neverstudied | Victory Road IC Inbox

A decade--

[Egon rubs the back of his head, frowning. He looks deeply unsettled as he racks his brain.]

...Ah, um. We were generally all around the same age. Early forties, late thirties.... [A pause.] If...I remember correctly, at least.

[Meanwhile, Q*Bert floats down towards Kirby and gives an inquisitive beep. What was singing for? Can she teach them how to do that? They don't seem to be paying any attention to this weird crisis at hand.]

Why would age be something inconsistent across dimensions?

Oh my God. We're all old. Why are we all so old in your universe? Am I gonna look like Bill Murray in a few years??

[Kirby keeps her voice low to avoid waking Annie back up, speaking in a crackly hiss. Annie used to have trouble sleeping all the time, so Kirby learned how to help her sleep by singing for her! Now she mostly just does it for fun, since Annie has a dad now who helps her fall asleep easily.]

Not just why- how? For the most part, we- we basically had the same experiences across dimensions, but in your world we were all born a few years earlier?

In that case, I better magically grow a few inches within the next few years.

[Please let him be Tall.]

Amazing! I love how even all these months we're still finding weird new differences between our dimensions.

[He then pauses and stares sat Egon for a few seconds before he speaks up again.]

I gotta say, I'm impressed by your youthful face! I couldn't even tell that you're secretly ten years older than us!

[To Venkman, in a very matter-of-fact-tone:]

No, you will not. The Venkman in my dimension looked drastically different than you when he was several years younger. As for time, I...am not sure. Perhaps all the events in my home dimension had somehow shifted several years in advance.

[Youthful...face? Egon stares at Ray, rubbing the back of his neck.]

Uh, thank...you. I think.

[Hmmm. Q*Bert wants to try. They float a little closer and start making very low buzzing sounds, though each buzz has a different pitch. It's...not really a tune of any sort, but its an attempt.]

[Venkman breathes a sigh of relief.]

At least there's that.

[He shakes his head at Ray's attempted compliment, grinning weakly.]

Yeah, Spengs, you don't look old enough to be someone's grandfather.

[Now that the shock is wearing off it's time to tease his partner to death.

Meanwhile, Kirby claps her tendrils together in applause. Good job! Though try to hum in a tune rather than just making the noises independent of each other. She demonstrates by humming again.]

[Q*Bert's attempt at singing stirs Annie slightly, but she quickly goes back to sleep, cuddling against Kirby a little closer.

Ray blinks in confusion at Venkman's comment at first, but he quickly catches on.]

You almost look old enough to be my dad, actually. You should be proud, Spengs!

[Get wrecked Egon.]

[Egon rubs at his face with his hands, sighing deeply. After a moment or two, he says:]

I suppose, given your ages, it was only natural you would fall back into this immature humor so quickly.

[Hmmm. Q*Bert blinks, tilting their head to the side as they listen to Kirby humming. The notes seem to follow a pattern, separated by predictable jumps in register and changes in key...interesting. After a moment or two, they make a noise similar to someone clearing their throat, and start humming something that sounds like a weird version of Greensleeves.

Egon is too busy being annoyed at his partners to even notice.]

[Venkman gasps in mock outrage, clutching his chest.]

I'd think insulting us like that was beneath you. Hasn't anyone ever told you to act your age?

[Hypocrite.

Kirby chitters delightedly- now you're getting it! She starts to hum again, trying to match Q*Bert's tune and turn this into a duet.]

[Ray "whispers" to Venkman, loud enough for Egon to hear.]

You think he might be going senile? His behavior is worrying me.

[Annie meanwhile, can be heard humming softly along with the two.]

[Egon grumbles, tapping his fingers against each other.]

This senile old man can still hear perfectly well. The next time a malicious god shows up in this dimension, you can fight it off yourselves.

[Q*Bert continues to hum, occasionally pausing and adjusting their pattern. The notes sound a bit dissonant sometimes, but that's because they haven't spent enough time studying musical patterns yet. Egon blinks, realizing that the buzzing noise is not just Q*Bert operating.]

Oh. Oh! [He gestures over towards the group of Pokémon, instantly excited.] Listen! They're learning independently of pre-programmed instructions!

[In a stage whisper to Ray:]

Yep, the mind's definitely starting to go...

[Then, to Egon:]

Don't worry, Egie. We wouldn't want you fighting gods, anyway- at your age, you might die of a heart attack midway through it.

[Venkman raises his eyebrows at Egon's outburst, turning to look at the impromptu band. Kirby bristles at Egon's words, temporarily stopping to take a few steps further away from him. She picks back up to rejoin Q*Bert's humming after a moment.]

Or have your back go out while you're fighting them-!

[Wait a minute OH MY GOD THE POKEMON ARE SINGING AT EACH OTHER!!!

Ray is instantly torn from teasing Egon to watch this, in awe like a proud father.]

This is adorable! She's teaching Q*Bert how to sing!

Both of you can go right back to the dimension you came from.

[Egon notices Kirby skittering back from him, and he clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck.]

Sorry.

[He settles for just staring at Q*Bert, who starts to fall into a pattern that seems identifiable as a melody.]

I still do not understand why she holds such spite towards me. But...this learning pattern makes sense. Music is simply a predicable pattern of notes dispersed in a manner that is pleasing to the human ear. No wonder Q*Bert was drawn to it in the first place.

