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"Oh, we match!" Lutgarde grins as they spot the red-black dress of Elaine Highland, "I'm Lutgarde. Nice to meet you!" they introduce themself, also to howard slayte, someone who they also do not recognise. The evening continues with some minor events, but nothing too major - except how they couldn't help but notice being the only one who finished a remarkably large portion in one sitting. (Their stomach might take qualities of a black hole indeed.)

A shrill shriek and sobbing maid interrupts the peace, and Lutgarde stands up alarmed, now rushing to the side of the maid, before- oh, that's what it is! They are not suspecting at all of the lie, and take it at face value. "Oh, you really got me there," they say, feeling relieved. They've been there at crime scenes and the like occasionally within their occupational area, so it's not a too unfamiliar feeling, even if there yet has to be a case where they could've actually helped with the deductions and all - they're more muscle than brain, for sure.

They nod as Elaine Highland and Josh Devlin go to examine the corpse. "I'll ask the staff and see if they might have figured out something out of order," they say - intuition-wise, they could also look for things out of place, but frankly, they have no idea what's normal for a posh mansion and what is not, so they feel better off lending an sympathetic ear to the brillant actors of the staff, who seem thoroughly rattled. "Anyone want to tag along?" they turn to ask howard slayte and Elise Calcifet, before turning to the maid.

"Hey, hi. I'm Lutgarde. Do you think you are ready to talk about what happened?" they ask the maid with a soft smile - and here, previous experiences as ranger in urban environments kick in, waiting patiently for the maid to settle down a bit from the "terrifying memory". "If you could tell me again in detail what happened, that would be very helpful. Or anything that stood out to you over the evening ... every detail could help us to solve this 'case'," they add, doing a little wink as they mention the case, as it's clearly part of the surprise murder mystery.

"Do you also know where the other servers are right now? I'd like to ask them as well, see if they might have some clues."

tl;dr (black-red gothic lolita suit)
- introduces themself to howard and elaine, chitchats with the latter
- fully believes that this is a surprise murder mystery
- moves to ask the staff; asks elise and howard if they want to join them
- asks the maid first in a soft, calm tone: what exactly happened? anything strange over the evening?
- asks where the servers are to question them as well (can be resolved this or next round, tho! would be the same questions for now)
QhzTGX5z

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Upside: The heads did indeed turn against each other, making the plan a success! Downside: The heads are also blowing everything up.

Sylv manages to get some Light Screen up, but is thrown back by the explosions, similiar to Sylph with Lutgarde. They crash into the surrounding crystals and stone, but aren't quite as hit as the hero of the hour - Oreo, who hasn't managed to make an escape just in time. Lutgarde still recovers enough to recall her before things go completely south, and takes a deep breath.

They really hope there's nothing broken, but they'd have to continue for the moment. Seeing as the Hydreigon entirely vanished, Lutgarde smiles, albeit slightly cracked, at Shalin, "Same." They wouldn't have been so quick on their feet to seperate these attacks, not knowing that they could actually combine so disastrously. They nod at Shalin's unfinished thought, letting Sylph work some Life Dew before they'd get back on her back, with Sylv hoping on as well. Even badly beaten as he is, he refuses to ever return to his ball if he can avoid it.

"... right, we were here to mine. I'm not sure I can do much, honestly," they remember, looking at the crystals surrounding them. Beautiful. Powerful. Lethal.

Shalin Nariya
choice? lessen the load and depart?
150pts

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Lutgarde has not expected that there'd actually be another pokémon involved with the sword - and probably also with the shield? But this question would have to be solved during another trip. The pokémon has a regal bearing, or maybe it's more knightly ... as it accepts the sword and transforms yet another time, this time shining in all its full glory.

"They are rather beautiful," Lutgarde comments, before also bowing slightly to it. "It's an honour to fight along your side, Knight," they add, and chuckle slightly - it feels a bit odd, given that they do know someone whose first name is Knight. At Josh's question, they ponder for a moment, before grinning, "I'd call shotgun for that one, if you don't mind?" Sylv also approaches the hero without hesitation, cooing in greeting as Lutgarde recalls Oreo again. Zacian regards the much smaller creature, but there's not much time for chatter - after all, there's a whole army to fight off!

