idea, since I just want to do it and start somewhere. These ideas are all going to be very spontaneous. I wrote this first short in two hours. (That's supposed to be fast.)

List of Shorts
[01] 16/02/14 - Reimu Wants to be the Very Best
[02] 22/02/14 - Stop, Do Over
[03] 02/03/14 - Mt. Silver


"No, are you serious? What are you doing?"

In a medium-sized room, two girls had their eyes glued to the screen of a white contraption. There were two screens, as a matter of fact, but one happened to be more relevant than the other. One girl was reclining comfortably on her cushion, the other hunched over her, her head virtually suspended in mid-air. She looked up at her, narrowing her eyes. "As far as I can tell, I'm doing fine."

"No you're not. How are you so bad at this game?" she said, standing up straight as she began her lecture. "You're done for, now. You can't stop their set-up. It's not that hard looking one move ahead, you know."

The first girl didn't have it in her to admit that she hadn't even considered it. "We're not all like you, Professor Oak," she said, countering with her own snark.

"Look, it's not even funny," the second girl continued, flinging one of her golden braids. "You could've just hit it with a Bullet Punch. You have hazards. Gengar was going to die sooner or later."

The girl in control leaned back some more, eyes still on the sprite jumping around in the virtual arena. It was a red... bug? It had wings, anyway. Pincers, too. A brief pause later and her opponent followed up with a blue shark-dragon hybrid, complete with awkward fangs and scales, to replace the KO-ed purple boogeyman that was supposedly a ghost made out of gas. She'd noticed it wasn't exactly easy describing these things, but, fortunately, it was't that important in the first place. It bothered her more that it was the stamp of confirmation that her friend was right. She shrugged, tapped once, maybe twice at the bottom screen and the white flag was raised.

"I don't see why I'm playing in the first place, honestly," she said, annoyed, balancing her big red ribbon. "If you're so good, why don't you play? I'm probably boring you anyway."

"Hmm, it's more fun than you'd think," Kirisame Marisa said back, a wide grin on her face. "Fun at the expense of others, or something like that. Really gives you a sense of superiority."

This concluded the third crushing defeat in that session of clashes of the shrines. An anonymous Team Green had swept the floor with her, not missing any leftovers, not for the first time. The shrine maiden didn't care for some silly loss in a kid's game, but the smile on her guest's face was starting to get on her nerves. When the realization struck her, she stood up and flipped the contraption shut.

"The only reason you set all this up is to poke fun at me. I'm taking apart your fancy connection."

"Wait wait, you can't!" the witch said as she darted across the room to the door. "If competitive Pokemon isn't your thing, I'm sure we'll find something else! You don't want me telling Sanae-chan you're done playing with her, right?"

She had to grumble audibly at that one.

"C'mon Reimu, where's your competitive spirit?"

"Somewhere under the layer of dust I have to clean up in that other room. Move."

Marisa folded her arms. "Bleh, whatever. Seriously, though, don't tear that down. That stuff's elaborate."

The shrine maiden started making her way towards the shrine's main room, the blonde hazard moving out of the way at the last second. In there, she grabbed her old broom and made a sharp turn for the "special" room, the one for the ceremonies. The formerly-cleared blonde hazard tailed her on the way there.

"To be fair," she said, "Sanae ain't that bad. You think she got it from the kids at the village?"

Reimu let the image humor her for a bit, the Moriya shrine maiden surrounded by a group of preschoolers making serious faces, until she realized that was very likely the case anyway. She doesn't mean it, but Sanae has a knack for reeling in the followers. In fact, she couldn't do the job better if she actually meant it. Ignorance is bliss. Having these sort of thoughts was a nice signal to her that she'd already managed to calm down.

"Right, anyway, want me to tutor you or something?"

That was new. She turned around, broom slightly above-ground as if it were in a ready position to be shoved at the witch's face. "You mean, in the kid's game?"

"Don't give me that, it's obvious you like it," she said as she stretched out one of her arms in a pose. "Come out, Bulbasaur! Let 'em have it! Kind of like that."

It was useless hiding anything from her for the most part, since they knew each other way too well. She tilted her head and folded her arms. "It's a waste of time."

"It's a waste of potential. You're totally Red material."

"You're not funny."

