What Bitters said. :P

Yeah :p

Speaking of parasitic bloodsuckers, an idea I would welcome brainstorming input on:

An old-money family continuing the noble tradition of Kalosian Bluebloods Up To Bullshit.

If you wanted to sum up their outlook in a word, acquisition would do very nicely. They are avid collectors who will use any means at their disposal to get what- or who- they want. And with the kind of money and political influence that shields one from much of the legal system, they have options. (The pair of Blaziken book thieves that chased Cephas in Castelia are affiliated with their patriarch, Paul Macraul)

The Macraul Estate, located in Lumiose City, is directly adjacent- and in fact physically attached- to a casino and restaurant complex they operate. Special guests may be permitted a tour of the extensive galleries, but even then certain collections are too... sensitive to be shown outside the family.

Fellow aristocrats like the de Niles and Cains are probably familiar enough with them to know them socially, though the Macrauls are unlikely to be invited to any dinner parties.

They harbor sympathies for the likes of Team Flare and Team Iron, and in general anybody who aims to reduce adult supervision of their actions. They aren't going to fund such groups, though- what do they look like, a charity? Perhaps a business deal could be struck, though...

The family runs on the small side for a noble house. Perhaps because they hate the idea of diluting their holdings; perhaps because now and then one of them turns out to have too much of a bleeding-heart, a revelation that's always quickly followed by disownment and blasting a name off the family tree tapestry hanging in their entry hall.

• A basic family tree of extant members; a couple not written by me would be particularly fun
• Schemes and plots that there's be interest in involving them in
• Any questions that may reveal Important Details of which I have not yet thought

edited 2nd Jan '18 5:58:28 PM by Tangent128

I may throw in a Macraul that is a literal vampire, I just gotta hash them out with you and Pippi first

Ooooh, this sounds quite interesting indeed. <3 I might be able to do that!

Umbra you stole my idea >:P

But yeah I can definitely throw an NPC at this.

Disgraced Kalosian aristocrats with a family tapestry they regularly burn people off of? Count me in! I'm willing to come up with a character or two and help to figure out how they fit into other families' machinations

I may be able to help.

Weremon to counterbalance the vampire?

Did someone mention weremons

But I would also not mind helping out with an NPC or two.

On the note of VAMPS, it was mentioned in the chat that it might be wise to extend the concept to Pokemon as well to avoid it becoming a Feature Creep issue, and so I'm going to propose that it also extends to an overreliance on other draining moves (including Leech Life, the actual literal blood sucking move ;P), and that Vo — the Grass-type Delta Dunsparce with a propensity for drain moves — can be shown to be one such Pokemon with the "condition".

Additionally, I'd like to propose developing an actual sanctioned Ghost and/or Dark type move with a drain effect, just so we have something to justify the Obscuric side of the Aura Drain phenomenon (which, mind, has already appeared years ago) and reflect it in the Pokemon side of the setting. Besides, it's a crime that there's no soul-sucking Ghost-type attack yet. :P

I was thinking it would be specifically on par with Giga Drain, Horn Leech, and Drain Punch, in that it's a 75 base power move that recovers half of the damage dealt. The big questions are what it would be called, and whether it's a physical or special move; I'm leaning Ghost-type, physical (+ contact), and heck, it could even be a biting move. Soul Bite, maybe? :P

edited 2nd Jan '18 8:35:00 PM by BittersweetNSour

Not Dementor Kiss? o3o

But I approve of filling that gap.

And I'm glad to hear there's interest in the Macrauls! Here's a draft profile of Paul, to be revised as new members get added in.

Paul Macraul

Age: 58 (born 1959) (might increase this if needed to fit older grandchildren)

Gender: Male

Appearance: Paul is a moderately short man, with pale, freckled skin, who remains in athletic shape. His hair is white with streaks of its original green, kept brushed backwards. He loves wearing tailored suits in cool hues, but has no hesitation in getting them dirty if needed.

Hobbies: Paul has some respectable collections of artwork and books, many of which you could have sworn were located in other collections around the world. Maybe you'd remember they went missing from those collections. Maybe you'd notice his Blaziken scowling at you and remember that asking questions is bad for your health.

For indeed, he is most proud of his Blaziken collection, one he's been cultivating since his teenage years. At this point he's acquired and selectively bred many exotic breeds beyond the classic trainer Blakizen from Hoenn, including Fuzz the Silkie Blaziken and Braid the Polish Blaziken. Several of his Blaziken, such as Braid, feature delta typings.

