OPEN

[lovelledup]

Who: Asher Gutermuth (Gladion) and YOU!
When: Any time in the week or so after the app appears
Where: Places Asher usually hangs out
What: Catch-all for AU CR stuff. Different prompt options inside.

A. Classroom, Lower Cycle Third Year

Class has just ended, and after everything that's happened recently, he's curious to check in on that bizarre chatroom. He pulls out his phone, a bit careful to set it so most other people shouldn't be able to see the screen, since he found out about that whole "really seriously private" thing after talking to the one person on the chat.

It doesn't seem to be any good, though, no matter how he holds the thing. There's too many people around and it just won't open. After a possibly weird looking few seconds of him trying different things, he gives up and drops the phone on his desk.

"Ugh, really?"

B. A School Courtyard

[At this point, he's trying to get his mind off of that weird app. Besides, whatever's going on, he still has homework to do, and since he doesn't have anything better to be doing at the moment, he may as well work on that. Time to plop himself down on a bench and pull out whatever that book is that he's supposed to be reading for his English class.]

C. Martial Arts Dojo

He shows up to his usual class, and goes about doing whatever exercises he's given as usual. And at first he seems just as laid back about it all as usual, but somewhere in the middle he remembers talking with someone on the chat about how being able to defend himself might be more relevant now than it has been. This class, he might be a little more invested in practicing that punch just a few more times.

D. His neighborhood

[Asher is out in his front yard, and so is a cat. It's not one he recognises, and he can't help wondering where it belongs. There's a bunch of strays around his neighborhood, so it could be one of them, but it seems pretty friendly for that. In any case, since the cat pretty happily came over to him, he kneels down in the yard to pet it.]

I don't have any food for you, though...

E. Wildcard

Anything else I haven't covered here, go for it.

[ooc: I wrote this with established AU CR in mind, but feel free to come at him with anyone. It's just as good for him meeting someone for the first time. I'm also good with writing in whatever format so I'll match how people respond.]

Comments

Mondaaaaay aka 5/15

[kokuyoyo]

"Phone problems?"

Ciro gets that. He's been regularly flicking through his own when he's gotten breaks through the day- first to see if he's gotten any messages from Counselor Katsuki, and also to see if anyone has figured out how to get that weird app off of their phones. Honestly, it's more the former than the latter that he's concerned about, and it probably shows. He's been a bit more lethargic today, and there's a slump to his shoulders when he usually has better posture than this.

Worrying about his brother has been tiring enough, and it might have kept him up a little. And, well... He's sort of gone off his medication for the time being. No point in taking it if it's probably causing hallucinations, right?

[lovelledup]

"Yeah, something like that." He sighs and stashes his phone back in his backpack. "I'll figure it out later." He doesn't really want to elaborate more than that, since he already knows that app is going to hide from someone else looking at it, and the last thing he needs is his best friend thinking he's gone crazy.

[kokuyoyo]

Well, it seems like Asher has that covered, so Ciro lets it go pretty easily. "Hope you get it fixed soon," is all he says, before covering up a yawn with one hand. Ugh. He needs to wake up more. "So have anything planned for lunch?"

C

[transient_specter]

Gen is there, and is teaching the younger classes, though he looks a bit more subdued than his usual focused self. He walks around the room, checking the stances and the punches of the students, and stops in front of Asher. Hmm... he drops into a blocking stance in front of him.

"Front punch." He just wants to check something.

[lovelledup]

Asher does as directed, a bit grateful in this instance to have the extra attention. He punches, and it's the same thing he's been practicing, but maybe a little bit mechanical, like he's putting almost too much thought toward getting it right.

[transient_specter]

Gen is grateful for the distraction, and takes the hit easily. "Again. The same spot. Look at it, but don't think about it. You need to do it until it's muscle memory, until you don't think about it at all."

