Galar, Wild Area - Blooming Grove, past

Alice: You may have peons, Duchess, but I have partners. Perhaps that's another distinction that doesn't quite cross the gaping chasm of the class divide.

-She returns Sapinda's gaze, then watches the exchange between her and Abilene, considering whether or not to reveal that she understands Monese. Ultimately, she decides to hedge her bets.-

Alice: ...Still, you and your Tropius seem to share quite a close bond. Is this always how you display affection, then? With either sputtering indignance or naked aggression? If so, I hope you understand how one could come away from such displays with rather mixed messages.

-Meanwhile, Delphinium scoops up the Maranga berries with a leaf and empties them into Alice's bag, beaming...-

Delphinium: :D

-...and then Sapinda snaps her teeth.-

Delphinium: >:D

Alice: ...That said, I recognise a challenge when I see one. And an attack on one is an attack on all. There's more than one way to get the measure of someone.

-She disentangles her arm from Abilene's, but keeps hold of her hand, holding it aloft.-

Alice: Shall we dance?

Edited by Herbert40k on Jan 14th 2023 at 9:21:26 AM

Snowy path near Veilstone

Astatine: 85th in the Freshman Class production order, code-named Astatine. I was decanted toward the middle of the year in a Sinnohan facility of the School. Almost immediately after I was decanted, I was tested on. I was designed to mentally project my consciousness to electronic devices. Then I experienced sensory overload, couldn't get back to my body, and got stuck in cyberspace when my body went comatose.

Stewart: Should've seen him back when. Actually, you couldn't directly see him; he just kind of hitched a ride in various machines that had Wi-Fi in them. You could feel him as a voice beside your head and as a presence in the walls.

Astatine: I went from decanted to officially dead in 8 hours. They told everyone else about how quickly I died to make them more compliant and fearful of failure. Ech, way to victim blame. Course, I still lived on as a consciousness trapped in their wires.

Stewart: It was weird. Surprised nobody in the School noticed.

Astatine: Not inaccurate. And yeah, it actually started to bug me that nobody noticed an otherworldly presence in their computer networks leeching off their Internet bandwidth, trolling their fora, and consuming extra power. Though that last one was probably because of the joltiks I had Willard let in to annoy the Templars.

Willard, in a machine voice: My finest work, my liege.

Astatine: Don't worry; you'll top that one day.

Willard: You flatter me.

Astatine: Anyway, I later defected to the J-Team and started living in their big yellow zeppelin... or I think it's a zeppelin. It's too rigid to be a blimp. And when I joined them in raiding that facility I was born and raised in, I finally took my clinically dead body out of cold storage. And here we are.

Stewart: Before you ask about the Rattata, the guys at the J-Team gave him a speech device. Swiped it from some evil rich guy. He's been able to talk in human languages ever since.

He takes out another pouch from the backpack, and then another, and another. A lot of fruit snacks. It would dawn on everybody that the backpack is a lot heavier than Stewart's movements would indicate.

Stewart: More fruit snacks? I brought plenty.

Astatine: Thanks. I need that chewy sugar.

Edited by MasterJayAM on Jan 12th 2023 at 11:01:41 PM

Stormchaser

Doomsday: <I mean... hm.>

Ludmilla: "Hm"? You don't usually "hm".

Doomsday: <I almost said, "Maybe Millie's mom could handle that", but now that I think about it I get the feeling she'd just want to give you one of those visors from [Star Trek].>

Ludmilla: Or just straight up replace his eyes.

Doomsday: <You know your mom hates unnecessary amputations.>

Ludmilla: Yeah, fair.

Galar, Wild Area - Dappled Grove

-Abilene sputters indignantly-

Sapinda: -sigh- <Yeah.>

-and at this latest, grievously correct slight, draws herself up to full height-

Abilene: -jabbing- I'll have you know I am more than capable of communicating my affections in a clear, unambiguous, breathtaking manner.

-...-

Abilene: -doing a hairflip- I just don't want to.

Malus: <It's fine, I wasn't using that shoulder anyway.>

-wind rakes across the field; Galar's constant rain dissolves in the flickering oddities of the Wild Area climate-

-no one's ever asked her to dance, before-

Abilene: -cradling Malus in one arm- If you insist.

