December Prompts

[symbolofstrength]

Who: Samuel Oak and OPEN
What: Open prompts for December
Where: Various
When: December
Content Warnings: Can't think of any, will add them if they come up.

Comments

1. Literacy is a Bridge (The Void)

[symbolofstrength]

With the promise of treats, Samuel is able to gather up a few Smeargles and bring them along to the white papery void at the edge of the world. There, he gently takes their tails in his own hands and uses the paint to draw letters on the 'ground', explaining that each one represents a sound.

From there, he makes the various sounds at the Smeargles, rewarding them with a bit of cooked, seasoned mushroom whenever they tap the corresponding letter with a paw. After a few rounds of this, he gives the Smeargles a round of applause, giving them all more mushrooms while he introduces the next stage of the game:

"Good job, all of you! Now it's going to get a little harder. I'll give you a word, and I want you to show me the letter you think that word starts with, alright?"

[abeautifulgame]

" ... are you trying to teach them how to read?" Damien ventures, from behind Samuel. He wasn't expecting anyone else to be out here, which is why he came -- he needed to get away from 'town', as it were. He was also planning on trying something, out here, something he's been thinking about for awhile now, but that's a moot point, at this point. He's not going to run his little experiment with an audience.

[symbolofstrength]

At the sudden new voice, the skittish Smeargles look around for a place to hide; of course, there's no place to hide in the void, so they mostly duck behind Sam, and the smaller ones hide behind the larger ones.

"Careful! Don't scare them off." Since he still has food, they won't be running away just yet, but he still doesn't want his lesson ending prematurely.

"And yes, I am. They understand our language, and they have the dexterity necessary to write, so it should be just a matter of teaching them how. Then we can communicate with them on a deeper level." Sam slowly reaches out to stroke some of the more frightened ones, making soothing sounds.

"It's worth a try, anyway." Not like he's got much better to do.

[abeautifulgame]

He holds up a hand, placating. He wasn't trying to startle the Smeargles or Sam, even if that was the end result; he doesn't try and get any closer, now, that in mind. If anything, in fact, he takes a half-step back, putting all of his weight on his good leg.

"How long have you been working on it?"

He's curious. It's an interesting idea.

[symbolofstrength]

"Well, I haven't slept since I started, so less than a day I'd guess." With no day-night cycle, it's a bit harder to keep track of time. Sam holds out a piece of mushroom to the other man.

"Would you like to feed them, too?" Perhaps it can serve as an apology for startling them earlier.

[abeautifulgame]

Damien hums, turning his attentions to one of the Smeargles huddled behind Sam, still. He eyes it for a moment, warily, and then when he seems to reach some sort of conclusion (namely that they're not likely to hurt him), he takes a limping step forward, to reach for the mushroom.

"How do I do this?" he asks as he rocks back.

[symbolofstrength]

"Just hold it out toward them. They're civilized enough to use their paws." He demonstrates, holding out another piece of mushroom out toward a nearby Smeargle; it cautiously closes the distance, reaching for the mushroom with both paws, then transferring it from its paws to its mouth.

"It helps if you make yourself look smaller, less scary, but it's fine if you just stay still." With that leg, he understands why he might not want to sit down -- he might not be able to stand up again, right?

[abeautifulgame]

Damien absolutely won't be getting up again, if he sits down, out here. Maybe if they were in town, as it were, and there were something within range that he could reach for, pull himself up on, but no. No, that's not plausible here, and so he best he can do is bend a little (and even that's limited, thanks to the brace on his bad leg, his left one, that runs from mid-thigh to ankle), before holding out the mushroom. At least staying still, silent is a little easier.

[symbolofstrength]

Sam would be happy to help him up if he can't do it by himself; could probably even carry him a short distance if he had to, and not think any less of him for it. But he understands how important pride is to some people; you can't force them to accept help.

After some time of quiet stillness from him, and some friendly encouraging from Sam, one of the Smeargles cautiously approaches, sniffing the mushroom in his hand before gently pulling it from his grasp with its paws. It darts off, sitting down a short distance away to eat its treat.

[forwearemany]

The Smeargle are, to some degree, familiar with Legion--they attempted the same thing Oak is trying not too long ago.

They chatter awkwardly as they approach.

"Previous attempts at teaching the Smeargle advanced communication have been unsuccessful."

[symbolofstrength]

"What method did you use?" Sam idly comments as he feeds them more treats. "I've gotten them to make a link between individual letters and sounds, at least." Baby steps. Almost literally, as he's teaching them much the same way he would a small child.

[forwearemany]

"It was similar to yours, however, we utilized encouragement and play in place of food items." They chatter, observing the Smeargle and the progress Oak has made.

"Though they are capable of learning to write individual words, or copy what another has written, when encouraged to to write on their own the results are unintelligible." The Smeargle are clearly intelligent enough to understand, but for whatever reason, actual communication just falls apart.

[symbolofstrength]

"I'll keep in that mind, but I'm going to keep trying anyway. Repetition is one of the core elements of science, after all." Even if he can't get them to write their own words that humans can understand, just transcription has its uses too.

As for his choice of positive reinforcement -- treats and praise -- it's a pretty universal one for training animals. The food isn't something they'd be able to get on their own, and the portions are small enough that they aren't going to get full or fat any time soon.

