I love you too. And I can't wait to hear your weird baby talk when I catch back up with you both. And get to see you in person, Spengs.
[Venkman's gotten pretty used to the whole "this is an alternate reality version of my boyfriend" thing, but video messages aren't the same as seeing him face to face.
He seems to be about to say something else, but a crash from deeper in the alleyway interrupts him. For a moment, Venkman panics, turning behind him to face whatever it is and briefly covering the Pokegear screen with his hand. Then-]
... Oh. Oh!
[Venkman picks up the camera and turns it to face the Squirtle peeking out from behind a toppled over garbage can. It's... it's wearing sunglasses? And holding a can of spray paint??]
Someone was eavesdropping, huh?
[Quietly, as an aside for Ray and Egon's benefit:]
That's the one I caught. The one who ran off on me.
I know. And I love you, as well. I look forward to seeing you finally.
[A pause. He's about to ask Venkman if he had been able to get the deer to the PokéCenter when the sudden crash makes him stop. Concern mars his mind, and Kölliker beeps in response, but the moment passes. She peers at the screen, trying to wiggle out of Ray's arms.]
[Ray knows he needs to be a good role model, but he bursts out laughing when he hears that, both out of shock and both because that's weirdly precious.]
Ko that's a bad word, you're not allowed to say that!
[Venkman's busy looking at his Squirtle, trying to figure out what to do here. He wants to be mad. He should be mad! He spent all day trying to track this thing down, and she just goes and finds him herself. Hell, maybe she's been following him all day, laughing at him as he ran all over the place. ... Watching him talk with his partners and laugh about the Ko's first words.
Ray's laugh momentarily breaks his train of thought, though, and he turns the camera back to himself to glance at Ko.]
... What did the baby say?
[And then, of course, seeing Ray just reminds him of Ray and Egon's advice before. Ugh.
Still. Maybe they have some sort of point.
Venkman crouches down on the ground, keeping eye contact with the Squirtle. He sets the Pokegear aside, facing towards the Squirtle and not himself. He runs a hand through his hair.]
Hey. I dunno how long you were watching me, but I'm not- I'm not upset with you. Um. Look. I caught you for a reason, but if you'd rather stick around here, I'm not gonna stop you. Obviously you've got some sorta thing going here, I'm not gonna force you to leave your friends or whatever.
All I really need is to show you to the police station so I can collect the reward, and then you can go free again if you want. I'm not gonna, like, turn you in. Can we- can we make a deal, there? I get the reward, you do whatever you want to do afterwards, and I don't ever have to bother you again if you don't want.
[The Squirtle tilts her head slightly, considering the offer.]
[Egon shakes his head.] No. You are not a bad baby. You cannot yet grasp the complexities of morality and thus cannot be "good" or "bad" based on what flimsy definitions human beings place upon these concepts.
[Kölliker burbles a little, a little confused but pleased. She nuzzles against Ray's face. Egon, in the meantime, directs his attention back towards the Squirtle.]
What is she doing? I can't see it with the small turtle blocking it.
Hey, I thought she’d be able to bond with your bad boy past!
[He’s trying his best Venkman!!
Ray happily nuzzles back while looking over at Egon.]
Maybe we shouldn’t be telling her that at this age. I know morality is complex but I don’t want her to get the idea that swearing is okay just because they’re words society has deemed as bad.
[He picks up the Pokegear and takes a few steps forward to get a better angle. Ray and Egon can now clearly see what she's doing. After a few seconds, the Squirtle takes a step back, seemingly proud of herself. In white paint, she's legibly written the name "LUCA".]
... Huh. Is that your name or another acronym?
[The Squirtle nods and points at herself. Venkman shakes his head, a little bemused.]
Alright, cool. I'm guessing this means-
[And then he tunes back into the conversation on The Morality of Swears going on on the other end, and he turns the Pokegear camera back towards himself.]
Ray, you realize Spengs is already trying to teach the poor baby microbiology and quantum physics, right? The man has no concept of what's too complex for a baby.
... Also, teaching her right from wrong early might be for the best, because I don't know if any of us will be ready to deal with a psychic baby who doesn't know good from bad but can master nuclear engineering.]
I think it is important for anyone of any age to be able to reason and understand the complexities of the world and not to dismiss things and categorize them with frivolous labels that bear no meaning outside of society.
[Egon watches, rubbing his chin with his thumb. Hmmm. He's going to teach Faraday how to write her own name after this. If she's willing to learn, that is.]
Fascinating how Pokémon have learned to coexist with human beings to the point where they are able to communicate basic concepts and even learning how to write in English. Beyond physical limitations, I doubt there is much stopping Pokémon from learning how to speak in fluent English, as well.
[Ko is a living example of that! Technically, she can't "speak", but she's communicating just as a human child would.]
I believe she trusts you, Venkman. Try approaching her.