-she curtseys-

-to retain balance, she tightens her fingers on Alice's—and draws her hand to her lips-

Abilene: Measure me, then. And try to measure up.

Sapinda: -bellows-

Abilene: And yes, argue the point, pedantry suits you—but a rose by any other name smells as sweet, and stings as sharp. Peon—partner—

-Sapinda takes to the skies, grin gone feral-

Abilene: Take them down.

-and flaps her wings, viciously-

Stormchaser

Ynos: "I'll admit I'm... curious. But I also would prefer not to have my eyes replaced. And I know from experience that my particular abilities make surgery a little more complicated."

Ynos:-tilting his head- "This is an aside, but how did you learn to communicate with Pokemon? Aside from being Psychic already. I feel like I'm hearing half a conversation."

A snowy path near Veilstone

She seems fascinated at Astatine's explanation of his "death" and the speech device, but appears concerned about the raid.

Potassium: Wow, impressive. How does the translator thingy work? I... Don't want any fruit snacks.

Burghley: <I'll take some more!>

Noel finally pulls herself together and comes over.

Noel: <...I'll just stay over here.>

Stormchaser

Ludmilla: An armband.

Doomsday: <Surprised you haven't already seen one.>

Ludmilla: You just have to pop it on once, and it works forever.

Doomsday: <Are we... not telling him about the->

Ludmilla: One of the guys around here might have one to spare. Apparently they come in more than just armbands now.

Doomsday: <Yeah, sure, okay.>

Sunyshore Drink

-Maurice turns around, sees School Enemy Number 1 right in fucking fronnt of him, and resists the urge to spit out the drink he was sipping-

Maurice: "Uh. Um. Hey."

Bubba Gulp: <—Don't freeze up! This could be an opportunity! Get intel on a sworn enemy! Get inside her head! Go on do it! Show her who's boss!—]>

Maurice: "...What brings you here? Other than the food."

-the emphasis on "you" wasn't intentional, but it's there, and noticeable-

Hotel Macraul

-A feather drifts into view and enters the Sun Stone-

THE COURT

-Jared nods to Alice, then squints very visibly at the evidence until his face lights up-

Jared: Dude> Duuuuude. I totally wanna cross-examine. There's like some huge contradictions right there.

Textspace

Crowleast

Flamel: -rubbing monkey paws together- <Let's see how this turns out.>

Jublife Hideout

Storm:' "Still loading...

Seigbert: ""Is all technology from this era like this?"

-HG Cross is banging his head against a wall-

Stormchaser

Ynos: "Oh, that sounds.. simple."

He squints again, but this time it's more a skeptical gesture than anything else.

Ynos: "Is there some kind of catch, or...?"

Thieves Hideout, past

-Watching-

Let's see the School get a thorn in its eye.

Sunnyshore Cafe, yesterday

Chiyo: -Takes a look at Maurice a bit more closely as her body language subtly shifts, Dactyl and Ceres staring Maurice and Bubba Gump down- You weren't expecting me here, were you, Templar?

-And immediately takes a bite out of the croissant, clearly unafraid in the slightest-

Well, if you're not here to fight, then neither am I.

-While her demeanor is calm, if somewhat tense, it's most likely clear to Maurice that testing that assumption would most likely be a very bad idea-

What's your name, anyway? It'd be a little silly if I just kept calling you "Templar" this whole time.

Edited by rmctagg09 on Jan 19th 2023 at 11:08:05 AM

Stormchaser

Ludmilla: Nope. Just slap it on, and it works. There's a bit of a funny feeling that goes along with that, but that'll pass eventually.

-Doomsday just nods, not wanting to spoil anything.-

Stormchaser

-Ever cautiously pokes at the package before opening it-

The Hotel Sylvestra

The feather lodges into the stone in Lou's necklace.

Louis: Uh, what the—

Path to Veilstone

Astatine: Hey, Willard, did you ever figure out how that thing worked?

Willard: Sir, I would've assumed you would've figured it out as you were the one who lived within software. I am an illiterate rodent, sir.

Astatine: Okay, now I feel foolish.

Willard: It happens to the best of us, my liege. All I can say is that I speak as I would, and the machine makes it audible to a human in one of their languages. It's currently set to a language they call Galarian.