[forwearemany]

"Affirmative." They consider this.

"Raihan suggested that their inability to communicate despite understanding was due to their nature as Pokemon." Legion, largely ignorant of Pokemon, had accepted that possibility.

"Another suggested that their ability to communicate would change with time." Perhaps the data will be useful.

As for Legion's methods, the Geth really isn't the best suited to teaching, so the Professor has the advantage there.

[symbolofstrength]

"I don't know if them being Pokemon has anything to do with it. Most Pokemon just lack the mouth parts necessary to speak and the dexterity to write. I knew a Meowth that could speak, so it's not completely impossible."

Though really if he thinks about it, it would be odd that there's no cases of Smeargle being taught to write in his world and now he's trying it here. Perhaps no one ever tried?

[forwearemany]

They headtilt. "Acknowledged. Our familiarity with Pokemon is limited."

In other words, they're pretty sure that the professor would have a better idea of what is and isn't possible than them. They're still learning.

"Query: define Meowth."

2. Mens Sana in Corpore Sano (Underground Gym)

[symbolofstrength]

Taking care of hundreds of Pokemon every day is enough of a work-out on its own that Samuel doesn't really have to 'exercise', and when he does, body-weight exercises are enough for him. But they've got all this nice new equipment, it'd be a shame not to use it.

While he wishes there were weight machines, Sam does make good use of the free weights: Heavy weight at low reps for strength, light weight at high reps for endurance. He's not exactly a professional strongman, nor is he trying to show off, but yes, he's definitely stronger than he looks, especially at his age.

When he's done, he goes to sort and organize his own weights and whatever others he can find, so everyone will have an easier time finding and using them, laughing softly at his own thoughts.

"I wish I had some proper work-out clothes," he comments idly to whoever might be nearby; the clothes provided here are meant for high-schoolers and don't exactly fit a stocky adult like him, after all. He turns his face down toward his shirt to check for smell, but of course without bacteria to produce odor, there is none.

[bluecastleace]

Well, look at you.

[Iwaizumi, the kid Oak had first met with his Dragonite, then again in the hallway brawl with Seto Kaiba, observes the man with a cocked brow - an impressed expression.]

Taming dragons must be something of a work out then, right? Or were you some kind of athlete back in your day?

[“Back in your day,” he says as if the man’s in a nursing home or something - but hey, he’s just a kid, and Oak is...not.]

[symbolofstrength]

Sam laughs and sets the weight down so he can talk.

"Not just dragons. I take care of hundreds of Pokemon at my lab back home." Was he there when he introduced himself to Ann as a Professor of Pokeology? He stopped wearing his labcoat after the Smeargles 'ruined' it, so his profession isn't so obvious at a glance anymore. "But come to think of it, I did try out a few sports back in my college days."

He hears that 'back in your day'; he's like a fine wine, thank you very much, he only improves with age! But no, he's not really offended.

[bluecastleace]

[“Hundreds,” he feels like saying, but even one Pokémon is still a little much to wrap his head around, so he focuses on the sports (like a security blanket almost).]

Yeah? Like what?

[symbolofstrength]

He cocks his head curiously.

"You mean the Pokemon, or the sports?" He'll tell him about either, of course, but you can guess which one he'd be more excited to talk about.

[bluecastleace]

I mean, either I guess. [They’re on two different pages though.] I’m wondering what you used to play though. Back in college like you said.

this is entirely headcanon btw but if the show/games aren't going to fill in his backstory I will!!!

[symbolofstrength]

Sam rests his chin on his hand, thinking.

"Well, let's see now... first I tried swimming for a while, but I ended up getting kicked out of that. Apparently my body is built for strength and endurance, not speed." But you could probably tell that just by looking at him; he's stocky enough to rival a dwarf. (The fantasy kind, with the beards and the mining, not the real kind.)

"Then I tried boxing, but when I found out how many head injuries boxers get, I figured I'd better get out of there before I was able to count my brain cells. My coach was very upset about it." He laughs a little at that; he was a natural, apparently.

"Then I got into rowing, and stuck with that until I graduated." He shakes his head with a good-natured smile.

"But athletics isn't my real passion. I just needed something to channel my competitive spirit into when I quit Pokemon training." He still raises Pokemon, yes, but doesn't train them for battles as much anymore.

[bluecastleace]

Oh yeah? So you can throw a punch or too, eh? [He almost adds an “old man” to the end, but then remembers that...he really doesn’t know this guy like that.]

I heard something about you guys battling those things. I guess that would be kind of like a sport in and of itself, right?

[He really doesn’t want to equate it to dog fighting or anything like that - maybe more like being a horse jockey instead?]

Or am I way off base with that?

3. The Mirror Test (Underground Hallways)

[symbolofstrength]

On his way back from fetching food from the underground cafeteria, he spots his reflection in a mirror in a store window. Approaching it, he reaches up with his spare hand to run it over his chin, jaw, the lower half of his face in general. There appears to be something wrong with his reflection, judging by the thoughtful look on his face, the soft frown hidden by his hand. Something's there that shouldn't be? Or perhaps... something's not there that should be.

He's so engrossed in his own thoughts that he only notices belatedly when someone tries to speak to him; classic absent-minded professor, right? He does cheer up a little when turning to face them, though the ghost of confusion still lingers in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"