I can't believe I agree with Ray, here. I can't believe I have any opinion on when a baby cell needs to be taught quantum physics.
It's possible she's just mimicking something else she saw written down before, though, isn't it? I mean, she obviously knows that's her name, but whose to say she didn't see someone write it down first, and then learned to copy it and see it as her own name? Or-
[Before he can finish that train of thought, he feels something tap his leg. Venkman swerves the Pokegear's camera down to look at Luca, who's come over of her own accord. The Squirtle waves, and taps the Pokegear screen right where Kölliker is, before looking back at Venkman. It looks like she's grinning?]
[Hmmmm.] Reading does seem to be an important part of a human being's development. And if she knows how to read, she can study quantum physics on her own.
[Makes sense, right? She obviously holds an interest in quantum physics. Egon peers at the screen. Kölliker makes a curious bubbling noise as she floats closer to the camera, blocking Egon's face entirely.]
[Luca makes a quiet clicking noise and waves at The Baby again. She then makes grabby-hands towards the Pokegear. Venkman hesitates, before sighing.]
Sure, go nuts.
[The Pokegear is now being held by a very curious Squirtle, who makes other quiet vocalizations- mostly clicks in the back of her throat- to Kölliker. She only gives Ray and Egon a passing glance. Her tail wags slightly in excitement.]
I think she's called a "Squirtle", Ray. ... Man, who named these things.
[Kölliker spins herself slightly to the left, staring at the screen with a curious expression. She seems to concentrate for a moment before blinking and staring at Egon. It takes him a moment to realize what she wants.]
...Ah. You cannot communicate psychically through the screen. You must speak out loud, like how Ray and I are doing right now.
[Kölliker emits a burble of understanding before turning back to face the PokéGear. She makes a few questioning noises--though, it's difficult to tell as they mostly just sound like liquid bubbling.]
Aren't Pokémon usually named after their vocalizations?
Really? Most of my Pokemon seem to just make regular animal noises, from what I can tell.
[Luca, meanwhile, is just so excited about this baby. Her clicking noises grow more and more excited. Obviously, none of the Human Beings can understand a word of it, but the gist of it is that she wants to meet this baby in person. She loves this tiny baby. And she's absolutely willing to teach her how to read, though Luca's own grasp of English writing is limited.]
[Kölliker mimics Luca's excitement, continuing to burble. She's excited to meet blue small round, and talk to loud box dad! The word "bastard" is probably also thrown in there somewhere. It's fine.]
Well, at least according to the PokéDex. For example, sometimes Pikachus will emit a sound similar to the word "Pikachu" out loud, or any other derivations of that word. This phenomena is not limited to Pikachu, though I imagine different species have varying rates at which they communicate this noise.
[Have you ever heard a turtle laugh? Probably not. Still, the odd, rasping noise she makes at the burbled "bastard" is unmistakably an attempt at laughter.
God, she's gonna teach this baby so many swears.]
Could be. Still, most of their names seem like dumb puns. Like, my ostrich is called a "Doduo". Someone obviously just mashed the words "dodo" and "duo" together to describe a two-headed flightless bird. And the fawn I got is apparently a "Deerling"- the "ling" part probably comes from "yearling", so it's just. Deer and yearling.
But... Yeah, thinking about it, when i was in Diglett Tunnel, it sure sounded like a lot of them were repeating the word "dig". Started to drive me nuts. And a few other Pokemon I've seen did kinda sound like they were parroting their names.
[Venkman thinks for a moment, tapping his chin.]
What if people came up with these creatures their species names centuries ago, and... over time certain ones learned how to mimic the sound of their species name in vocalizations? And that was a trait that got passed down to certain ones, while others still kept more animalistic vocalizations? How plausible is that?
[Good happy dad says its bad to say "bastard"...but she got someone to laugh! If someone laughs, it's a good word, right? She's very conflicted over this right now, but she burbles happily in response to Luca laughing.]
Similarly to how Phantump is just a portmanteau of phantom and stump.
[A pause.] An interesting theory, but consider this alternative--all Pokémon once communicated exclusively through what sounded as though they were mimicking their name. We already know that Pokémon are equally, if not more intelligent than human beings. Once humans came into play in this dimension, they named all of these Pokémon after the sounds that they made, and over time, certain Pokémon lost the ability to communicate using these sounds in favor of more simplistic vocalizations.
[Ever since he came up with the theory that humans are the domesticated species of this dimension and was validated by Ford he hasn't stopped thinking about it.]
Or like how "Driftloon" is a portmanteau of "Drift" and "balloon"! It's really fascinating how most Pokemon names seem to reference other things, sometimes even animals that don't exist in this universe!
... Oh! Speaking of, hey Pete, we found a cool new ghost today!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ghoststanning) wrote2018-12-26 08:12 pm
no subject
[As if he didn't have a hand in this.]
