Vertigo

Expedition to Isekai

𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐭

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This was exactly what Duncan had wanted to avoid. The reason he'd left well before anyone else awoke, why he'd dedicated himself to digging deeper and deeper with no regard for depth reached or time spent. Why, when he'd heard someone's footsteps come close enough to his grave-digging site to hear him were he to speak, he'd kept going and pretended he wasn't aware of their presence instead.

He'd wanted to avoid feeling... this.

Duncan's fist was clenched so tightly the dirt within threatened to turn to dust. He was shaking, tall form resembling a tree being whipped about by a storm. Ironic, because there really was a storm, only it raged inside him. Anger, sadness, fear, memories of Yuki, of his mother, of life and death and how there really was such a fucking thin line separating the two. He wanted to punch something - someone, his father, a monster, a wall, himself, Yuki for fucking dying on him, but he knew he could do none of that. Knew that even punching a wall meant shattering the shelter the others had painstakingly scraped together. He was envious of Daisuke for that; for getting to punch something and being able to feel himself bleed.

Daisuke was here now, and Duncan couldn't bear to look at him, much less at Maki or god forbid, Haruko — if she realized he was about to cry, it'd destroy her. She was too kind for her own good like that.

It was okay, though, because he wouldn't cry. He wasn't a goddamn kid.

Throughout the ceremony Duncan hadn't really known what to do, where to look, what to say, where to keep his hands. It wasn't the kind of funeral he was used to, and not just because they were - or, well, had been - in Japan. He doubted funerals were quite like this there, either. But by the end, once the chanting had ended and the last fingers of smoke started to fade, he finally knew what he was supposed to be doing. It was up to him to seal the ceremony off. To seal Yuki underground, forever.

All he had to do was shovel dirt and not cry. That was it. How simple was that?

Duncan took a step closer, feeling rows upon rows of eyes on his back. He might've imagined them; he doubted anyone was paying attention to him when their dead classmate was right there. Maybe Hiroshi would, it felt like he was always watching, but that fucking creep wasn't here. Man... why couldn't it be him in the hole?

If they didn't get back home, wouldn't they all eventually end up—

Duncan threw the fistful of dirt onto Yuki as gracefully as he could muster, which wasn't very. Then, before he could think too much, he dug his hands into the pile of dirt next to the grave and threw in two fistfuls more. Then another two, and another. The others would join him soon, probably, but if they didn't, that was fine too. He'd fill the grave with the same vigor he'd dug it, and leave no room for any other thought.

POKeMON: A Mystery - Always Open

Joshua Moreau

Name: Joshua Moreau

Occupation: Steward

Backstory: A youth from Vermilion city. He's dreaming about traveling to Kalos, where his family originally hails from, and starting a Pokémon journey there - perhaps even finding his father, despite his mother's insistence that he's a scumbag and trying to contact him a fool's errand. In order to fund his dreams, Joshua has taken on a job at SS Lugia as a steward with his best friends, Feuette the Braixen, Snickers the Munchlax, and... Shuppet. He's since had his cabin keys haunted by a Klefki, a sign of something unfortunate to come, some of his coworkers say. Joshua doesn't mind though, at least now he's never in danger of losing the keys again!

Personality: Joshua doesn't necessarily stand out in a crowd when it comes to appearance or personality, but he's fine with that. In fact, he's fine with most things that come his way; very much a go-with-the-flow type of guy, he's optimistic, energetic and determined to make things work out despite adversity. With that said, he did grow up sheltered in a somewhat small port town, so his experience is rather limited as far as hardships go. Case in point, his new job at the cruiser was immensely stressful at first - which led to Joshua finding out he's quite a clumsy mess under pressure, but he's starting to find his groove. Now, he's excited to run around the ship with his Pokémon, working, errand-running and people-watching the days away. Side note: he's a little too comfortable with ghosts, and seems to bond with them at concerning speeds.

Pokemon:

POKeMON: A Mystery - Always Open

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_{Passenger cabin → cabin corridors}

"Snickers, no!"

