MARCH UPDATE

1008 height

Veni. Videre. Vincam.

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4,525 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @mars

POSTED ON Jan 18, 2022 1:34:16 GMT

shiv, Katherine Fairburne, and 4 more like this

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To be fair, he had been drunk when he had sent the letter, and he has plenty of reasons to get drunk as of late.
[break][break]
Azelf’s prophecies and warnings, the whole mystery of the Unown Report, all the strange events surrounding the charms he keeps encountering, his missing memories, the brain bubbles, Killian Decker’s announcement of how a meteor might destroy Hoenn in a year, and Eris Halla’s tales of the Darkest Day. The list goes on and on and on, and ironically enough, even Father Winter is in it too.
[break][break]
Father Winter, his stupid crossword containing words from the Unown Report, and the way he had mocked everyone in his response.
[break][break]
Mars agrees, there’s no point in asking for things like happiness and world peace, but what makes this guy think he can even grant people’s wishes to begin with? Who does he think he is? What’s the goal here?
[break][break]
Answers are what he came to Granite Cave to find, but there may be certain complications in that plan, because out of all people, he sure didn’t expect luka chêne to also receive the same response he had.
[break][break]
Hadn’t he mentioned something about preying on the innocent in his letter? Apparently, drunk Mars is wise.
[break][break]
”Stay close, Luka. This could be dangerous.” While the Destiny Bond that once tied them together has long since been broken, concern for his friend remains, and Mars can’t help but wonder what could Luka possibly want so badly that she’s willing to take all these risks. Does she even know there are risks to begin with?
[break][break]
Answers to questions like those may soon come, but when they make it into the chamber where “Father Winter” and his Unown await, Mars simply watches him in silence, allowing the man to make his little speech while paying close attention to what he has to say.
[break][break]
Black and white hair, an Unown-D, portals… So he really is one of them, then. Are the people who wrote the Unown Report really the same ones who appeared at the Star Soirée?
[break][break]
”Why would I believe you can give me what I truly want?” It’s not something all of his money can buy, and it’s not something any human can grant. No one can bring his wife and child back, and things won't ever be the way they once were. ”If what you’re saying is true, I can’t ask you to turn back time, I can’t ask you for health, and I can’t ask you to save Hoenn from upcoming dangers.” He sighs at that last one, a sound followed by an exhausted chuckle. ”Hell, for all I know you’re one of those dangers.”
[break][break]
”I would ask you for the truth, but apparently you also won’t give me that. But… I know you’re powerful, I’ve seen the things your people’s Unown can do, so how about this: give me the thing that makes you capable of travelling through the dimensions at will – tech, pokémon, whatever it is. I want it.”
[break][break]
It only makes sense to ask for something he knows the other has, and there’s so many things he could do with power like that. He could easily achieve many of his goals. Hell, maybe he could even profit. So, why not?
[break][break]
Mars is no gambling man, he will always choose the option that has the higher chance of success.
[break][break]
And, when it comes to a coin toss…
[break][break]
”Not really fair, is it? To fool people like that.” The odds of a coin toss are not 50/50, after all, and for all he knows, it could be a loaded coin. Mars is extremely distrusting like that. ”Tails.”

[attr="class","textwttag"]luka chêne

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NOTES

[break]
Mars asks for Father Winter's dimension travel tech bc he's an idiot who doesn't trust him to give anything else :c
[break]Why do I always have to go for the IC options?
[break][break]

20t81Rm8

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played by

fish

sleeping beauty

she/her

July 15

lumiose city, kalos

bisexual

public relations

rising star

446 height

she looks like, if you bit her, honey and milk would flow from her

awards

2,003 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @luka

POSTED ON Feb 9, 2022 6:38:44 GMT

shiv and Martín del Mar like this

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In comparison, Luka's wishes are far more mundane.[break][break]

The mysteries of Hoenn don't elude her completely, but she cannot seem to grasp even the shape of them. Like trying to fit round pegs into a square hole, Luka fumbles with the bits of information she's provided, scraps scattered like bread crumbs leading into unknown danger.[break][break]

And despite everything, she still wants to help. She wants to do something, anything, to be the kind of person others can confide in about these things. Can commiserate with, brainstorm with. She wants to be useful. But she can't wish for more intelligence or even a little competence. Father Winter prefers to dabble in the tangible, it seems. And here Luka finds herself at an impasse: what else could she possibly have to ask for?[break][break]

Selfishness goes against her nature. There's nothing she wants that's worth denying a gift to someone else. But somehow, she feels like that won't fly.[break][break]

Seize your wants. Claw them from reality with your own bare hands. Be utterly and ruthlessly selfish.