Astatine: Yeah, I could never crack the code in that thing. Whoever made it made it easy to use and hella difficult to figure out. We should ask the guy who gave it to you.

Stewart: Mr. Beckett? Yeah, he seems like the guy who could figure it out. Man's great with computers. He's even better than you.

Astatine: I'll be the judge of that.

Stewart: Hey, each time you knock yourself unconscious to do computer stuff, you do it Rotom style. Just ghosting through the controls and fiddling with them until it does what you want.

Astatine: Nuh uh. I took an online coding class. You know all those tutorial services they give free demos to on [YouTube] information videos that have sponsors? I took 'em all. I do this shit Pory style.

Stewart: And you couldn't figure this one ou—wait aren't those predatory, hard to cancel, and bill you immediately?

Astatine: Figured that out, but since I used Dr. Circhester's credit card information that's no skin off my back.

Stewart: I still don't get how you couldn't figure it out.

Astatine: It's a proprietary code that they don't give you tutorials on. Copyright belongs to Lowell Macraul. Billionaire rich dude from this incredibly old, traditional family.

Stewart: The same guy Mr. Beckett and his friend Louis keep bitching about?

Astatine: The very same! I met Louis. He's Lowell's nephew. Bit of bad blood between them. Apparently, if you don't turn out the way they want you to, they kick you out of their family.

Stewart: Yikes. That kinda sounds like The School a bit. Only they were probably made the natural way.

Spectra Castle, The Nineteenth Century,

A few days after the Gregorian New Year in 1885, a young man and his entourage arrive at the gates of the newly restored halls that once belonged to the Ghost Lord. Among his entourage was a cavalcade of [Japanese] peasant porters hauling crates of items from one of his journeys. Most of the crates had previously been hauled from a Copperajah. The now relieved pachyderm was now being escorted to the stables.

Upon his gesturing, a servant comes in and assists him off his greatcoat.

The sharply dressed fellow, barely out of adolescence himself, had all the earmarks of someone who went to a prestigious Galarian grammar school. He was impeccably dressed in a tweed riding outfit that seemed outright immaculate. Upon his head was a flat cap in the same material. He walked around with a bronze trekking pole in hand and an arrogant swagger as he made his way to Sirocco's den.

The lanky young man, Joseph, resembled what would be a male version of his sister Sirocco. White hair, sharp angular features, pale skin, and a fondness for bespoke headgear and portal fantasy novels. He has come back from a long steamship journey from Hisui, where he had been out on a winter hunt.

While his telegrams have explained why he was arriving, he thought it more fitting to be there personally to explain what he's found.

"Dear sister," He said as he entered her office, adjusting his cravat slightly. "I've returned home sober as you've requested.

He drops the swagger. His voice now took on a whiny quality.

"You wouldn't happen to have some tea, would you? I've had such a terrible headache since the morning I arrived."

Edited by MasterJayAM on Jan 13th 2023 at 9:13:50 PM

"Then by all means," the Judge said. "Begin your cross examination."

Silas sat back in the galley, a brow raised inquisitively as he watched. Jared had already found contradictions, maybe they might get this case pushed back at least.

Jack King sat back in his cell, watching the old TV as the case continued. He had been behaving well and thus was allowed a few privileges before being transferred. A request to the ISR captain before he left for access to the trial had been granted.

"Well Jackal," he muttered. "Let's see how well your merry band does, I'm rooting for you."

To Press a Statement, pick out the words where more information is required and ask for more.

To Present Evidence, select a piece from the Court Record and present it to the galley.

Edited by EchoingSilence on Jan 13th 2023 at 1:23:10 PM

Battle Academy, General Admin

-There's a polite knock at the door.-

Retek: Come in, Kuthmal.

-She was the only one that knocked like that.-

-Kuthmal entered, dragging a sack behind her.-

Kuthmal: Oh, Roland~ I caught someone trying to sneak in~

Retek: Judging by your chipper tone, it wasn't one of those School goons.

Kuthmal: Nope. He looks to be one of the local deities!

Retek: ... Pardon?

-She opens the sack and dumps out its contents. A singed, smoking mass of black, teal, and red pours out.-

Coyote: Yes, mama, I'll be sure to put on my sunscreen next time...