The Munchlax, startled by his trainer's sudden cry, dropped a bottle of lotion he'd been about to stuff into his mouth and made a pained face. Joshua shook his head, walking up to swipe the bottle to safety before the Pokémon could recover and try again. It looked like expensive stuff. Everything in the passenger cabins did.

"I know." Joshua got on his tiptoes and slid the bottle atop the wardrobe; not its original place, but far enough away from the Munchlax for now. He still had a bed to make. "I'm hungry too. We'll go to the Lucky Catch after, I'm sure they got some leftovers for you! But first, did you empty the trashcan?"

Snickers gave an affirmative nod and rubbed at his belly - only to jump when Shuppet floated in through the closed door. She was wearing a wicked grin as she often did, apparently having just had her dinner. She seemed to thrive here, to a worrisome degree. Joshua would've assumed people rich enough to get on board the SS Lugia didn't bear grudges or feel envy, but it turned out it was just the opposite. Were the coordinators really all envious of each other like that? Even though they were all pretty people with pretty Pokémon? It didn't really make sense.

Joshua crossed his arms, but couldn't force his face into anything too serious. The corners of his lips kept curling upwards at Shuppet's joy. He'd never caught her in a pokéball, and considering what a free spirit she was, naming her would've felt like intruding, too. She'd started following him on her own a few weeks ago when he was still job searching ashore, though he never did figure out why she was so drawn to him. He wasn't feeling any particular hatred or malice towards anyone that he knew of. She'd been miserable when he found her, hungry and drenched from a rain that he didn't even know could affect ghosts.

Now she looked happy, healthy, and bigger than before. How did Shuppet evolve? Was she close to it? He'd need to look that up when he got a spare minute; work kept him busy.

"Who was it? Wait, don't tell me! ... Was it that rich lady from 349? I think she's got beef with-- whoa!" Joshua backpedaled until the back of his knee hit the bed and he fell backwards onto its unimaginably soft (though still unchanged, damnit) covers.

Behind the Shuppet - his Shuppet - were a dozen others, all grinning, all seemingly satisfied with whatever grudge they'd just devoured. Those couldn't all be someone's Pokémon, right? Why were they here? No way there was that much negative emotion on the shi--

Oh no. He jinxed it.

That was Joshua's first and only thought as the ship suddenly shook and knocked him off his feet. There was a loud, horrible sound that Joshua didn't recognize, and he feared it'd make him deaf.

Once it subsided, he stood up shakily, only to find all the Shuppet, save for his own, gone.

Then there was a familiar rasp from the intercom. "Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking."

Joshua straightened out of reflex, straining to hear every word. Was this an actual emergency then? If so, this'd be his first ever! And he was part of the crew! Was he expected to do something? Save people? What if he actually got to save people?! Oh boy. Oh no. Oh yes! Oh...

He felt a paw on his arm, stopping his hyperventilation before it could begin. Feuette had walked over from where she'd been wiping dust before the emergency, and smiled at him reassuringly. She nodded towards the ceiling as if prompting him to just listen. He did. Everyone was told to gather to the main stadium and prepare for an evacuation. An evacuation! They really must've been sinking!

Klefki, Joshua's coworker, was still trying to tug at the bed covers, but he rushed over and swiped it to his chest. "F-forget the bedding! We're needed upstairs! Come on." He opened the door, waited for his team to gather, then dashed into the corridor--

Only to slip and fall on his back with a painful crack and a yelp. The floor had flooded. The water would have reached his knees so far, except it was... frozen. The corridor ahead looked like a skating path. A haunted one, with the lights blinking, revealing a stray Shuppet here, another there, every time the lights came back on. They weren't the only one ones around, though. At the far end of the corridor, barely illuminated by the lights that still fought to live, floated something bigger that Joshua couldn't quite make out.

"Um, Snickers, I'm sorry, buddy." Joshua mumbled, staring ahead and praying to Arceus the elevator and stairs weren't frozen solid too. "It's gonna take us a bit before we get you those leftovers."

S P I R I T U M

Interested!

Expedition to Isekai

𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐭

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"At the very least, I don’t think he’d want that burden on us."