"Alright ..." Lutgarde needs a moment to get seated in a stable position. The energy radiating from this pokémon feels enormously powerful - and even as their opponents are dynamaxed, all but colossi, they have the feeling that this sword could take them. "Ready to go!"

And how they go, indeed. The air has been almost still before, but is now cutting the air - or maybe they are cutting the air as the Zacian leaps forward with a ferocious, fierce battle cry. One would think that a large dog with an even larger sword in its mouth would move a bit awkward, but it's fast, cutting through its enemies with apparent ease.

Josh Devlin
50pts, 1 curio

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The news of Kyle's death- disappearance is ... devastating, to say the least. Even if Lutgarde hasn't spent much time with him overall, it's hard not to say that he left an impression - and a hole on the region as whole. Is he truly dead?

They try to shake off those thoughts, focusing on the possibility. A hope. "Hey there! I'm Lutgarde, and this here is Sylv." They point at the black-red dyed Sylveon, as ever attached to their wrist by one of his ribbons. They smile, but it's tense. "Got any idea where we might start the search?"

Mimi Hirose

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The initial mission of freeing the Silicobra from the Flygon's grasp is successful, but a new problem is quickly presented and solved - a harsh collision with the ground prevented by a Wrap. Sylph nods at the Silicobra, almost unnoticeable in the sandstorm - despite her often distant behaviour, she does care deeply about others.

For now, the best she can do is, however, focusing on the Flygon with her eyes narrowed. Once more, she roars, with the sound being swallowed by the wind, and charges forward, finishing the Flygon with one more Dragon Hammer.

Lutgarde in the meanwhile does their best to hurry over to the other trainer, but doesn't shout until the sandstorm subsided - hopefully now? They aren't sure if the Silicobra or the Flygon is the cause for it.

haoyu tso

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Despite shouting as loud as they can (which is fairly loud), the sandstorm is much louder. However, they manage to figure out what the other tries to convey to them, even if they have to blink quite a lot of times to prevent their eyes from getting too much sand in them.

They nod, twin tails bobbing up and down, and also give a thumbs-up. They don't dare opening their mouth again, and simply wave to someone behind them - and quickly, Sylph, their Togekiss, charges forward, just as the Flygon is pulling out the Silicobra by the tail. She narrows her eyes, summoning the spirit of dragons before ramming the Flygon full force with a Dragon Hammer, hoping to force it to release the Silicobra.

haoyu tso

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Lutgarde tilts their head slightly, frowning a bit, at the odd undertone in Ever's voice. However, they aren't really sure what it might mean, so return to a smile again and nod, "Yeah! A bit of exercise before bed can help tire the mind out a bit, too," they reply, "Which is also kind of funny, since I also exercise in the morning to get awake, too." After growing up at a farm, the idea of a start into the day without moving at all just seemed incredibly strange.

(But also, they definitely are an exception with how much they like physical exercise.)

Now, their pokémon would rather get the exercise however, as it comes to removing the blockage. They make another mental note (one they tend to keep forgetting) of looking into poison-type attacks for their pokémon, but it's just. Really unlikely there's actually anything, but maybe ... "Bug Buzz could definitely be helpful! I think we'll have to rely on the help of the pokémon here for the most part though, agree." It's a feat, encouraging the pokémon to take some distant shots - Sludge Bombs, Toxin and other such attacks eventually, hesitantly, start emerging from the crowd. Sylv also has managed to communicate and find some to use Clear Smog for anything that might emerge in gaseous form, keeping the air still stinky, but at least not poisonous.

"I think we can buzz in now," they ponder, "And Sylph can Air Slash it, too, to loosen it up more, break it up in chunks."

They believe to also see some round blobs that look kind of soft - purple, and so, so familiar with everything going on. "Mochi...?" they murmur.

ever blackwell

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Lutgarde has mounted Oreo for the current trip, seeing as Shalin chose to saddle one of her own many quadrupedals. Sylv is also loafing comfortably in front of the saddle, but his comfortable stance is a lie to the attentive eyes - he knows of the dangers of the region, even if they're, today, not on duty for that.