[break][break]

Perhaps Father Winter will praise her for having the mettle to come this far, at least. The deeper she ventures into the cave the more uncomfortable she feels. The sensation of being watched pricks at the back of her neck, disconcertingly familiar to the feeling she'd experienced in a dilapidated church archive. At least she's not alone; Martín del Mar's presence is a welcome one, though it still reminds her too closely of the horrid experience they'd both shared.[break][break]

"Thank you," she replies with a smile, radiating warmth amidst the chill, dank air that filters through the cave. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you're here. I-I bet you figured out that puzzle within seconds!"[break][break]

A curious glance is cast his way— she knows he's also hunting Unown, but is that all he's after? How much else does he know? Even if she were to ask, she doesn't know that he'd answer honestly. Everyone seems to have a habit of babying her, and she can't say she blames them.[break][break]

And so Luka remains silent as they enter Father Winter's chamber. She listens to Mars' request with piqued interest and ignores the subtle hostility that clings to every word. She doesn't think it's a good idea to insult their benefactor, but lacks the mettle to interrupt until it's her turn to speak.[break][break]

In comparison, her tone is heart-wrenchingly sweet.[break][break]

"Hello, Monsieur Winter. I hope you're doing well! I-it must be tiring, giving out gifts like...l-like this." Saccharine sentiments drip like honey, the same useless fluff derided in Father Winter's return letter. "What I would like is, um..."[break][break]

She glances at Mars, a wish hanging heavy on her tongue. If she asks for the same as him, perhaps there's a higher chance that one of them might get it. And she'd hand it over to her friend without a second though.[break][break]

But in a rare moment of weakness, selfishness wins. Perhaps, for her, that's a good thing.[break][break]

"A lunar wing, if that's possible. A real one." She swallows, tongue darting out to wet her lips. "I call tails."[break][break]

HXzFxN92

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[attr="class","name"]luka chêne

[attr="class","subtxt"]I don't know anything with certainty,[break]
But the sight of the stars makes me dream

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milky

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played by

SHIV

GONGAGER

he/him

October 13

GONGAGA

gongaga-romantic

gongager

gongago

me?

gongaga

808 height

WHERE ARE UNOVA REMAKES

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41,423 posts

DOLLARS

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TAG WITH @shiv

shiv

POSTED ON Mar 8, 2022 8:14:01 GMT

Martín del Mar likes this

THE COIN TOSS

"BE SKEPTICAL ALL YOU WANT." Father Winter takes notes of the coin tosses and their results with discerning eyes. "DIMENSIONAL TRAVERSAL? A LUNAR WING? AS YOU WISH."

He continues to smile, betraying little. "ONCE YOU'VE RECOVERED YOUR PRIZE, HEAD BACK. THE PORTAL WILL BE WAITING FOR YOU."

As the swirl of the portal consumes you and Father Winter, his UNOWN-D swirls around and seals the dimensional door... and manifests as an illusory Father Winter unbeknownst to the two. After some time, the portal closes behind them.

Because one of you have LOST THE COIN TOSS. Father Winter intends for you to die in this alternate dimension.

---

INSTRUCTIONS

TO CONTINUE, make a post or several posts detailing your character's adventure into an alternate universe or timeline.

Below this post are prompts that you must fulfill during your post or posts. Although there is no minimum word count, please write something meaningful, whether it is a poetic drabble, a concerted narrative, or an experimental foray into storytelling.

Once you are done, TAG SHIV in #wintry-wagers on Discord or on Proboards. Afterward, shiv will post a small follow up to end your thread.