"You're too kind."

The room they ended up in was only slightly larger than the guest's room, housing a few artifacts and other things.  It was more like a hallway than anything else, though that only meant the sides of the room were a nightmare to dust. She had to admit that she didn't even like the room that much - it was distinctively gloomier than the rest of the place, lacking in the natural light department. They would usually light the place up with a bunch of candles, which isn't that bad when you're a group but sure felt like a demon spawn when you're cleaning up after. They were right on time - it was early afternoon - so none of that was an issue. Dusting ensued.

"It's an offer you can't refuse, I'm telling you."

She offhandedly blamed the fact that she was probably due for a nap, putting her other hand on her chin as she made a thinking noise. "If I'm allowed to be optimistic," she started, "I could beat that Moriya girl at something for a change. It should be refreshing."

Marisa had to question her hearing to confirm that she was dealing with the rare ambitious Reimu. She would have to update her statistics later, where apathetic Reimu clearly had free reign. "That's a yes, then. The contract's done. Welcome to the Pokemon world, young trainer!"

Reimu briefly considered if calling her Oak was a bad move. She made a gesture with her spare hand to pass the memo that she had to wait patiently until after she was done with the dusting.

She did not have to wait that long. The next thing she knew, she was following Marisa out the room in a steady walk. Disturbingly, she had in on instinct to play that one tune in her head, the one where the supporting characters carried your avatar around like it was in their job description.

Wait, we're going outside?

She barely had time to complete the thought as her eyes widened.

"Marisa!"

The girl had been flattened by... something that gave that quip on common sense in Gensokyo a new meaning.

The big lug taking residence on the floor of the shrine's entrance, and, by nature, Marisa, was none other than a big, black and white... bear? It was a Pokemon, for whatever it was worth. The name was at the tip of her tongue.

"Mmph! Mmph!"

A few seconds had past and the witch released a brief magical burst, sending the creature sky-high. It fell a few meters down the courtyard. "It's a Snorlax!" she said as if she had no recovering to do, her frame somewhat two-dimensional.

Reimu had to narrow her eyes a bit more than was necessary at the "Snorlax". She had actually lost her breath for a second or two. Inexcusable. "It's just the Nue."

"So I am," Houjuu Nue said as she flashed to somewhere behind the two. Reimu didn't have to spin around to feel her dumb compulsory grin that accompanied her practical jokes. The girl clearly had no tact, to a point where she'd perfected it as an art. It was probably intentional.

"State your business, or risk testing me further. I'd advise against it, your chances aren't high."

Flashing back into their line of sight in her original form, holding her trident above her head as she stretched, she said, "Just passing by. I guess I'm also here to wish you well on your quest, right? You don't look like you need it, though. You already have a Pikachu."

The two girls had to parse the line for a few moments before realizing the implication. Marisa jumped a bit, most of it on purpose for added effect. "I'm not her slave! You better take that back."

"Yeah, yeah," she returned, crouching and then jumping into the open air, gone. Reimu murmured shortly how, if there was any importance to it, Nue would be a Ditto.

Then they began the training.

[BT]

This is actually a very, very brief exploration of a concept I have in mind. It's not fleshed out at all. I didn't really know the specifics of what I wanted to do, so there's not much meat here. C'est la vie.


The movers started working shortly after dawn, moving the furniture to the new apartment. A raven-haired man in his mid 30s, mildly sleep-deprived, stood near the front door, flashing an apologetic smile to the movers every time they had passed by him. He would sneak in a few moments of dozing off against the pure white wall between their runs.

The rest of the family were inside, staring at the furniture at a different angle, mesmerized. The mother, roughly at the same age as her husband, held their daughter with both her arms. She was still at that age where it was possible to lift her, although for all intents and purposes she was too old for it. The three-year-old, hair the same shade of brown as her mother's but tied in one short ponytail with a ribbon, made an act of sleeping sound, even though she clearly needed the rest the least out of the three. Eventually, she was let back down on the newly-checkered floor.

The floor panels weren't too big or too small - just right - and the tyke had some sort of liking for them as well. She would follow the grid around the panels until it reached a wall, then make a u-turn and try another route, until she reached a different room. Sometimes the lines stopped and there was no door there, but the panels themselves seemed to plop upwards, each following row of panels trying to one-up the preceding one. These were stairs, of course, but she preferred her own take on the phenomenon even many years later.

