MARCH UPDATE

POSTED ON Dec 6, 2018 3:00:46 GMT

though the grin does not falter throughout her rambles, zeke allows her to struggle to the end of the rant. his eyes match hers casually before leaping away, landing on the profile of a handsome man across the bar. looking at her any longer would have made him laugh from secondhand embarrassment -- the good kind.

"oh, i see. neat pokemon." he manages little else in response to the eevees and the rockruffs, eyes lingering on the guy's dark hair and carefully trimmed beard a moment longer than anticipated. the conversation is casual enough for him to keep his eye on the lookout, but he returns his attention to the girl. "oh, i used to live here. i was just passing through, and i've been to this bar once before. so i figured i'd stop in." memories flash in his mind -- the bathroom, druggie lighting, the rapidash painting, scott puking.

he almost scowls.

he's gone to lilycove with the relocation of silph co., the new lease signed just last week before zeke departed for mauville with every intention of snooping around slateport. "i live in lilycove now. how's the drink, by the way?" he sips his own, more slowly this time. the same shitty beer. he gives her no time to respond.

"and what's your name?" a smirk tugs at his expression, his mind curious as to just how the rambling girl will manage to answer two question without reciting her verbal autobiography for all the patrons of this dusty little hole in the wall.

francie myrtle

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yuko

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twenty-seven

january 3

saffron, kanto

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POSTED ON Dec 6, 2018 2:34:17 GMT

FERNANDO SILPH likes this

he nods his "you're welcome", lips curling in the corners when she discloses her identity as gym leader. momentarily, he wonders if he comes here enough times he'll meet all the gym leaders, given the track record. "well, congrats on that." the reply is curt but the words have less of an edge than any preceding ones had -- perhaps the alcohol from before is warming him up to the conversation.

their drinks are delivered and the bill goes on his tab, something that hardly concerns him these days with his new job at silph. FERNANDO SILPH pays him well enough to drink at a bar with more lux than this shithole.

he sips again, ears tuned in the the words that seem to carelessly tumble out of the girl's mouth. his otherwise unexpressive eyebrows clench together in confusion over the rim of the glass. girl stuff?

"do they not sell tampons in petalburg...?" the tone portrays genuine confusion, but there is humor somewhere in there. he lets the stupid question hang in the balance between them for an instant before allowing his lips to curl upward further, as if to say "this is a joke, i am not that stupid."

francie myrtle

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POSTED ON Dec 6, 2018 2:10:21 GMT

he's almost surprised the girl beside him gives him the time of day. a sweet voice comes in response, its saccharine tone giving him an unsatisfying answer that still manages to satiate zeke. he lets a second of silence hang between them before nodding slowly, every intention of turning away. his head does not move, held hostage by the following words from the girl.

they grit against his skin like a volatile chemical -- one spark and he will burst into flames.

another sip. "...oh, i didn't know that. thanks." again, he sips. sips, sips, sips.

the glass is empty once again, a trace of beer running down the corner of his mouth. the calloused hand comes up for a graceless clean up before he orders another beer. "what are you drinking? put hers on my tab."

"...so you're the petalburg gym leader, or you're just from petalburg?" her lack of clarity rags on his mind enough to push the conversation further as his monotone voice clangs against the walls.

francie myrtle

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POSTED ON Dec 6, 2018 1:42:09 GMT

another glass covered in condensation cradles in the sieve of his hand. the droplets cling to it until gravity forces them down the side to pool on the weathered bar top, and he curses underneath his breath.

shit.

zeke swore he'd never be here again, in this weird bar with the strange decor and the uncomfortable memories. it remains unchanged, its wooden theme surviving a time that much of zeke's identity has not survived. the last time he was here, he was a police officer. he was a man on a mission. he was a romantic.

his calloused fingers raise the glass to his parted lips and his eyes stare down the crook of his nose into the bottom of the glass until no liquid remains.

the last time he was here, the drink didn't go down smoothly. he suspects that this evening will be nothing like the last one spent here as he flags down the bartender for a refill on the cheap beer they'd originally supplied him. not even the beer was the same.

it is quieter here tonight than it was over a month ago. less ruckus -- probably only regulars, or those that have been displaced from slateport that don't know of better bars yet here in mauville.

is that how long its been? a month since he'd spoken to scott? a month since the world turned on its axis and flashed him a big 'fuck you' full of cursed nightmares and murderous rocket infiltrations?

with his glass refilled, he hastily brings it to his mouth for another sip before turning to the person who has taken the liberty to sit beside him, nothing but a pensive stare on his face as he looks beyond them.