TAGS: Martín del Mar luka chêne
☉

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played by

SHIV

GONGAGER

he/him

October 13

GONGAGA

gongaga-romantic

gongager

gongago

me?

gongaga

808 height

WHERE ARE UNOVA REMAKES

awards

41,423 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @shiv

shiv

POSTED ON Mar 8, 2022 8:14:22 GMT

Martín del Mar likes this

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[attr="class","hoennstarconstellation"]MARS + LUKA

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[attr="class","hoennstartitle"]REUNION & RESCUE

[attr="class","hoennstardesc"]You two are teleported to an alternate Hoenn where the moon is on course to crash into the earth. It is a sad, doomed world. In this realm, the moonkeeper is Cresselia, but they have been confined within a BURST HEART. This small jewel can allow Luka to "burst" with Cresselia if they are able to retrieve it. Mars and Luka can RE-BURST into an UNOWN or a CRESSELIA.[break][break]

The BURST HEART is safeguarded by several renegade UNOWN ASSASSINS. They do not betray any information apart from their intent to destroy this world. You must defeat them, save Cresselia, and have Cresselia perform LUNAR DANCE to magically place the moon back in its proper place in the heavens.

[attr="class","hoennstartask"]SAVE CRESSELIA IN THE BURST HEART.

[attr="class","hoennstartask"]DEFEAT THE UNOWN ASSASSINS.

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[attr="class","hoennstartitle"]ALPHABET ORIENTEERING

[attr="class","hoennstardesc"]Navigating an alternate universe is jarring. Using your own Unown or benevolent Unown, find a way back to your original universe.

[attr="class","hoennstartask"]USE & BOLD 3 WORDS FROM THE UNOWN REPORT.

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[attr="class","hoennstartitle"]LIFELONG LEARNERS

[attr="class","hoennstardesc"]In the process, Mars will be able to somehow adopt the ability to TELEPORT like a Pokemon when he downs an Unown Assassin; although it is a far cry from actually being able to traverse dimensions, Father Winter is cheeky and is using their opportunity to catch an Unown to fulfill Mars' desires.[break][break]

Luka in turn, will be able to receive a LUNAR WING from the Cresselia of this world. With the LUNAR WING, she will be able to teach any one of her Pokemon the move, LUNAR DANCE, regardless of whether it is in their moveset or not. In original Hoenn, the LUNAR WING can turn into an ethereal outfit in the moonlight.

[attr="class","hoennstartask"]MARS STEALS TELEPORTATION ABILITY FROM ASSASSIN.

[attr="class","hoennstartask"]LUKA RECEIVES A LUNAR WING.

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[attr="class","hoennstartitle"]DEATH STRANDING

[attr="class","hoennstardesc"]You are not meant to be here- but you are not alone. Encounter a dead body that is from your original universe, presumably a victim of Father Winter. Otherwise, encounter "death" in some form, whether it is a dead Pokemon, person, or a being you must end.

[attr="class","hoennstartask"]REFERENCE DEATH.

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[attr="class","hoennstartitle"]UNOWN CONNOISSEUR

[attr="class","hoennstardesc"]When traversing through dimensions, there is no doubt that you will find an Unown to join you in your journey. You will also manage to report two Unown from the Unown Assassins.

[attr="class","hoennstartask"]BOTH OF YOU CAN CATCH AN UNOWN OF YOUR CHOICE.

[attr="class","hoennstartask"]REPORT TWO UNOWN-? IN THE UNOWN REPORT.

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played by

fish

sleeping beauty

she/her

July 15

lumiose city, kalos

bisexual

public relations

rising star

446 height

she looks like, if you bit her, honey and milk would flow from her

awards

2,003 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @luka

POSTED ON Apr 6, 2022 7:23:13 GMT

shiv, Killian Decker, and 1 more like this

[nospaces]

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A deep foreboding strikes just as the portal closes around them. Trusting until the end, it's only right when she's stepped into the lion's mouth that Luka realizes the folly of her actions. She's seized with the sudden desire to turn back- no trinket can be worth whatever lies ahead of them.[break][break]

But there's no going back now. Just as the portal closes behind them Luka grabs Mars' hand, anchoring herself in place. She smiles up at him in an attempt to reassure, though the expression comes unraveled at the corners of her mouth.[break][break]

[break][break]

The world they're plunged into is one of chaos and darkness.[break][break]

It's a night sky shot through with silver, with air that smells like iron. The forest the pair finds themselves standing in is dense and deep, with rich foliage nearly obscuring the sky. Perhaps it might be beautiful, but they have no chance to appreciate it.[break][break]

For their arrival is met on all sides with the discordant sounds of violence. It's impossible to make anything out through the trees save for errant flashes of red light, piercing screams, and the occasional vague silhouette. Disoriented, dazed, and confused, they stumble through the underbrush in an attempt to avoid the fight and get their bearings. All the while Luka clings onto Mars like a lifeline, deadweight in impractical shoes. [break][break]