For Kaltz, 5/14

[lovelledup]

[After his conversation with "Vassago" on the chat, Asher was feeling more than a little uneasy. With everything they'd talked about, he couldn't get over the feeling of being watched, even after he'd just stuck his phone in his bag for a while and tried to forget about it. He didn't know what to do about any of this, and wasn't sure he could even ask anyone without sounding completely nuts. But... well, maybe it wouldn't hurt to try. There was at least one person he could think of who might have some advice and probably wouldn't immediately assume he was either lying or crazy.

With a sigh, he grabs his phone (for whatever good it might do him) and goes to poke his head into the room where his father currently is.]

Dad?

[dendranthema]

[Casimir is on the couch reading a book when Asher comes in. As soon as he's called, he puts in a bookmark and sets it down.]

What is it?

[lovelledup]

Uh... [Well now that he's here, he isn't sure how to start that conversation, and he wonders whether he even should. Something in the back of his mind says maybe it's a bad idea, but... He looks away, taking a moment to sort his thoughts. He came here for a reason, didn't he?]

Something weird happened. [He's still not quite sure how to explain from there, but at least it's a start.]

D

[foxhands]

Maybe it just wants attention.

[Natsume was just passing by, but cats are hard to resist...so here he is, leaning over them himself.]

Have you fed it before?

[lovelledup]

[Oh. Hello neighbor. He looks up a little surprised when he's suddenly joined in playing with the cat, but quickly relaxes again. He shakes his head at the question.]

No, I've never seen it before. Do you recognise it?

[He doubts it from the way he's talking, but if anyone would recognise a neighborhood cat...]

[foxhands]

[He does actually...recognize this cat......now that he's got a better look at it.

There's a moment's hesitation before he nods, stooping down to pet it a bit.]

Yeah...she stops by my house sometimes. [for reasons.]

D

[extremelycute]

You should ask Natsume.

[Miu is walking home from school—alone, like always, because she's a fierce woman who doesn't need a crowd. She's tried her best to approach quietly, clearly, as she's already recording video of Asher being friendly with a cat onto her cellphone.]

I don't know how he does it, honestly. He always has spare food for the cats around here.

[lovelledup]

[There's a slight laugh at that.]

Yeah, if anyone would just have cat food handy, it'd be him.

[He glances up at her, then, raising an eyebrow.]

Are you taking pictures?

[extremelycute]

It's such a pain. [She doesn't actually sound inconvenienced, but it's the kind of thing a little sis says about the big bro, right?] I don't really want cats hanging around all the time, I'd rather he feed tigers.

[She's still holding her phone, completely aware that tigers hanging around the neighborhood is unrealistic. But she doesn't care.]

I'm filming. I thought you'd want to remember this fateful encounter forever.

B (edgy dad here to adopt edgy son)

[blackdogdown]

"Yo. Edgy kid."

Guts is probably the last person you'd want to see coming towards you, even in broad daylight. 6'8, dressed in all black and missing an arm, he doesn't cut the friendliest figur but hey, he actually has a reason to bother 12 year olds today.

He points a clipboard at Asher. "You got a sports club yet, kid? I'm trying to get signups for track."

Why he got saddled with recruitment is beyond him.

[lovelledup]

Asher doesn't immediately recognise the call of "edgy kid" as being directed at himself, but as the guy comes closer and he looks up, he realises there isn't anyone else there for him to be talking to. And pretty soon there's a clipboard in front of his face. He looks at the board, then back to the guy holding it.

"I do martial arts already." Which is not so much a statement of time conflict--it isn't--but rather that Asher is pretty sure between that and walking to and from school every day, he doesn't need more exercise.

D

[seasonsofdeath]

[Akira is also quite often out to find strays- though, considering he's got a vet as a parent they often wind up taking a lot in to shelters and things too. So he perks up when he sees Asher with a cat.

He comes off, walking quietly and carefully as he rifles through his pockets, and then kneels down next to the older boy and offers the cat a treat.]