"Hmm, a favourite?" they echo, wondering. Legendaries have never been of much consideration for them - they all seemed to distant to their day-to-day that they probably don't even know that many, unless some urban myth is tied to them. (They really loved urban mythologies, the whisper of the streets.) "I think I've always thought of ... Xerneas? as quite neat," they eventually say. "What about you?"

In Hoenn, too, it seems like legends are way, way more real than they used to be in Kalos, at least for them. It seems impossible here not to get mixed up somehow in whatever shakes the region at the moment.

Shalin Nariya

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Lutgarde's general demeanour isn't quite one you would expect from such a mysterious event - but at least, the curiosity might come in quite handy later still. They smile openly under their black mask that only covers the upper half of their face, leaving the rest unobscured, but even through the satin blackness, their eyes shimmer with a friendly attitude and no ill intent whatsoever. They dress in a more formal, gothic lolita dress with a pants suit instead of their usual poofy dresses, giving them an elegant air if they would be able to maintain it (they aren't).

"Thank you very much for the invitation!" they talk to their hosts, MAKI YUKIMURA and Seiichi Yukimura, "I'm looking forward to it!" They also greet the other guests friendly, wondering if there might be any familiar faces lingering beneath the masks, any voices they might recognise. Upon realising Elise Calcifet and Josh Devlin as ranger colleagues, they give these two another happy greeting, excited to also brave this evening with friends.

They do not know Marya Kareva , Elaine Highland or howard slayte , but they'd greet them similiarly kindly as they eventually take their seat - Lutgarde would be content to sit at whatever seat that would be empty still. The soup's served - or would be, if the maid hadn't spilled it. Lutgarde's half-way up to help them, before everything's already been handled and they sit back down. "It's alright, a bit more appetite will make the food even more delicious," they try to lighten the mood, continuing to chatter until the soup would be served proper.

Given their lack of culinary expertise, they do not notice anything at fault with the soup, and finish it up with the speed of someone who had quite a lot of siblings growing up - while never hungry, there's a certain hurry that just starts to become part of your soul. "What have you gotten?" they ask as the main course is served, curious to actually see different dishes on every plate. For them, they simply asked for meat and something filling, eventually ending up with a really high-grade Tonkatsu combination with some additional meat slices in sauce as well, and some vegetables. It's really strange how oddly refined it feels right now.

It's all- huh. In the dark, Lutgarde's standing up (again), though they once more remain unmoving, uncertain in which direction their host, slipping and falling perhaps because of the soup, has moved to. "Glad to see nothing happened to you, Mr Yukimura!" they say with relief, and sit back down again, before glancing at the floor where Seiichi has just laid. Has it been the soup?

tl;dr
- left image but in black-red + relatively normal black pants (but a bit frilly), black, gentleman-style leather shoes with bows on them & a upper half mask not fashioned after anything, black with lace
- greets everyone, thanks maki & seiichiro for the invitation
- takes whatever seat's empty still
- halfway stands up to help as the soup's spilled; sits back down, tries to make light chatter while waiting
- inhales soup, then the tonkatsu plus extra meat + veggies combo that's tailored for them
- asks the others what they've gotten for food
- stands up during the outage but doesn't move, relieved to see seiichiro is alright
- looks at the floor, trying to figure out if seichiiro slipped on soup from before?

NOTES

Lutgarde regards the notebook with a pensive look, before opening it up and starting to fill it. There's been quite a lot of information to keep track of, something that they always tend to struggle with if it isn't movement that they could remember physically - so, the easy solution seemed to be, get a notebook and start taking notes this way. However, by the time they have decided to do that, it's already been a bit (three months and more) since they've gotten to Hoenn, so ... they'd have to try and recall the information they've gathered over time to the best of their ability.

Well, better get started now than never.

SPOILER: Click to show

They put their fountain pen down (also something to consider ... Hoenn's humid climate makes it take a really long time for the ink to dry) down after the first stream of consciousness, wondering if they got everything ... probably not, but in the future, they hope to write down the most important data (and some not so important ones) more timely.

Oh, they should maybe underline the especially important information, maybe even in a different ink colour ...