He could leave her, if he wanted to. Throw her to the beasts as he had so many months ago. Perhaps something has changed between them, or perhaps Mars’ heart has softened more than he’d like to admit. Either way, they stick together until they reach the treeline, where patches of sky filter down through the leaves.[break][break]

"Mars, look," Luka says in a choked whisper, pointing up with a trembling finger. "T-the moon is..."[break][break]

The moon is beautiful, breathtaking, and deeply, deeply wrong. It hangs too low in the sky, looming menacingly over an Earth that's helpless to halt it's collision. Luka can make out deep craters etched into it's surface, and when she squints she can almost swear she sees a face amongst the ridges and fault lines leering back at them.[break][break]

"What the—"[break][break]

Expletives hang unspoken in the tense air between them. Luka’s gaze gradually draws down, but the scene before them is no less dreadful than what dwells in the heavens.[break][break]

They stand at the outskirts of a clearing, where dark water churns unnaturally in a crescent-shaped pond. On the far side, facing towards them, are stone steps that lead towards a small shrine. It may once have been idyllic. But strewn about the trampled grass and crushed flowers are a few human figures, their bodies limp and lifeless. The stench of copper is even stronger here.[break][break]

The fighting has ceased for now, at least. One force has drawn back into the woods, while the other keeps guard around the shrine. Under the oppressive moonlight, only a few features can be made out: platinum hair, dark clothing, and the unmistakable shape of Unown floating around them.[break][break]

Red light, white hair, and the ever-present Unown. The connection to the assassins that had appeared at the soiree is unavoidable. Are they the same? Is this the dimension they had come from? Or are they simply wreaking havoc on another world, just as before?[break][break]

Questions tumble about her head like wet clothes in a dryer, jumbled and tangled into an incoherent mess. Luka’s head starts to ache as she tries and ultimately fails to process it all. It’s too much for her to comprehend- why would Father Winter send them here? What purpose could this serve? Are they meant to help somehow? Is this a test, some kind of trial?[break][break]

The answer lies in the fate of one of the bodies near their feet, but Luka refuses to perceive it as such. Instead, she swallows her fear and peers closer, foolishly hoping that perhaps they can help the downed fighter in some way.[break][break]

The girl's figure is slim, slight- she can't be more than sixteen. A slip of a thing hardly built for fighting. Long brown hair is secured in two pigtails, with bangs falling into glassy green eyes. In her outstretched hand rests a hexagonal crystal, shattered in two. The inside seems curiously hollow. Luka bends down to get a closer look, but quickly recoils with a shudder.[break][break]

She and the girl look nothing alike, not really. But their eyes are the same. The freckles that dot the dead girl's nose form the same constellations. Luka's chest tightens and her pulse accelerates; she feels as though she might be sick.[break][break]

"This...t-this is not right," she stammers, a hand over her mouth as she recoils from the corpse. "She's...I...Mars, w-what should we do..."[break][break]

[break][break]- Encounters death[break]
- Unown report: 1/3[break]

[attr="class","bottom"]

[attr="class","name"]luka chêne

[attr="class","subtxt"]I don't know anything with certainty,[break]
But the sight of the stars makes me dream

[attr="class","pkmn"]

[attr="class","credit"]
milky

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played by

Azul

Mars | Tuesday

He/Him

August 4th

Canalave City, Sinnoh

Bi / Demiro

POG Bank CEO

Underboss

1008 height

Veni. Videre. Vincam.

awards

4,525 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @mars

POSTED ON Apr 7, 2022 11:10:34 GMT

shiv and Killian Decker like this

[nospaces]

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[attr="class","txtww"]

[break][break]

1. THEY PROMISED THAT DREAMS COME TRUE – BUT FORGOT TO MENTION THAT NIGHTMARES ARE DREAMS, TOO.

[break][break]
It had not been his true wish.
[break][break]
How could it have been? There’s a single dream that grips Martín del Mar’s heart as if a heavy chain made of tempered steel, and it’s one he has never spoken of, even with those he trusts the most. A dream he has no reason to believe anyone but a deity can make true. A dream he would never share with a man he believes to be among those who created the same report he has become connected to – an enemy, and if not an enemy, then someone who should not be trusted because he won’t reveal his true intentions.
[break][break]

”Be skeptical all you want.”