Duncan practically stabbed his hand back down, scooping up another handful of soil and tossing it unceremoniously over one shoulder. He'd been at this, digging like a man possessed since before sunrise — since realizing he couldn't hear Yuki's shallow breaths anymore. He wanted to be the one to do this, before anyone else could butt in or offer their help. Digging a fucking hole was the only thing he could do for his friend now, so he intended to dig the best goddamn hole this side of... wherever the hell they were. It was pathetic, he knew. He couldn't save Yuki, and yet Yuki had, as his final act in this world, saved him.

Saved him from the burden of murder.

If he hadn't talked about it with Yukiko first, if Hiroshi hadn't been able to predict Yuki's time of death, if Duncan had thought to let Yuki go sooner, would he have-- could he actually have...

It sounded so absurd now, like a scene from a shitty flick. He'd been so determined in his desperation last night, but now he couldn't believe the thought had even crossed his mind. It scared him a little, made him wonder what he was truly capable of. Was he just one weird-ass experience away from snapping like Ayana and Kogen had? God, he hoped not. They had enough loonies to last them a while.

Duncan stood up on the bottom of the newly dug grave-to-be only once he realized he was parched. He'd yet to break a sweat thanks to his new powers, and hadn't paid any attention to the passage of time — or the depth of the hole he'd dug, for that matter. So when he looked up and realized how distant the sky was, he figured he should probably stop before he dug all the way to China. Or, uh, whatever was on the opposite side of Japan. Canada? God, he wished he could dig to Canada.

His choices now were to climb up and find water, or to keep digging a while longer, until his brain stopped replaying memories of Yuki, interloped with the image of his lifeless body on endless repeat.

...

Duncan shoved his hand back into the soil.

POKeMON: A Mystery - Always Open

@Vertigo hahaha that would have been fun. Next time we'll coordinate something! As for pokemon, the sheet is in my post above!

@Yankee

Deal! And ohh, didn't pay attention to her Pokémon, thought you meant you had some others in mind and switched them out, duh. Braixen gang is a go 🤝

POKeMON: A Mystery - Always Open

Man me and Vertigo really be on some kind of wavelength. I was thinking of doing a male steward too lol. And a red head at that! We even picked similar (and one of the same) pokemon.

But I rarely do coordinators so that's what I ended up going with. Still, kinda funny.

@Yankee

Oh damn, we out here sharing a braincell! I could've made mine an apprentice of yours or something, so would've also worked. Or I mean, he is looking for his dad, so--

Which Pokémon, out of curiosity?

POKeMON: A Mystery - Always Open

One steward dude, coming up

boo!

Name: Joshua Moreau

Occupation: Steward

Backstory: A youth from Vermilion city. He's dreaming about traveling to Kalos, where his family originally hails from, and starting a Pokémon journey there - perhaps even finding his father, despite his mother's insistence that he's a scumbag and trying to contact him a fool's errand. In order to fund his dreams, Joshua has taken on a job at SS Lugia as a steward with his best friends, Feuette the Braixen, Snickers the Munchlax, and... Shuppet. He's since had his cabin keys haunted by a Klefki, a sign of something unfortunate to come, some of his coworkers say. Joshua doesn't mind though, at least now he's never in danger of losing the keys again!

Personality: Joshua doesn't necessarily stand out in a crowd when it comes to appearance or personality, but he's fine with that. In fact, he's fine with most things that come his way; very much a go-with-the-flow type of guy, he's optimistic, energetic and determined to make things work out despite adversity. With that said, he did grow up sheltered in a somewhat small port town, so his experience is rather limited as far as hardships go. Case in point, his new job at the cruiser was immensely stressful at first - which led to Joshua finding out he's quite a clumsy mess under pressure, but he's starting to find his groove. Now, he's excited to run around the ship with his Pokémon, working, errand-running and people-watching the days away. Side note: he's a little too comfortable with ghosts, and seems to bond with them at concerning speeds.

Pokemon:

A Pokemon mystery at sea

I'm in

Epyllion: Beyond Moonlight's Reach

Tossed in a quick reply! Didn't want to actually type out the small talk though or we'd be stuck here forever talking about the weather.