It was both a combination of tiredness from lifting the child and the need to go to the bathroom that excused her mother for a few moments. She didn't mind it that much, although she didn't tend to open up a distance between her and her parents. She had tried a few times. She had consistently aborted the mission, the fear and uncertainty getting the better of her every time. Her parents didn't mind so long as she would grow out if it eventually. Lost in thought, the girl found herself yet again in front of the stairs. The movers were filling up the second floor, so she would only be able to continue her exploration later.

Would she?

It was only the sound of something tumbling down that made her look up in the first place, but it was her mother's dresser, a big wooden box, sliding down the stairs. The speed of the object would leave her no chance.

In a distant world, a girl gave the command, and everything paused.

The girl in question was holding a remote with a few stylized buttons, each with their own purpose. She had just pressed the biggest one, the big red button. She didn't personally create the remote - in fact, she had no idea who did - but it was convenient and appropriate that the pause function was the most accessible.

That's not good. The box is heavy. I need to move.

Of course, she already knew that "she" would not be able to. Her finger was already making its way to another button, a triangular blue button with a bit of glitter. She pressed it.

The screen on the pitch-black monitor before her obeyed the command, rewinding the footage. Eventually, it stopped, as if it knew by itself when to do so. She was now staring down an image of "herself" chasing the lines on the floor near the front entrance.

Hmm.

The girl, the one with the remote, was dressed in a flawlessly white dress, but everything else about her was identical to the one she was looking at. She was sitting on a couch, flanked by pillows with colors from all parts of the spectrum, with nothing but the monitor in front of her. To her sides were vast expanses of blindingly white nothingness. Such was a deserted dimension. It never felt unnatural to her, though.

Her thoughts automatically trailed off to "solutions", to the extent that a toddler is able to. She only had a handful of past experiences to guide her, but those had already pushed her towards the correct approach - shifting "her" attention to something else. It worked in the last incident, so it'd work just as well this time.

Her eyes studied the screen, the displayed image changing at will to other views of the rest of the surroundings. There was a goofy-looking painting hanging on the building's left wall. It would do.

In the next moment, she focused her thoughts and mentally chose a branch. With that, the little girl on display, staring at an intersection on the floor, took a seemingly arbitrary right turn and followed that line. The girl in white stretched her hands back, reclined into the couch and went back to watching her scheduled programming, blank expression notwithstanding that she knew the full implications of what she was doing. It was completely natural, after all.

The next scene was that of her mother rushing to the sounds of a big thump, which was, of course, the dresser hitting the bottom floor. The girl at the other side of the room was startled momentarily, then returned to her staring contest with the painting on the wall. She had to endure the sounds of her father arguing with the movers, but since no real damage was caused, it subsided pretty quickly. Her mother made sure to ask her if everything was fine, and she told her that she was surprised and a little scared.

Her mother then attempted to explain to her why the clocks in the painting were all melting, and that art lets you do things like that. The girl nodded, though she didn't know anyone who would draw something weird like that.

The other girl, the one in white, wondered if she should have some paintings hanging around her space. Maybe she would paint them, too. That would be nice.

[BT]

I'm irredeemably lazy. This was meant to have two parts but I stopped after the first one because I didn't feel like continuing, meaning nothing of interest actually happens here. I guess writing for the sake of writing is what I wanted by starting this thread, even when I don't like it. Maybe I'll make a bigger effort next week.


Gold stood on the edge of a cliff, staring at the path ahead. It was far away, but the tall mountain range ahead dominated his view nonetheless. Big, steep mountains, the edges of which were tucked safely beyond a shield of clouds. The path on the way there was rather monocolor - green - overflowing with what was for the most part untouched nature. Of course, the area was strictly safeguarded, acting as a safe haven for the most dangerous wildlife - and trainers - the region had to offer. Gold recalled that some of his early day maps hadn't even mentioned the place, and it wasn't small.