[break]
How could Mars not be skeptical when sent to this sort of world?
[break][break]
His body reacts to his new environment before his mind has time to adjust – as if primal instincts kicked into gear by the right stimuli. All around them, there is chaos: shooting, screaming, running, wailing, and so much more than that. Sounds that remind Mars of those he could hear through the Dream Mist back at Mossdeep. Sounds that speak of war, violence, and peril. A man names Mars sent to a dark battlefield. It’s like a terrible joke. The more time he spends being involved in their bullshit, the more Mars realises he can’t stand these people’s sick sense of humour.
[break][break]
The scent of blood hangs heavy in the air as he reaches for luka chêne’s hand to keep her close, and it’s only when they hide that he notices the cold. It’s so terribly cold. As if this struggling dimension they had been sent to were consumed by an endless night where shadows have overtaken and caused everyone to forget the feeling of sunlight. Luka tells him to look at the moon, and he, a man who is not used to always looking at what’s above him, understands the very moment he does so.
[break][break][break]

P E R I G E E

[break][break]
In their world, at the closest point in its orbit, the moon is still over three hundred and fifty thousand kilometres away from the earth. Mars knows this because every word in the Unown Report is as if perfectly engraved into his mind, and in researching them, oftentimes certain things just stuck.
[break][break]
This moon, however, is much closer. Too close for comfort, even. So close that he would gladly bet it's the reason why this place seems so fucked up, strange, and wrong. Is it even orbiting anymore? Is it in collision course? Did Father Winter have the audacity to send them to some sort of apocalyptic scenario, to a world that won't last long? ”He tricked us, Luka.” Mars whispers in case the realisation hasn’t yet hit his ever-trusting and kind friend. ”We need to get out of here.”
[break][break]
But, how?
[break][break]
Just as it happened within the Tree of Life, the immediate answer given by his mind is Unown. Could he get them to create a portal like the one that had gotten everyone safely back to Sootopolis? Would it be a good idea to release his own Unown in this dimension? Eyes of amber and gold fall upon the silver-haired assassins that gather by the shrine once the fighting stops, and more importantly, upon the Unown that accompany them just like Father Winter’s own – Unown Mars knows are likely capable of creating portals with much more ease than the ones in his possession.
[break][break]
”Luka.” He calls to her attention, but something seems to have startled Luka, and when he turns in the direction she’s facing, he sees the fallen body of someone he does not recognize: a young girl, pale, unmoving, and no longer alive. Does Luka know her? Mars sure doesn’t, but it’s the sight of something else that causes even someone as brave and confident as him to freeze right where he stands…
[break][break]

[break]
Nearby, an Unown-! hovers idly over the lifeless body of a young man. He’s probably not much older than the girl, barely more than a teenager, and even though they look different in many ways, in many others it's like looking at his younger self. The same features, but messy hair that even beneath the moonlight is soft and golden-brown. The same marks upon their olive skin, but eyes of a light aquamarine that are no longer filled with light.
[break][break]
When the Unown sees them – when it sees him – it approaches, and it’s at that very moment that the enemy notices them.
[break][break]
”Two more!”
[break][break]

”Kill them!”

[break]

”Don’t let them get to Cresselia!”

[break]
Cresselia. The Lunar Pokémon.
[break][break]
Of course.
[break][break]
”Shit. Luka! Run to the shrine!”
[break][break]
The fighting resumes there and then, and it’s the Unown-!’s HIDDEN POWER, at those moments filled with the eerie energy of a spectre, that saves when one of the enemy’s Unown-? aims for them. But, it’s only one, and they soon are surrounded…

[break][break]

[attr="class","txtwnotes"]

Prompts

[break]
♡ Death Stranding [break]
♡ Unown Connoisseur [break]
♡ Alphabet Orienting [break]
Unown Report words: 7

[attr="class","txtwpokes"][break]