I love you too. And I can't wait to hear your weird baby talk when I catch back up with you both. And get to see you in person, Spengs.
[Venkman's gotten pretty used to the whole "this is an alternate reality version of my boyfriend" thing, but video messages aren't the same as seeing him face to face.
He seems to be about to say something else, but a crash from deeper in the alleyway interrupts him. For a moment, Venkman panics, turning behind him to face whatever it is and briefly covering the Pokegear screen with his hand. Then-]
... Oh. Oh!
[Venkman picks up the camera and turns it to face the Squirtle peeking out from behind a toppled over garbage can. It's... it's wearing sunglasses? And holding a can of spray paint??]
Someone was eavesdropping, huh?
[Quietly, as an aside for Ray and Egon's benefit:]
That's the one I caught. The one who ran off on me.
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[A pause. He's about to ask Venkman if he had been able to get the deer to the PokéCenter when the sudden crash makes him stop. Concern mars his mind, and Kölliker beeps in response, but the moment passes. She peers at the screen, trying to wiggle out of Ray's arms.]
bastard?
Oh.
[He glances over at Kölliker.]
Don't say that.
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Ko that's a bad word, you're not allowed to say that!
[He says, through giggles.]
Oh, hey Pete's new Pokemon!
[c: he's happy to meet you.]
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Ray's laugh momentarily breaks his train of thought, though, and he turns the camera back to himself to glance at Ko.]
... What did the baby say?
[And then, of course, seeing Ray just reminds him of Ray and Egon's advice before. Ugh.
Still. Maybe they have some sort of point.
Venkman crouches down on the ground, keeping eye contact with the Squirtle. He sets the Pokegear aside, facing towards the Squirtle and not himself. He runs a hand through his hair.]
Hey. I dunno how long you were watching me, but I'm not- I'm not upset with you. Um. Look. I caught you for a reason, but if you'd rather stick around here, I'm not gonna stop you. Obviously you've got some sorta thing going here, I'm not gonna force you to leave your friends or whatever.
All I really need is to show you to the police station so I can collect the reward, and then you can go free again if you want. I'm not gonna, like, turn you in. Can we- can we make a deal, there? I get the reward, you do whatever you want to do afterwards, and I don't ever have to bother you again if you don't want.
[The Squirtle tilts her head slightly, considering the offer.]
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She said "bastard", which is a bad word, and makes me sad when you say it. Babies seem rude when they say it.
[That last part is directed towards Kö, of course. She lets out a burble-beep, then glances towards Ray for confirmation.]
If it seems to be going poorly, offer some other non-material goods. For example, perhaps information on how to make more effective sunglasses.
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He's right, it's very rude for babies to say words like that.
[He still loves you though.
But oh, he should probably help Venkman with his Pokemon problem, he calls through the Pokegear in hopes that the Squirtle hears him.]
Hey, buddy, Venkman is a good guy! Not good in the sense that he works for cops, but he's really nice once you get to know him!
[Oh right, she's a delinquent.]
He cheated most of his way through college too if that helps!
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[Venkman winces when Ray calls out, then rolls his eyes.]
You're so helpful, Ray. Thanks for letting literally everyone within a half block away know that about me.
[He turns his attention back to the Squirtle. She appears to have taken a step or two closer, but is still pretty far away.]
But... yeah. I'm not gonna turn you over to the cops. Believe me, I know how that feels. Can you at least trust me that much?
[There's a long pause. Then, the Squirtle lifts up her sunglasses, perching them on her forehead.
... And turns around, pops the top off the can of spray paint, and starts writing something.]
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[Egon shakes his head.] No. You are not a bad baby. You cannot yet grasp the complexities of morality and thus cannot be "good" or "bad" based on what flimsy definitions human beings place upon these concepts.
[Kölliker burbles a little, a little confused but pleased. She nuzzles against Ray's face. Egon, in the meantime, directs his attention back towards the Squirtle.]
What is she doing? I can't see it with the small turtle blocking it.
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[He’s trying his best Venkman!!
Ray happily nuzzles back while looking over at Egon.]
Maybe we shouldn’t be telling her that at this age. I know morality is complex but I don’t want her to get the idea that swearing is okay just because they’re words society has deemed as bad.
no subject
[He picks up the Pokegear and takes a few steps forward to get a better angle. Ray and Egon can now clearly see what she's doing. After a few seconds, the Squirtle takes a step back, seemingly proud of herself. In white paint, she's legibly written the name "LUCA".]
... Huh. Is that your name or another acronym?
[The Squirtle nods and points at herself. Venkman shakes his head, a little bemused.]
Alright, cool. I'm guessing this means-
[And then he tunes back into the conversation on The Morality of Swears going on on the other end, and he turns the Pokegear camera back towards himself.]