"Mt. Silver," he said to no one in particular. He was well on his own, his companions not included. People, his family, friends and others, were no doubt thinking about him as he was venturing through the dangerous land, worried but proud and mostly happy for him. He couldn't say he wasn't proud of himself as well. His trek to glory was quick and effective, and in under a year all of Johto witnessed the rise of a new champion. Said champion then realized his dream and explored the neighboring Kanto, half sightseeing, half dealing with publicity. Traveling through a region wasn't the same when everyone knew who you were. He, of course, still demanded to battle the local gym leaders, in what they saw as a friendly match and he saw as building a collection. Collecting the badges of Kanto was akin to a progress marker to tell him when he'd explored the region enough. Old habits died hard.

To be frank, he was surprised that, as a champion, it was still arguable for him to get clearance into Mt. Silver territory. The timeless Prof. Oak himself explained that experience was important in the face of the brutal conditions he would be facing. Still...

Double-checking that nothing was left behind in his camp behind the ledge, Gold set off to what was beginning to look like a real mountainous landscape, his feet feeling the stress after many ups-and-downs. His Pokemon were starting to tire as well, having to be used extensively against the abundance of wild creatures. As if on cue, a Pokemon Center appeared. Shocked that one existed out there and at the same time understanding completely why one would be needed, he gleefully entered the center and rested for the day. Being the only visitor in the building was a bit eerie, but passing the night with Nurse Joy as company wasn't that bad. If you knew one of them, you knew them all, so he was essentially experienced at it.

Once again rested, the beeline to the big mountains continued. Gold decided he wanted to cover more ground this time in spite of how increasingly difficult it was becoming. No matter - he was sure to stock up well. Nurse Joy made it clear that this was his last real resting place for the remainder of the journey, and that there was plenty of journey left. He didn't think it was a good idea for him and his team to have a battle of attrition with the wildlife - they would just have to be done with it as quickly as possible.

Eventually, they'd reached the foot of Mt. Silver, signaled by a cave in the distance which was flanked by two statues of the two legendary birds of Johto. Once inside, it was pitch black - there was not a light source in the entire cave. Gold had to rely on his own Pokemon in order to avoid plummeting into chasms. It was apparent that Mt. Mortar or Victory Road had nothing on the place - they, at least, were somewhat traveler-friendly. The overwhelming bodies of water inside the cave were yet another inconvenience to add to the pile, though he had to admit the purity of the water was something to behold.

The night he and his team had to spend inside the cave was unforgiving - they'd had to relocate a few times in the face of danger. Fortunately, it was only one night, as the relentless indoor climb was bound to reach the summit eventually.

Once there, Gold had to marvel at the sight. The view on top of the highest vantage point in the area covered a significant portion of both Johto and Kanto. If he looked closely, he could even spot Indigo Plateau hidden behind some of the nearby mountains. Among those views were the flocks of wild bird Pokemon in the sky and some rarer beasts flying in what was high altitude. Some of the birds nested on the mountaintop, seemingly uncaring for the fact that he was up there with them. Climbing the few meters separating him from the absolute peak of the mountain, Gold was surprised to find yet another cave entrance, barely wide enough to allow entrance.

The cave itself surprised him less than the fact that he could hear voices coming from inside.

If something were to attack him from inside the cave, Gold feared he might actually fall off the peak. Those were definitely Pokemon cries... He sat at the side of the cave's mouth and weighed his options. Judging by the sounds, it was most likely a struggle between two or more Pokemon. In the past, he'd tried using his Pokedex to identify Pokemon based on their cries, only to find out that it wouldn't work. He realized that he was under no obligation to check the cave in the first place, but it was hard to ignore it. Electing to test the waters, he sent out a copper owl with glowing red eyes - his Noctowl - and carefully followed it through the entrance of the cave, making use of the bird's superior vision.

The cave became wider as they progressed through it, with chasms appearing at both sides of the path. The sounds increased in volume all the while.

Gold looked to his Noctowl for a sign of approval. Then he swallowed before he gave the command, "Noctowl, Flash!"

Instantly, the entire room was filled with light, as if it were in broad daylight. An oval room was reveled, dark brown walls with a few shiny surfaces etched into them, with sizable chasms separating the ends of the path from the walls. Two other Pokemon - Pidgeot and Charizard - were flying inside the room, now silent and looking at them.

At the very end of the room, somewhat between the two flying Pokemon, sat a boy with a red cap.