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[newclass=.txtw b] color: #4E4C7D; font-size: 11.5px; font-family: trebuchet ms; letter-spacing: .5px; [/newclass]
[newclass=.txtw a] text-decoration: none; font-size: 11px; font-weight: lighter; [/newclass]
[newclass=.txtw h1, h2, h3] display: inline-block; [/newclass]
[newclass=.txtw h1] font: 12px Montserrat; font-weight: 800!important; font-style: italic; text-transform: uppercase; color: #4E4C7D; text-shadow: 2px 2px 0px #1e1e1e; padding-bottom: 5px; [/newclass]
[newclass=.txtw u] text-decoration: none;border-bottom: solid 1px #4E4C7D; [/newclass]
[newclass=.txtwtag] text-align: right; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 20px; font: 10px monospace; [/newclass]
[newclass=.txtwtag a] font: 10px Montserrat; font-weight: 800!important; font-style: italic; color: #4E4C7D!important;[/newclass]
[newclass=.txtwnotes] text-align: justify; padding: 20px 20px 10px 20px; font: 10px monospace; border-top: solid 1.5px #323232; [/newclass]
[newclass=.txtwnotes h1] font: 14px Montserrat; font-weight: 800!important; font-style: italic; text-transform: uppercase; color: #4E4C7D; text-shadow: 2px 2px 0px #1e1e1e; padding-bottom: 5px; text-align:center;[/newclass]
[newclass=.txtwnotes a] font: 11px Montserrat; font-weight: 800!important; font-style: italic; text-transform: lowercase; color: #4E4C7D!important; [/newclass]
[newclass=.txtww] padding: 30px; background: #272727; [/newclass]
[newclass=.txtw span] display: inline-block; [/newclass]
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[newclass=.txtwpokes img] margin-top: -10px; padding-bottom: 5px; [/newclass]

close tab

played by

fish

sleeping beauty

she/her

July 15

lumiose city, kalos

bisexual

public relations

rising star

446 height

she looks like, if you bit her, honey and milk would flow from her

awards

2,003 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @luka

POSTED ON Apr 10, 2022 10:21:26 GMT

shiv likes this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","honey"]

[attr="class","top"]

[attr="class","main"]

Mar's voice reaches her slowly; muffled, as though he's speaking underwater. There's a ringing in her ears as she continues to stare down at the dead girl, her lips still moving- is she speaking? There seems to be a disconnect between her brain and her mouth, each acting independently of the other.[break][break]

"That's me, isn't it?"[break][break]

There's no proof- such a thing should be fundamentally impossible. And yet Luka knows this to be true. Their eyes are the same. Poets call them windows to the soul, but as Luka stares into them she can only see herself reflected back.[break][break]

Despite her horror, something compels her to move. Nerves and sinew strain, her fingertips tremble. Luka bends and plucks the broken crystal from a still-warm hand and finds that it's surprisingly fragile, like a bird's egg. It's unknown and strange, but familiar somehow. Important. She slips the fragments into her pocket just as the Unown approaches and their cover is blown.[break][break]

The shouting registers slowly, but one word stands out above the rest.[break][break]

Cresselia.[break][break]

She wears under her blouse a replica of a Lunar Wing, a trinket given by her father when she was only a child. It's her pursuit of the real thing that had lead her to Father Winter— had her request brought them here as well? Is it her fault they've come upon this sad, doomed world?[break][break]

Guilt meets fear in equal measure and drives in marrow deep. In that moment Luka resolves to at least get Mars out of this, no matter what it might cost her. She couldn't bear to see him hurt. Her friend has so much to return to, and she can't be the reason he leaves it all behind.[break][break]

"Come on!"[break][break]

Luka kicks off her heels as they make a dash for the shrine, but their enemies are faster and in greater numbers. Silver hair and floating eyes surround them, a second Unown-? and more of it's fellows heeding the call of those who wield them.[break][break]

Frantic fingers fumble for a Love ball, and the shower of hearts that erupt when Luka's Musharna is released feels rather inappropriate under the circumstances. The Lopunny that follows suit is just the same. Luka has no plan, not really— she only knows that she wants to save her friends with as little violence as possible. Altruism is a fool's wish, but it's the only thing she knows.[break][break]

"Plum! L-like we practiced!"[break][break]

Pink mist swirls at her feet and surges quickly forwards, catching several assassins and their Unown in it's wake. The eyes blink, then flutter closed, the bodies of man and Pokemon alike collapsing to the ground as dream mist sweeps over them.[break][break]

Delirious Daydream:[break] Musharna's dream mist expands in front of them in a wide radius. Those caught in the mist are put to sleep briefly and their dreams eaten, restoring the health of itself and those behind Musharna.