That said, he seems to have a new project in mind, for which he's started rennovating one of the deep-underground gallery vaults. Whatever he's up to, he sure seems to be collecting a lot of Moon Stone...

edited 2nd Jan '18 9:30:35 PM by Tangent128

On one hand, Dementor Kiss would be a very fitting name, but on the other hand, it sounds like the sort of thing that would be a signature move's name, not a move available to many Pokemon :P

Speaking of availability, I'm gonna see if folders work for the lists I created for what could hypothetically learn the move (and feel free to suggest Honorable Mentions):

Also I love Paul but I also get the distinct feeling he needs to be punched in the face

edited 2nd Jan '18 10:36:33 PM by BittersweetNSour

Speaking of people who probably need to be punched in the face:

Name: Clarisse And Genévrier Macraul

• Age: 23
• Gender: Both female
• Appearance: Clarisse's left eye is brown, her right eye is grey, with green hair and fairly sharp features. Genévrier is identical, save the colors of her eyes being flipped. Both wear classy black suits with blue dress gloves. They can almost always be found with a mildly creepy half-smile or a frown on her face.
• Backstory: Yet another pair of twins born into the Macraul family, both Clarisse and Genévrier have had their lives planned out. Both are sort of dilettantes who don't do much, though they do occasionally contribute various 'acquired' items to the family collections, and in exchange they get to live off the family's wealth and name. Though entirely stoic and thoroughly dedicated to the family on the outside, neither particularly likes their family, though neither have made any effort to get away.

edited 2nd Jan '18 11:04:50 PM by Izshta

I'm really not fond of vampires.

EDIT: Actually, things really haven't felt any better to me since I came back, so I think I may just leave for a while again.

edited 3rd Jan '18 7:39:52 AM by AZealousIndividual

Okay, since the general consensus seems to be tentatively in favour of vampirism, here's the two shitheels that Herb and I wanna introduce!

• Name: Livius Cain
• Age: 21, for the 600th time
• Gender: Male
• Ethnicity: White Kalosian
• Appearance: For the most part, Livy is Leonard's Identical Ancestor. He has the traditional Cain aspect - raven-black hair, piercing grey eyes, and androgynous good looks.
• Organisational Ties: Progenitor of the Kalosian Cain family.
• Biography: Livius is the sire of the Kalosian Cains, in more ways than one. Even before his younger brother Lucanus travelled to Ransei in search of fame, fortune and glory, he was the family heir, respected and well-regarded. Yet unlike his Auric brother, he was a Dark Obscuric in an era when such individuals were hated and feared. In Livy's case, this hatred was justified, as he used his powers to suck the servants dry. He ultimately fell victim to an angry mob and was presumed dead - only to resurface in Unova, masquerading as a distant nephew.

Over the centuries, Livy has moved and reinvented himself many times over, but remains flamboyant, self-obsessed and utterly devoid of empathy. As a general rule, he has little interest in his descendants - he has seen enough of them rise and fall to know how the Curse of Cain plays out. Recently, however, the violent fate of the Kalosian Cains has caught his eye...

• Species: Golurk
• Nickname: Nathaniel
• Gender: Masculine
• Bio: Originally Livy's starter, Nathaniel is more straight-laced than his trainer, but no less amoral.

• Species: Crobat
• Nickname: Washington
• Gender: Male
• Bio: Loud, bombastic and ever-hungry, Washington is the powerhouse of Livy's mortal mons.

• Species: Noivern
• Nickname: Marion
• Gender: Female
• Bio: Marion considers herself a romantic. She's quite fond of love-bites in particular.

• Species: Salandit
• Nickname: Chittenden
• Gender: Male
• Bio: A recent addition to Livy's team, Chittenden is young, naive and probably the nicest mon Livy has.