Retek: Oh, hey, Dune mentioned this one. Hold on, let me get him on the horn.

Stormchaser

Ynos still looks skeptical, but doesn't push any further.

"... Huh. Maybe I should find someone who has one."

Stormchaser, Ever's Room

-it is, of course, a trap-

-of affection!-

-and also handcuffs-

-more properly within the box is a long, soft blue scarf, wavelike patterns embroidered in its folds-

-also present is something plush, conical, and pale yellow...a (somewhat kitschy) stuffed Dunsparce tail, acting as capper to one of the scarf's ends-

-the letter starts smoking-

Stormchaser

-Ever blinks as they are handcuffed-

Ever: ...

Hisuian Zorua: <Do you want help?>

Ever: That's alright.

-they detach their arm, then break the thumb to extract it, before reattaching it-

Zorua: <...Was that excessive?>

Ever: Never let them know your next move.

-they squeeze the scarf to their neck-

Cozy...

...How'd they get my hair

-they toss the letter to the Zorua, who pounces on it, folding it into her cloak-

Stormchaser

Ludmilla: Ye- wait why do I feel like something's about to explode?

Doomsday: <With this ship, I'd be surprised if something wasn't exploding!>

Ludmilla: That's... fair, I guess.

-*Grrrrrrrumble*-

Ludmilla: ... I'm hungry.

-Doomsday rolls her eyes and pulls out a bag of trail mix.-

Doomsday: <Lets try and find a galley.>

-Ludmilla takes the bag of trail mix and turns to Ynos.-

Ludmilla: You want to come along, or...?

Galar, Wild Area - Blooming Grove, past

-Alice, for her part, seems somewhat taken aback at Abilene actually committing to the game of ballroom-dance chicken by pulling her hand closer.-

-She therefore attempts to retaliate, one leg attempting to sweep Abilene's out from beneath her and leave her falling into her arms.-

Alice: ...I don't believe any of that for even a moment. But if besting you in battle is what it takes to wrest some modicum of honesty out of you... then I have confidence in all those who sit at my round table. 3v3, League rules.

-At the same time, Sapinda's sharpened torrents of air barrel towards Delphinium, who attempts to use her arm-leaves to try and shield herself from the attack.-

Delphinium: >:(

Alice: Delphie. You know what to do.

Delphinium: >:)

-Her petals flare as she accumulates a ball of purplish-green toxins, before hucking it at Sapinda.-

Unova Courthouse - Day 1

-Leonard tuts at Jared, tapping a finger to his temple.-

Leonard: The only "glaring contradiction" here is in the colours of your attire, Mr... come to think of it, I don't believe I ever caught your name. Not that it really matters. I'm sure you'll be nothing more than a footnote in my list of courtroom triumphs. Naturally, I can assure you our witness is more than capable of answering any questions you may have.

-Shun sighs, before looking up at Jared with a vague sense of sympathy.-

Shun: ...Of course. Was there any particular statement you had an objection to, or would like me to elaborate upon further?

Edited by Herbert40k on Jan 14th 2023 at 9:38:40 AM

Snowy Veilstone path

Pat sighs.

Potassium: Kris won't let me use the internet, or even a computer. I've been trying to build my own but my fingers are getting too sore to do much of it. I wish I could just rearrange the stuff with my mind but apparently I wasn't created like that.

Stormchaser

Micro notices the text message.

Micro: ~Okay, here we go. You guys ready to teleport?~

Robin: ~I'm ready. What about you, Justice?~

A snowy path near Veilstone

Stewart hands some more of the fruit snacks to Burghley.

Stewart: Not telekinetic, huh. Bummer.

Astatine: Yeah. And that early-onset arthritis is having me worried.

Stewart: You're scaring me, Austin. Don't say it.

Astatine: Look, arthritis isn't exactly something curable.

Stewart: It's early onset though. Think Dr. Tagg's cure will work on her?

Astatine: I dunno. What I saw of it was hopeful but the 'Chaser didn't let me snoop. Though it probably wouldn't hurt to ask.

Stewart: We wish there was more we could do for you, young lady. But if you want, you can meet us at the PEFE satellite office back in the town. Ask for Mr. Beckett or me, Stewart. We'll fix you and your friend up something nice.

