RBYDark

Old One Rising (A Lovecraftian adventure-horror RP) (Reboot)

Jeremiah Dupree

Physical state: Chilled but healthy
Mental state: Alarmed

Man of stone? Steiner. Right, of course. Jeremiah nodded and, with that riddle answered, he allowed himself to focus on her words. Words that, coming out of an otherwise ordinary-appearing woman, were beyond surreal. Had he not been sure of her presence, he might've fancied her a hallucination, solely the answer to a desire to determine why she had brought August to Arkham just as Dr. Atkins had killed himself in such a gruesome fashion. Some of her words to Emil were... concerning, as one teacher looking out for a college student. Then again, he had not heard their entire conversation. It was possible the two were referring to some earlier dialog between them. It was, again, something to be addressed later, when his attentiveness was not imperative. Try to remember every word, try to look at the words from an angle. She was not quite straightforward, after all. A place with secrets above and below the water... a coastal city? This was true of Arkham, he felt, but there were other ways she could have described Arkham.

And figure it out before the Agent. If Lexington was back there in Atkins' office, it was sure to be a quite worrying affair, least of all how to explain why Dupree had chosen to return to the scene of a crime. That would be something to consider now, before they reached the office. It was unlikely to be heavily guarded, but to be caught would be disastrous.

Yes, the strangeness of it all intrigued him. It was ridiculous to say it wasn't, simply because his mind was switching to practical concerns. However, the fact remained there were people involved in this, at least one a student of a friend. Care was necessary. Jumping in would simply do more harm than good for all of them.

Emil had received some object, and Jeremiah peered over for a better look. Off the top of his head, it had no significance - no obvious symbols to be linked to an ancient culture, no curling script inscribed into its form to decipher. But if Faye Desdemona had it, it was likely important. Another thing to try to understand, on top of determining which town she likely was trying to reference. Perhaps start with referencing articles on known deserted cities? Perhaps she meant something else by forsaken, but it was a place to start.

It was then he heard the sound, and so did Emil, as he warned Professor Dupree. Right, right. How close? Sounded like they were still approaching. There was time to leave, if they didn't hesitate.

"Thank you, Ms. Desdemona." This was it. If they didn't wish to be locked up as well, it was time to leave. "Emil, have to leave now - and for the love of all that is good, take off that coat." Professor Dupree doubted that trick would work a second time, nevermind the actual theft. He strode to the door and opened it about a foot. Still not here, but getting closer. Fine by him. He opened it wider and gestured for Emil to get out. Once Emil did, Professor Dupree followed after, gently closing the door behind him and walking after Emil, trying to balance both stealth and speed.

He couldn't be sure he succeeded, but as long as they weren't caught right away, he might be able to excuse his presence as simply seeking a lost student - who he had now found.

Not to say anything of how lost he felt himself.

Old One Rising (A Lovecraftian adventure-horror RP) (Reboot)

And if I don't post tonight, then tomorrow.

Aʀʀᴏᴡsᴍɪᴛʜ: Fʀᴇsʜᴍᴀɴ Yᴇᴀʀ

@Chaotic Chao Nah, but can't hurt. How about you meet some of your teammates? Gossip with someone even?

Pokemon: The Spectre Conspiracy

And a-journeying we will go! Post order's little less important now - but if you think you're gonna have a super-long conversation with another character, consider collab post?

Pokemon: The Spectre Conspiracy

Professor Apple listened to each of her new assistants - perhaps proteges? - in turn, watching as they interacted with their pokemon as well. Even with the faded excitement, they all seemed to enjoy talking to and interacting with their pokemon. Always a good sign. First up was Sully, and Apple couldn’t help but smile gently at him. True, this wasn’t entirely out of the goodness of her heart but rather practical concerns, but it was lovely to see how already her efforts were making a change. He seemed nervous enough, so Apple decided to simply answer with, “I understand.” She did, too - her first pokemon changed her life, but there was no need to make a big production over it.

Next up was Reeman - with B helpfully translating - and she nodded. After all, there was a reason they had gotten pokemon. The roads between cities weren’t always safe, but it was nice to see that at least one of them was interested in fighting. Perhaps once her work was done, they’d want to stay on full-time.

Rosa asked about naming, and Apple took a minute to think. “Well, it’s up to each of you. It’s not a requirement to train pokemon but, yes, many do. Personally, I do enjoy nicknaming my pokemon, as Fey can attest to.” She reached back towards the Aron and petted his head. He nuzzled into his trainer’s touch.