• Name: Carmilla
• Age: Permanently 28
• Gender: Female
• Ethnicity: ??? (Pale skin tone, at the very least)
• Appearance:: Carmilla is a tall, pale skinned woman with white hair that ends in soft ringlets and curls. She wears a crimson silk bustle, thigh high laced stiletto boots, long and elaborate crimson/purple gradient arm sleeves and a black strap lace corset.
• Organisational/Familial Ties:: None
• Biography: Carmilla is a woman of intense beauty, charm, arrogance, vanity and amorality. A vampire of pedigree, she is much older and much more powerful than Livy is. Hedonistic to the core, all she really cares about is maintaining her beauty by draining the life force of as many young, beautiful people she can sink her hands and/or teeth into. Her actual name is Caesonia Marcellina Faustinia, a noblewoman of standing from back when the Pokeverse Roman Republic was still kicking around. Livy is one of the people who survived her initial attack and became his sire many moons ago, and he has sort of hung around her general vicinity since, even if they go a few decades without seeing each other.

• Species: Cofagrigus
• Nickname: Mephisto
• Gender: Male
• Bio: The soul of Carmilla's initial starter reborn, Mephisto is as crazy and bloodthirsty as his trainer is. Carmilla uses him to "dispose" of the bodies she feeds off of. Giggly and nutty, he enthusiastically crones on and on about hurting people and the enjoyment he gets out of draining people of their life force.

• Species: Roserade
• Nickname: Mozart
• Gender: Male
• Bio: Mozart is flamboyant, extravagant and vivacious. Surprisingly polite yet incredibly rude, Mozart ends up being a rather fun and affable individual. Shame he's attached to a literal monster.

• Species: Oricorio (changes form often)
• Nickname: Mata Hari
• Gender: Female
• Bio: Mata Hari is haughty and up herself, she considers herself above it all and thus - doesn't bother herself with the unimportant lives of the beings around her, outside of her trainers wishes.

• Species: Gardevoir
• Nickname: Mochizuki
• Gender: Female
• Bio: Mochizuki is cold and silent. She doesn't really interact with her teammates beyond what she is forced to, and spends most of her time by herself. However, she is ruthlessly efficiently and will fill out her trainer's every last whim regardless of what that whim is.

She also has a Tsareena named Méabh and a Salazzle named Medea, but they don't have definitive personalities yet.

So, thoughts/opinions on the characters o3o?

edited 3rd Jan '18 2:41:35 PM by PippingFool

Silent!Post

To address Silent's queries.

• 1) Agreed, and we don't intend on really branching it out more than it is.
• 2) Aura was more layman's terms than anything, but really anyone could potentially because a vamp meal as it's based off Soul Energy with a dash of IE, and everyone has one of those/a bit of that. Auric Spectrum users might be considered a juicier and more nutritious meal, but a vamp could survive entirely off muggles potentially.
• 3) Thralls have been cut, as for the sparkles, I never really imagined it to be the in your face Twilight type sparkles, but more the Dio Brando posing in the mirror◊ type sparkles. (Plus I do like the idea that needing constant IE gives you a sparkly sheen)
• 4) You type [Posing D R A M A T I C A L L Y] mostly
• 5) Agree with draining life force from inorganic beings (Like mineral/robotic based Pokemon and beings/souls with robotic shells) being immune to the effects of vampirism and harder to drain to the point that they're not really tenable sources of food unless you're really desperate. As for the overall effects of being eaten by a vampire would be (depending on how drained the victim is) lethargy, weakened immune system, sluggishness, loss of balance and muscle control, stupor and potentially death.

A vampire doesn't have to drain all of a soul (in fact, it's better to keep at least a handful of victims alive as an easy to fall back on food stock and it doesn't raise eyebrows on an increase of missing persons. Deathly draining in one sitting is considered either an indulgent act or a rookie mistake)

If a soul is completely drained or at least drained to an amount that is unlivable for a person, they will die (as they have been killed). That being said, a particularly tenacious soul can live on and be revived the as a new Vampire. Another reason why completely draining a being is generally not done because the risk of creating a new vampire brat when you don't want one is there even if it's a low chance.

• 7) As for potential cures for Vampirism, I guess it would depend on the state, it would have to be during the natal period of a vampire before the Infinite Energy dependency kicks in fully. Vamps like Carmilla and Livy's only recourse of curation is a stake to the heart .
• 8) A substitute as a decoy dummy could potentially work if it's fresh enough and still has enough soul energy to fool a vampire. Substitues that have been out for a while to bait one might be able to fool a newbie but not a fully fledged vamp.
• 9) Am totally fine with Vamps being considered Fair Game when found.
• 10) I completely and totally support the idea of Infinite Energy infused cosmetics and may even crib something like that for a potential Neo-Flare plotline or something.

edited 4th Jan '18 10:03:15 AM by PippingFool

Have some questions of my own:

1) Would the vamps have a discernibly different Aura signature than a regular being?