"do you know who the gym leader is around here these days?"

francie myrtle

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diagram the light [mission]

POSTED ON Nov 29, 2018 2:37:25 GMT

[attr="class","dilyrics4"]Glory to the night that shows me what i am as i go to the party on my knees saying take it all please. tell me no, tell me no

[attr="class","dilyric4"]somebody please

[attr="class","dibody4"]"I think...yes?" his eyes do not leave the clock to answer her question, but it gives him no reason to stare. Motionless it remains, taunting him to look away so that it can start once again. Zeke doesn't understand why the Spore worked, but he does not question it. The clock is a Pokemon...it must be.

Persephone takes a more direct approach. With little regard for the clock's well-being, the Lucario attacks it. Zeke does not look away, watching as glass shatters from the impact and crashes to the ground. It feels like too simple a solution.

His hands bolt to his ears as a blood-curdling scream rings out in the air. Its volume rises above that of the rest of the clocks and drowns out a scared moan from the Amoonguss before dying down as suddenly as it began. "Holy shit. Where is it? Dharma, calm it down with Sweet Scent!" with the ghost evicted from its home, perhaps it lingers in the atmosphere around them. The Sweet Scent is meant to relax it enough to show itself to the invaders -- unless it jumped to another clock.

"Can Lucario sense anything?"

Tick, tick, tick, the room goes once again, this time still working in perfect harmony like one massive timepiece. Zeke's eyes survey the room, quickly inspecting each one while sniffing up the relaxing aroma.

[attr="class","ditags3"]persephone amavi

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

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[googlefont=Oswald]
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[newclass=.dilyric4]font-family:Oswald;font-size:15px;color:#1ab0fe;width:125px;[/newclass]
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[newclass=.ditags4 a]color:#1ab0fe;[/newclass]

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BATTLE THEME! [ooc]

POSTED ON Nov 28, 2018 2:19:55 GMT

zeke -- agni kai. i just feel like this fits zeke very well because it is high tension and i feel like i write him to be high tension? it fits aya too tbh but

aya -- forze dell'oscurita. i used this for all of the slateport invasion because it just fits her so well when she's being a murderess

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POSTED ON Nov 27, 2018 3:46:55 GMT

he can't tell that silph is gauging him in this moment -- zeke cannot see what is in front of him. only what potential lies ahead of silph co., ahead of him, ahead of hoenn. silph in a council seat means direct change.

"you'd be a direct line to the commissioner." he does not mention dahlia's name because he cannot ensure that she is still alive, let alone commissioner. the timing is uncannily perfect for the blue haired man with the mystifying eyes, but zeke smells no ill-intention on that edge of that solitary "oh?"

his hand clasp together on the table in front of him. "i think it's brilliant." zeke can only see the good that could come of this as he marvels at the potential silph would have at his fingertips.

he marvels so much that he cannot see why this is dangerous and possibly inflammatory.

FERNANDO SILPH

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POSTED ON Nov 24, 2018 1:27:12 GMT

silph's affirmation of lilycove's use as his new headquarters passes by zeke and goes unanswered. the only response he gives is a slow nod, though not much else is needed. it was a simple question with a simple answer.

when silph speaks again, zeke has more to say. "wow...what made you decide this?" the inquisition does not indicate any form of agreement or disagreement with the decision; zeke displays only shock on his otherwise stony face. he couldn't be blamed of course, after they began the conversation shitting on the league. the cogs in his head try to make sense of the decision: he knows silph does not like the shackles he'd have to bear.

then, of course, who would shackle him? there is no commissioner right now, with dahlia goode gone in the wind and all of the old council dismissed.

and then he smirks knowingly before his employer has a chance to respond -- silph wants to be commissioner. "...holy shit." the words reflect the revelation, despite the fact that it may be wrong.

zeke suddenly fills with a sense of power he hasn't had in years.

FERNANDO SILPH

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POSTED ON Nov 21, 2018 17:52:07 GMT

they quickly cross from the realm of guilt into one of curiosity. zeke's eyes bounce between silph's, watching them as they look off into a space zeke cannot see for an answer. a premonition is the only explanation the simpler man has for the visions; the mechanism by which they act is far beyond him. it ever-so-slightly disappoints him that silph is at a loss for an answer, too.

he always seems to know everything. at least, that's what the energy he puts out.

at the mention of further visions, zeke's head shakes back and forth slowly without breaking eye contact with silph. "they've been gone for about a week. no visions, no night sweats...just normal bullshit. no magic bullshit." the offer of help does not go unnoticed but he does not feel he needs to express any more gratitude. rather, he raises the condensing glass from the table and sips the water slowly before looking out the window.

a change of subject seems apropos.