Well, Charlie was clearly a good choice after all, as he asked about the details, and her eyes lit up. “Indeed it is! It’s said that the forest of Route 20 prevents people from cutting through with brute force - and thus, that’s why the sanctuary was set up there. Wulfric usually goes to check for any epidemics or new residents. I personally wouldn’t expect much trouble there - he didn’t report any violent pokemon or illnesses spreading about. You should be safe.”

And then the last girl, Mia. She had seen the Gastly and didn’t think it was necessary to bring up its presence - they had all noticed it earlier, after all, surely. Yet clearly Mia had not been paying enough attention, and Apple raised a hand to her mouth as Mia reacted. It wasn’t the worst way to react, but it was up there - and B rushed forward before Apple could do anything.

She couldn’t say she was surprised about the outcome. At least her assistant didn’t seem particularly harmed.

“Well, I... suppose if anyone agrees. Do remember, though - I don’t think anyone else here is struggling with their starter, and I imagine it would take quite a bad experience to persuade them to trade.” Hopefully, the idea would be dropped quickly, or she’d find another trainer to trade with. Whichever option didn’t disrupt the work planned for them.

“Now, if that’s all, it is a bit of a walk to Snowbelle. B and I are going to tie up a few loose ends here, and you can start on ahead. B will probably meet you in Couriway Town to check out your findings and let you know what other projects need to be done. As for me-” Apple paused. “Well, I’ll see you later. Hopefully as more experienced trainers.”

“In your own time then, guys.” Again, the first to react was Lynda; who threw up a hand to wave goodbye to Apple before turning towards the bridge to Avance Trail. “Take as long as you want, me and Totodile are gonna go check out what’s up ahead!” As if on cue, the little Water-type diverted his bemused attention away from the Gastly and Poliwag to realize his trainer was leaving, and waddled after her as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Pokemon: The Spectre Conspiracy

Admittedly, Mia’s day had not been going so well. Besides the starter pokemon she did not seem to get along with, as opposed to everyone else’s perfect match, there had been the incident in Santalune Forest. Though she seemed to have shaken it off superficially, the hiss at hip level and the sensation of something brushing against her left forearm seemed enough to startle her once more before she could ask her own questions of Apple. She let out a yelp, stumbled back, and the heel of her boot hit the edge of a loose brick. Her arms pinwheeled as she bit her lower lip - how far was the edge of the terrace? She hadn’t exactly thought about it until now.

“Oh, got it!” Apparently it was B who decided to respond first to Mia’s plight, darting forth so quickly, it almost seemed his clumsiness was forgotten. He stopped in front of Mia and, grabbing her right hand, pulled forward to re-steady the girl.

And then forgot to let go or check his own balance.

“Oh-”

The two both fell - Mia forward, B backwards - into a heap on the ground. B groaned as Mia pulled her hand free of his and tried to get back on her feet.

Over with the group, Lynda was the first to notice what had happened; she was quiet for a moment as she processed what she’d seen, and then her mouth curved upwards into a smile before she very visibly struggled to hold in a laugh.

“... Wh- what happened?” Meanwhile, it had happened a bit too fast for Charlie to take in; he hadn’t even had the chance to get an answer from Apple about the assignment when he heard the commotion and turned around to see the Poliwag’s trainer climbing off of B. Most of his other concerns went out of the window for the moment as he made his way over. “Are you alright?”

“Ugh. The heck was that?” Mia brushed her hair away from her face. “The heck brushed against me?” She glanced at B, who managed a shrug despite still being pinned to the group. Mia glanced to where she was standing, and got her answer. “Oh come on!”
---
Poliwag had reacted, though probably not in the way Mia would have wanted. First he looked up at the hiss and saw the Gastly at her arm. The shriek couldn’t be ignored, but he was an armless and rather small pokemon - his tail just lowered as she began trying to avoid her fall.

And then it was taken care of, and she was perfectly fine. And he had no reason to be worried anymore. He looked back to the Gastly and wagged his tail a little with a chirp.

“Poli?” What had brought the Gastly over anyhow? He seemed fine hanging out with his trainer, after all.

“Gassss.” Another hiss came from Phil; like the one before it, it was devoid of any kind of malice, seeming to be the ghost’s equivalent of a friendly greeting than any attempt at intimidation. Though his smile was less innocent; he’d seen what he’d inadvertently caused the girl and the one-eyed man to do, and though it had been unintentional, he was clearly rather pleased with himself.

“Pol.” Poliwag chirped and then seemed to giggle at the ghost-type. After all, it wasn’t like either seemed hurt, so, really, it was quite funny. Why not laugh? He glanced at the other pokemon for their reactions and then resumed chattering towards the Gastly. Nice to talk to one of the other pokemon too. Did he spend a lot of time out of his pokeball? What was weather like? Mago didn’t mind the time to stretch his legs and now might not want to go back in his ball, after all.