[lovelledup]

[At the sight of the treat, the cat immediately stops paying attention to Asher and goes to grab it from Akira's hand. Asher just watches, shaking his head slightly.]

Guess that really was what it wanted.

e - bro is coming home b/c y not?

[connivingbird]

Technically he should be traveling in a babysitting van to keep people from taking ridiculous pictures of him and spreading them around in places that they shouldn't go. But screw it; Ariel was done with the week's activities and he wanted a little bit of freedom which meant as soon as he was able, he grabbed his motorcycle keys and took off.

It took him a little bit of time to get home. While it wasn't that far away, he wanted to just enjoy the day and the feel of the motorcycle, so he drove around, stopping at a couple stores to pick up a few small treats before finally turning towards home. So it was a little late in the afternoon, almost evening when he pulled up to the small house and turned off the bike. Taking his helmet off, he sighed and leaned forward a little to look at the lawn and the neighboring house.

"It already feels so small."

[lovelledup]

Asher hadn't known in advance that his brother was planning to be there that evening, but the sound of the motorcycle was something he recognised, so he peeked out the window to see whether it was really him. It wasn't long after that that he was at the door, coming out to greet him.

"Hey." He held up a hand in a lazy wave. "I thought you were going to be busy this weekend." Though saying that, he wasn't sure whether Ariel had said anything to that effect or whether he just assumed because his brother's idol life was usually busy. But if he actually did have time to be home for a while, that was a good thing. Maybe it would get his mind off stupid creepy phone apps. Or maybe he'd be someone to talk to about it, since someone on that chat room had sounded just a little familiar...

B

[prayed]

[Nothing better to do? Perish the thought. Asher settles down just in time for Kyoko to catch notice of him. She wastes no time in sauntering over and flopping down next to him, making a grand show of yawning and stretching out as she does so.]

Aahh... This place is so boring, y'know!

[If she didn't have friends here (and parents that were constantly scolding her for skipping classes) she might not come at all.]

[lovelledup]

[Well so much for reading that book right now. Not that he minds. He closes it again, setting it next to him on the bench for the moment, and looks at her with a bit of a teasing smile.]

Come on, you're not even here most of the time, anyway.

B

[probablynoteren]

[If Asher's concentrating real hard on his book, he might not notice at first, but there's an acquaintance from another campus who appears to have a good amount of business with his today.

The first time Haruka passes by, he's carrying a small sapling in a pot and a little trowel. No big, just an incidental appearance.

The second time, he's carrying three empty flowerpots and a slightly larger trowel. He also has a smear of dirt on his cheek, but that's pretty par for the course with him on any given day of classes.

The third time, there are seven empty flowerpots, what looks like a very small orchid in a growth bag on top, a bag of fertilizer, and at least one book sandwiched in between the lot. Also a case of ties between his teeth. He's moving a lot more slowly! He hasn't noticed Asher, since he's been scurrying through On A Mission each time, but finally he seems to give up trying to move with the tottering tower of pots; stops not far from where his underclassman is reading, and moves some of the flowerpots onto his head (they've been leaning pretty dangerously in all kinds of directions anyway). Of course, he had to put down the bag of fertilizer to attend to that, and once he straightens of course he realizes that he no longer has the leverage to pick up the bag again. Oops.

His desperate look around finally lands on someone familiar, he carefully spits out the ties into the nearest flowerpot, and--]

Asher?

[He doesn't actually have any hands free to wave, but he kind of motions in greeting with the flowerpots on his head. Help?]

[lovelledup]

[He's aware of someone walking by, but that's nothing too noteworthy in this courtyard, so he doesn't look up until his name is called.]

Haruka?

[He spends a second being baffled at the other boy standing there wearing flower pots as a hat before it occurs to him he's asking for help. He closes the book and sets it aside before standing up and moving closer, glancing at all of the assorted too many gardening things.]

What are you doing?