Never. We're here to torment you for the rest of your life, Egon. That's gonna be our wedding vows.

Ehhh, she's a spiteful little thing in general. Pretty sure she decided to hate you after you suggested taking her cloak off, though- that's something her species is really sensitive about.

[Kirby seems pleased by the attention, though she still eyes Egon mistrustfully.]

That's actually how I plan on proposing to you guys.

It's a good thing I'm on her good side. I don't know if I could take it if Annie felt like she had to choose between her best friend and me.

[:C he would probably just give Annie to Venkman and force him to adopt her so that she wouldn't have to suffer like that.]

[Egon rolls his eyes, crossing his arms. The words settle in his mind, and the realization hits him like an eighteen-wheeler truck. That's...right. They can probably get married here, can't they? Not that Egon is a fan of celebration, but there's the food involved, having the titles of husband.... But then there's all that other business about alternate dimensions and disappearing from this dimension entirely--

He shelves the thought for now, focusing on their current conversation.]

I don't understand why a creature would not be interested in the furthering of scientific knowledge. It would be greatly beneficial to know what kind of spirit we are dealing with.

[Q*Bert starts tilting back and forth in tandem to the tempo, like some sort of weird metronome. Their eyes form a pleased expression as they start speeding up their humming, and they start rocking faster, and faster, and faster....

Egon barely has time to react when Q*Bert hammers their head right into the ground, causing the floorboards to crack right open.]

[Venkman is also reeling a bit from his own words, though he tries to brush past it for the time being, the same way he did on Valentine's Day. The thought makes his heart twist in a weird- but not unwelcome- way, but it's also not important right now.]

Hey, would you like it if some creature came up to you and tried tearing your clothes off? Probably not.

[The Mimikyu's false head bobs in agreement. As for Ray- honestly, he's her favorite of the Ghostbusters so far, purely because he's Annie's favorite. She stretches out a tendril and pats him on the hand.

Q*Bert's face smacking into the ground comes as a shock, and she makes a high pitched screeching noise, skittering back a few steps. After a moment, she stretches out tendrils to poke at Q*Bert and help him upright. Are you ok???]

[Ray meanwhile is in fantasyland when what he said really hits him. Dang... it would be really nice so finally get married, and he thinks they could all plan a really fun wedding.

He's eventually brought back to reality when Kirby pats him.]

Or if you had some private information that you're uncomfortable with others knowing and someone tried to force it out of you out of nowhere?

[Annie, who was in and out of sleep, suddenly jolts awake at the sound of the floorboards breaking and Kirby's screech and immediately assumes the worst. She lets out a scared cry and clings to Kirby, and she doesn't calm down until she's sure she's still alive and well.

Once calm, she looks over worriedly at Q*Bert, still clinging tightly to the Mimikyu.]

[Egon jolts a little when Q*Bert slams their head into the ground, but otherwise doesn't react. It's a pretty hardy creature. He frowns, taking a moment or two to think it over.]

I suppose when you put it that way....

[Q*Bert tugs their head out of the ground, giving a sad, apologetic beep towards Kirby and Annie. They got...a little carried away. They glance over at Egon, then down at the broken floorboards. Egon grimaces.]

It's alright. It can be fixed. What is your current status?

[Q*Bert makes a descending chime noise as their eyes create a sort of "loading" symbol. After a moment or two, an upbeat jingle plays. Egon relaxes a bit.]

Thank you.

Edited 2019-04-01 05:25 (UTC)

[Kirby rocks Annie in her tendrils until the little Cubone understands that everything's ok. She gives Q*Bert a slightly reproachful look, but relaxes after a moment- she knows they didn't mean any harm. And she's much more forgiving of other Pokemon than people.]

Man. If they're that into music, maybe your Porygon oughta become a drummer. They can just hit the drum with their face or something.

[Annie nuzzles against Kirby and smiles at Q*Bert. She's just glad you're all okay!]

Maybe we should try seeing what kind of music they like! I'm sure Q*Bert would love hearing all the music there is in the world.

... You know, besides the music that's constantly playing already.

Hmmm. I am unsure whether that would do anything except puncture the drum altogether....

[Q*Bert buzzes cheerfully, floating a little lower as if to try and cover up the hole they made in the ground. He gets up from the couch, making his way to a nearby dresser and opening the drawers. After a moment or two of digging, he pulls out a box of cheesy crackers and goes to perch on the sofa arm rest.]

...The Pokémon probably go throughout their whole lives where music is a natural part of their lives. Though, whether or not they "interpret" this as music is left to be seen.

[He shoves a bunch of crackers into his mouth.]

I suppose if a Pokémon somehow made its way to a dimension that did not have music playing at all times--say, my home dimension--it may find the silence uncomfortable. Like a person from the city moving to the country.

Edited 2019-04-02 03:08 (UTC)

It's fine. They could smack their head sideways against the drum.

... Goddamnit. Thanks. I'd almost stopped noticing the music again. [He rubs his temples with a sigh.] I feel like it'd be easier to adjust to the silence, honestly- they can hum or sing or fill the silence somehow. But there's no escaping the music here.

[Kirby skitters away for a moment, returning with a blanket that she drags behind her. She drapes it over the floor hole. There! All fixed!]

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