2) Considering their nature would the use of an Aura Jammer kill them outright instead of just disabling their powers?

edited 4th Jan '18 1:33:37 AM by rmctagg09

Pippi answered pretty much everything I would have said re: Silent's questions. As for Tagg's, though:

1) In the way I'm imagining it, one's Aura signature as a vamp would depend on how long they've been one. Specifically, after one's first few victims, it would seem rather off, as if there's two different signatures swirling around in someone's body. However, the longer-lived ones would actually seem more normal, because after so many, it all sorta blends together. That said, the strain that a particularly hungry vamp might have after not soul-sucking for a while might also be a telltale sign.

2) I doubt they'd kill, but possibly cause Severe Discomfort instead?

1) What Bittie said. Though, to a more trained Auric eye, the weird, unnatural "blend" of various Auric energies would an eyebrow raiser.

2) Not outright kill, but induce something like extreme tinnitus that would debilitate a vamp

Hey y'all, guess what it's time for? THE WAAPT 2017/2018 Pokemon Census!

What's The Pokemon Census

It's a census collected here where we attempt to tally the recurring Pokemon each player has.

Cool, How Do I Enter My Pokemon Characters

Just find the column that corresponds with their evolution line, with multiple lines for split evos, and add them in.

Feel free to add details for them like specific species, gender, player, and trainer for the Pokemon, as we will attempt to tally these for additional counts.

Do I have to record all those?

Nope! Just whichever you want to.

Can I put in things for other players?

Unless someone specifically requests you put in their characters please don't add any mons other than your own to avoid duplication. If you'd rather other people would add yours, that's fair, but it will likely go easier if you ask someone specific rather than asking in general.

What counts as Recurring Pokemon?

Generally, any Pokemon that is or belongs to one of your P Cs, is a recurring NPC, or had a prominent role in the past is up for being added to this.

Can I add Pokemon that are from major locations other than the OU?

Feel free to do so if they are more prominent in another universe than the OU, but please only add Pokemon that appear in multiple universes once.

Do Pokeforms Count?

Would your character consider themselves a member of the species just like a wild member of it? If so, feel free to add them. If they don't, best to leave them off the census.

I've only been here for X amount of time/just got back into things, should I add my characters?

If you consider yourself part of WAAPT, then, yes, doesn't matter how long you've been here

Can I add Pokemon that haven't debuted yet?

If you're planning on debuting them in the next few months, sure

How long will this be up?

Probably at least until February, but extensions might be given, if desired

edited 5th Jan '18 7:50:17 PM by CorvusAtrox

So, two things.

The Blinding One In Sight

So, I established my New Year's post that Mobius is after Necrozma. Problem is what exactly that would entail, and how exactly we handle Necrozma in this RP. I've also established that the Ultra Recon Squad has taken notice of the multiverse crisis and are trying to do something about it, but other than that I'm up to whatever you guys wanna do with that and want to workshop and brainstorm instead of me unilaterally deciding what's best.

I will note Verax wanted to do stuff with Tragedy mass summoning Ultra Wormholes like Necrozma did in USUM as well as freeing Necrozma from Megalo Tower, but that would feasibly be part of this workshopping.

If no one has any real input then I will resort to winging it myself, but only if.

On a completely different note...

The Umbra's New School

I'm going back to community college! Just a morning class for now - this won't change my schedule much, but I my be more out of it due to getting up earlier, and will have to go to bed earlier some days. So there's that.

Well, I did have an idea where RP!Tagg traverses the entirety of Ultra Space, either by himself or with his current traveling partner depending on 1) How Meta feels about that and 2) How things end up with RP!Tagg's vacation, eventually ending up at the Ultra Megalopolis and meeting a certain returning character that could link with Umbra and Verax's stuff.

Just need to figure out:

1) How it happens in the first place, since as I saw it said odyssey wouldn't be on purpose, as well as how they're getting from realm to realm.

2) Need to talk to Mezzo since one of those places would be the Ultra Deep Sea, Nihilego's Ultra Space, and RP!Tagg did promise Exgal they'd get them home as long as they cooperated.

I'm down for that if you want.

Necrozma

I did have the idea for the leader of GEAPHDARK to be a Necrozma, but that is kinda in limbo due to the uniqueness of Necrozma being up in the air, so I went with an alternative.