Phil let out another series of hisses in response, the rapid-fire sounds sounding like a snicker together. Last time he was in his Pokéball had been a few days ago; he only ever really went in there when he was tired because, questionable discipline aside, he was trusted enough to not cause trouble. Though he managed to push that, sometimes.

Mago nodded and chirped back - he might not be quick, but if it wasn’t too warm out, he would probably be fine rolling about. Sounded like fun, even. Of course, not that he had much say in the matter, but he could try his best, right?
---
“... Oh.” More than a little colour drained from Charlie’s face as he looked over towards the two Pokémon and, putting two and two together, realized that it had been Phil that had caused Mia to fall over. “... I am so, so sorry.”

“Uh huh.” Mia did not sound amused - though, at least to Charlie’s credit, she seemed equally annoyed at her Poliwag’s indifference. This pokemon was going to be lucky if she didn’t nickname him ‘Slimer’. She finally managed to untangle herself from B and push off from the ground to get back on her feet. B, for his part, sat up and brushed the dirt from his shirt and then glanced up at Mia, then Charlie.

“So, anyone giving me a hand back up? Charlie?” He beamed, clearly unharmed by the fall.

Charlie blinked. Well, his feelings about B aside, that wasn’t too unreasonable a request-

"Don’t worry, B, you can do it! You're missing an eye, not a hand!" And then Lynda chimed in.

“Also a sense of balance, O Lady of the Gothic Age.” B shrugged as his Unown bobbed by Lynda, its buzzing and chirping apparently agreeing with its trainer.

“... Right.” Shaking his head, Charlie extended his hand to help B up. B nodded and stumbled as he got back to his feet - and again seemed to forget to let go of someone’s hand, this time Charlie’s as he turned to go back to Professor Apple. Thankfully, his grip wasn’t exactly very tight and Charlie’s hand slipped away easily.

Mia glared down at Phil and her Poliwag. “Right. Professor Apple, I have a question - can we trade starters? Like with you-” She pointed to Lynda. “Still a water type either way.” She then glanced at Sully. “Or you.” Either one worked for her, even if these pokemon so far seemed unusually sedate.

Aʀʀᴏᴡsᴍɪᴛʜ: Fʀᴇsʜᴍᴀɴ Yᴇᴀʀ

Short post is short but gives something to respond to?

Aʀʀᴏᴡsᴍɪᴛʜ: Fʀᴇsʜᴍᴀɴ Yᴇᴀʀ

Selene Cross

Location: Homeroom
Interactions:@alexfangtalon - Sadie, @MechonRaptor - Blake Rooke, @TheIrishJJ - Maeve ó Faoláin

---

Selene beamed – well, at least Blake was reasonable, despite her sudden approach. And she still had so much to ask about. “Excellent! Well-“

Before Selene could get much further than that, another student approached. Selene didn’t remember her name; she hadn’t been present on the first official day of school. She also of course hadn’t met her back in middle school. All Selene remembered was that they had some particularly foreign names.

Then again, considering her own family and her Greek-inspired name, there was maybe the slightest touch of hypocrisy there.

“Excuse me, Blake will be available shortly. I wanted to talk with him about our upcoming assignment, though?” Her voice raised its pitch as she talked – a common sign of a question, despite her words barely being phrased as such. It was a shame, to be sure, but best to get as much of this out of the way as possible. “Just, I intend to be busy tomorrow, and I’d like to handle it now, as much as possible.” She put on a smile. Hopefully, the intent would be understood.

Selene was interrupted again, by a third arrival – but at least it was Sadie, who was also in the group, and clearly also considering what needed to be done. A preferred task, hm?

“Personally, I’d like to be on the …I suppose experimental side of things? Sculpting and painting have never been a forte of mine. Though-“ she glanced between the two. “I was thinking maybe we could do more than the basic ‘baking soda and vinegar’ reaction? I am curious as to what else would work.” Granted, it was possible it was more work than the group wanted to do. “I did want to ask, since it may not be feasible to do it on my property – there’s hardly a yard in case things go… wide.” She trailed off before tacking on that last word. She wasn’t exactly expecting to work with hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide, after all. Nothing that strong. But still potentially messy.

Pokemon: The Spectre Conspiracy

@Stale Pizza Sadly, it's not and we do have a waiting list as is. Sorry.

Incidentally, working on post. Just need Ob for Lynda, and group gets to roll out!

Old One Rising (A Lovecraftian adventure-horror RP) (Reboot)

Appreciated~