Astatine: If this Kris lets you come over more often, I could teach you how to do it by hand. At least as soon as we deal with that arthritis.

Stewart: But if they don't let you, you'll know where to find us.

While they spoke, Pyra has apparently heated a pot of water, which Stewart pours into... a Polteageist. He takes out a few packets of a substance into the pot.

Freddie the Polteageist: <I want to make hot cho-co-late, I want to make hot-choc...>

1885, Spectra Castle

-She stands as the brother enters, refusing to be looked down at by the pompous fop as he jumps straight to whining about beverages-

Sirocco Knight: There's still half a cup in the pot. Pour it yourself.

-She gestures at the tea set on the side bureau; unadorned white ceramic on all pieces, lids left off from common use-

Sirocco: I see you have brought... A bounty, I suppose?

-She turns, her gesture now pointing at the crates now crowding the hall-

Sirocco: More trinkets of our forefathers to lock away and gaze upon?

Hamlet, The Elevator

There's no need for the source of the laugh to 'show itself' because it's already in the room. The doll from before, the one last seen sitting on a jar and then seen before that as an animated entity during the situation at the church is the sauce of the laughter and just like at the church a figure dressed in utterly covering mourning robes stands behind it with an arm out as though pointing at the animate doll.

The Doll, Angie: <Bwehehe, had fun down there? Wanna play more games? Betcha not good at hide and seek!>

QBL News Network

-He steps up to the podium stiffly, as though in the aftermath of some overnight cramp. Once there he delays a moment, adjusting microphones and waiting for the click-flash of cameras to settle down-

James Crowley: Thank you all for coming. I have called this press conference to address allegations leveled at my person by Zagan staff. It's true, most of it at least. Because of such, I have tendered my resignation to the Board of our parent company and will not be contesting any criminal charges leveled at me. Additionally—...

-There's a flicker in his eyes, downcast as they may be, like a lightbulb that has yet to get the memo that the vital flow of electrons has failed-

Thieves Hideout, Side Room

So, not gonna watch?

-The pink slime mold stuck to the ceiling leveled a beady eye at the Pent

Shift: <You and I both know how it's gonna end. Not sure why you're going to let them see it.>

... Don't know. I mean I could walk out there and turn off the TV but like. They'd ask, and I'd have to tell them that me and my Ditto both knew he was doomed to a messy death the moment we sent that calling card.

Shift: <Remembered anything else, by the way?>

Nope. Guessing you never forgot.

Shift: <Yup. Man, wonder why you got wiped but not me.>

-Pent sighs and finds a place to sit on the floor that isn't directly beneath the goop on the roof-

I did it to myself.

Shift: <Ooooooh, the day you panicked and had Duck archive the... Hah.>

It was to make sure whoever was behind this wouldn't be able to exploit it.

Shift: <And then I got involved!>

And then you got involved...

Glimwood Cabin

Oh no.

-Gale knew who this 'child' was. And it was deeply concerning that they wanted her presence; well, not her presence. Pent's presence. A distinction that probably meant a lot-

-And yet, this was from the Battle Academy. Dune's new project. Surely they wouldn't just collude on an assassination trap? It was... Possibly worth the risk-

... Alright, let's see what you've got for me oh daughter mine...

-Amulet on, shadows twitching, one small step towards a reckoning-

Battle Academy

Elizabeth: Well it's a cool skill either way! Wonder how long it'll take him to get here...

-The owl just continues to stare at Angela, probably in a scrutinizing fashion-

Thieves Hideout, past

-Eyes narrow as Crowley's eyes flicker-

...What's going on?

That's not what's supposed to happen...

Doc: <I don't like this.>

Crochet: <Me either...>

Battle Academy

-The owl would see what Angela presents herself as. A woman, human-shaped but definitely not human. Her stern countenance is partially from her mechanical nature, and partially because of her nonplussed attitude toward this whole affair.-

Angela: I'm not sure. Previously, the invitations would bring them here by themselves. However, after being told that this might anger certain local deities, that is no longer the case.

-Her eyes snap to the owl, her brow lowering slightly.-

Angela: I trust that there are no ulterior motives to this request?