"so is lilycove your new base of operations for the time being?" allowing slateport to remain in rocket's hands for long enough to leave silph co. abandoned there for good seems such a foreign idea that he does not entertain it.

FERNANDO SILPH

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POSTED ON Nov 19, 2018 22:00:15 GMT

to watch fernando react to him is to watch paint dry with bated breath; zeke's thumbs have lost one another in favor of gripping the edge of his seat. his eyes follow the thumbs down when silph finally speaks -- psychiatric help?

his head shakes quickly. "they went away...after a while. i just thought they were recurring dreams." it's an understatement, but it'll do. he quiets down as silph continues to speak, and he studies silph's face with curious eyes. the words of comfort, implicit forgiveness, are not cast in venom or frustration. he can tell that silph is intrigued if nothing else, leaving zeke feel more freakish and less negligent.

you couldn't have known.

it's the response he needs; the hero complex that plagues him nearly denies them as the truth, but logic trumphs. he isn't a fortune teller, a seer, a warlock. he's an average ex-city cop.

but to cleanse his hands of the metaphorical blood that stains them would be too forgiving, and he failed in more than one way that day. his mouth creaks open like a rusty hinge, a 'thank you' desperate to come out and free him. he's not sure what keeps it contained.

"do you think it was a premonition? looking back, the meaning seems clear as day. and i know it was regirock. it stared at me, eyes glowing and...i just know it was."

are the legendary pokemon upset by the rocket invasion? if they are...why aren't they intervening?

FERNANDO SILPH

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processed shop

POSTED ON Nov 18, 2018 21:38:26 GMT

pls take 200 for a canon spot thank youuuuu

SHIV PROCESSED!

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zeke's gachapon

POSTED ON Nov 18, 2018 5:17:30 GMT

shiv likes this

magmortar !!

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POSTED ON Nov 18, 2018 4:51:22 GMT

you can tell me anything.

context alone keeps the words from sounding cheesy and romantic.

he looks down, eyes studying the thumbs that twiddle one another just beneath the surface of the table, out of view. "it's...dumb, i think. or unbelievable...honestly, i don't know what to make of it." silently he wonders if guilt is what probes him to spill the truth.

of course it's guilt.

"after the rescue operation in the ruins beneath mauville, i started having these nightmares. i think it was regirock, i-it...it cursed me..." again his voice trails, hesitation making the words slip in and out of their unsteady stream. he can trust silph. or, he has to trust silph. the difference between the two concepts does not matter now.

"in the nightmares, i was standing in front of a massive building. i saw this black stuff, like vines...or, or, or ink maybe, i don't know. climbing up the building. i didn't put it together until the debrief that the building was silph co. in slateport, but i still didn't really think anything of it." a sigh escapes, perhaps a guilty one as his eyes search the distant lilycove street outside the window. none of it is his fault, and yet he feels responsible for the rubble.

"and then it didn't hit me until after everything happened, or i swear i would have said something! but i think regirock was trying to warn us about what was to happen." another sigh -- longer, drawn out. it both relieves him and causes him anguish.

he prays silph will forgive him, though his transgressions remain unclear, even to him. "i'm sorry. i should have realized."

FERNANDO SILPH

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POSTED ON Nov 17, 2018 15:56:17 GMT

some nuances to overcome?

an urge to chuckle at the conservative vernacular of a businessman almost overtakes zeke. his eyes attempt to see through silph, but the man is merely translucent. he knows he does not have the whole truth with a man with a stature such as fernando eliard silph.

taking things at face value for now feels necessary for zeke; he'll go along for the ride for the time being. when he needs to know, he'll know.

the greater good. the words feel familiar spilling out of silph's mouth, like its a line the man has plugged before. maybe it's just the way zeke still perceives silph; maybe he's still not fully buying into his employer's authenticity.

a smirk overcomes his stony face. "i like the sound of all this. and i'll help however i can, of course..." he remembers the vision. slateport's demise -- the smirk drops into nothingness again as he studies silph's visage for something, though that something's identity zeke does not know.

"i...can i tell you something?" the words feel equally juvenile and heavy coming out of his mouth, hesitation coating them and evaporating into the air between them.

FERNANDO SILPH

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