Ray, you realize Spengs is already trying to teach the poor baby microbiology and quantum physics, right? The man has no concept of what's too complex for a baby.
... Also, teaching her right from wrong early might be for the best, because I don't know if any of us will be ready to deal with a psychic baby who doesn't know good from bad but can master nuclear engineering.]
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[Egon watches, rubbing his chin with his thumb. Hmmm. He's going to teach Faraday how to write her own name after this. If she's willing to learn, that is.]
Fascinating how Pokémon have learned to coexist with human beings to the point where they are able to communicate basic concepts and even learning how to write in English. Beyond physical limitations, I doubt there is much stopping Pokémon from learning how to speak in fluent English, as well.
[Ko is a living example of that! Technically, she can't "speak", but she's communicating just as a human child would.]
I believe she trusts you, Venkman. Try approaching her.
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It’s not that I think it’s “frivolous”, but I think we should at least teach her how to read before she learns about complex theories!
[=T]
Try doing graffiti too, Venkie!
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It's possible she's just mimicking something else she saw written down before, though, isn't it? I mean, she obviously knows that's her name, but whose to say she didn't see someone write it down first, and then learned to copy it and see it as her own name? Or-
[Before he can finish that train of thought, he feels something tap his leg. Venkman swerves the Pokegear's camera down to look at Luca, who's come over of her own accord. The Squirtle waves, and taps the Pokegear screen right where Kölliker is, before looking back at Venkman. It looks like she's grinning?]
... She likes your baby.
no subject
[Makes sense, right? She obviously holds an interest in quantum physics. Egon peers at the screen. Kölliker makes a curious bubbling noise as she floats closer to the camera, blocking Egon's face entirely.]
--Oh.
baby?
She said "baby" in a questioning tone.
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[:c don't be mean!]
Oh, that's Pete's new Pokemon, Ko! She's some kind of turtle.
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Sure, go nuts.
[The Pokegear is now being held by a very curious Squirtle, who makes other quiet vocalizations- mostly clicks in the back of her throat- to Kölliker. She only gives Ray and Egon a passing glance. Her tail wags slightly in excitement.]
I think she's called a "Squirtle", Ray. ... Man, who named these things.
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...Ah. You cannot communicate psychically through the screen. You must speak out loud, like how Ray and I are doing right now.
[Kölliker emits a burble of understanding before turning back to face the PokéGear. She makes a few questioning noises--though, it's difficult to tell as they mostly just sound like liquid bubbling.]
Aren't Pokémon usually named after their vocalizations?
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If you want we can be the middle man to your conversations! I don't mind talking to Luca for you!
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[Luca, meanwhile, is just so excited about this baby. Her clicking noises grow more and more excited. Obviously, none of the Human Beings can understand a word of it, but the gist of it is that she wants to meet this baby in person. She loves this tiny baby. And she's absolutely willing to teach her how to read, though Luca's own grasp of English writing is limited.]
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Well, at least according to the PokéDex. For example, sometimes Pikachus will emit a sound similar to the word "Pikachu" out loud, or any other derivations of that word. This phenomena is not limited to Pikachu, though I imagine different species have varying rates at which they communicate this noise.
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Ko, we just told you that's not a nice word.
[Sweetheart please......]
Maybe some Pokemon were named after the noises they make but not all of them?
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God, she's gonna teach this baby so many swears.]
Could be. Still, most of their names seem like dumb puns. Like, my ostrich is called a "Doduo". Someone obviously just mashed the words "dodo" and "duo" together to describe a two-headed flightless bird. And the fawn I got is apparently a "Deerling"- the "ling" part probably comes from "yearling", so it's just. Deer and yearling.
But... Yeah, thinking about it, when i was in Diglett Tunnel, it sure sounded like a lot of them were repeating the word "dig". Started to drive me nuts. And a few other Pokemon I've seen did kinda sound like they were parroting their names.
[Venkman thinks for a moment, tapping his chin.]
What if people came up with these creatures their species names centuries ago, and... over time certain ones learned how to mimic the sound of their species name in vocalizations? And that was a trait that got passed down to certain ones, while others still kept more animalistic vocalizations? How plausible is that?
no subject
Similarly to how Phantump is just a portmanteau of phantom and stump.
[A pause.] An interesting theory, but consider this alternative--all Pokémon once communicated exclusively through what sounded as though they were mimicking their name. We already know that Pokémon are equally, if not more intelligent than human beings. Once humans came into play in this dimension, they named all of these Pokémon after the sounds that they made, and over time, certain Pokémon lost the ability to communicate using these sounds in favor of more simplistic vocalizations.
[Ever since he came up with the theory that humans are the domesticated species of this dimension and was validated by Ford he hasn't stopped thinking about it.]
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... Oh! Speaking of, hey Pete, we found a cool new ghost today!
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