[break][break]

The opening created by Plum's z-move is wide, but not for long. While Bonbon fends off attackers that try to close the gap, Luka forces herself and Mars through. Their enemies are right on their heels, and their Unown are faster, firing off attacks that nearly hit the fleeing pair. But as the sounds of fighting resumes, Luka realizes they're not alone. The forces still resisting these dimension hopping creeps are drawn back into the fight, drawing some of the fire away from them.[break][break]

The shapes of their...allies? Comrades? Of the others are strange at a glance. They're people, certainly, but there's something off. Certain bodies are contorted, animalistic. There seems to be no Pokemon at their sides, but an unmistakable ice beam manages to freeze one assassin in place.[break][break]

There's no time to puzzle over it. They need to focus solely on escape, on Cresselia— whatever that entails. The pair pushes forwards, doing their best to fend off their oncoming foes, when Plum suddenly cries out.[break][break]

Another Musharna has emerged from the trees. It lingers above the crumpled form of the dead girl, head lowered as though in reverence. The mist that pours from it's head is the color of a fresh bruise: an angry, festering purple that grows darker with every passing moment.[break][break] Though Luka affords this newcomer nothing more than a glance, their pursuers seem, for a moment, rattled by it's appearance.[break][break]

"I thought you destroyed it—"[break][break]

"Dispatch it, quickly!"

[break][break]

"What is it— guh!"

[break][break]

Luka knows better than to turn around, but compulsion seizes her regardless. She gapes at the scene: dream mist surrounds one of the assassins, though the slow moving Musharna remains at a distance. The mist is dark, nearly black, with wispy tendrils curling almost languidly around its prey. As the assassin struggles to escape the mist pours into his mouth and eyes, muffling a desperate scream while a nightmare engulfs him completely.[break][break]

For a split second, intrinsic altruism urges Luka to go back and help. But her feet carry her forwards, away from the carnage and to the first steps of the shrine.[break][break]

- Death Stranding ✓[break]
- Alphabet Orienting ✓[break]
Martín del Mar

[attr="class","bottom"]

[attr="class","name"]luka chêne

[attr="class","subtxt"]I don't know anything with certainty,[break]
But the sight of the stars makes me dream

[attr="class","pkmn"]

[attr="class","credit"]
milky

close tab

played by

Azul

Mars | Tuesday

He/Him

August 4th

Canalave City, Sinnoh

Bi / Demiro

POG Bank CEO

Underboss

1008 height

Veni. Videre. Vincam.

awards

4,525 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @mars

POSTED ON Apr 19, 2022 19:11:04 GMT

shiv likes this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","txtw"]

[attr="class","txtww"]

[break][break]

2. I PROMISED TO MAKE THEM PAY, I INTEND TO KEEP THAT PROMISE.

[break][break]
Damned be “Father Winter”. Damned be the Unown Report. Damned be those who attempt to bring them harm. Damned be this alternate dimension.
[break][break]
That much this world is, of course; cursed to meet its doomed fate. He can feel it as much as he can see it, and it takes no genius to figure out that those attacking them are to blame. Those who trapped the Lunar Pokémon. Those who apparently killed a version of him in this universe.
[break][break]
In the eyes of the Sinnohian, that may just be their greatest offence, for Mars doesn’t care for the fate of a dimension he does not belong to, but he does care for the fact that these people had dared harm a version of him and then attempted to do the same once again. He cares for the fact that “Father Winter” had the audacity to mock them, trick them, and then send them to their deaths. And, he also cares for the fact that these people seem to think themselves worthy of deciding when he’ll meet his end.
[break][break]
It won’t be here and it won’t be now, and yet, as they run towards the altar thanks to the opening provided by Luka’s Musharna, something stirs within Mars. The anger he usually keeps in check; the rage that had been as if kindled by their encounter with “Father Winter” and is now being fueled by these events. Perhaps that’s why he stops in his tracks, and making sure to stay out of range of the dreaded Dream Mist, he turns back, his voice rising in the cold of the night:
[break][break]
”We’ll need Cresselia if we want to get out of here alive!”
[break][break]
They’ll need Cresselia to save this world from its doom, actually, but what Mars cares about is his survival above all else – he needs to make it back to that dimension where he left so much unfinished.
[break][break]
The Unown-! stays by his side. However, this time Mars reaches for one of the minimized Luxury Balls at his belt, from it releasing a Blastoise that appears with a warlike roar and bright scarlet light. A keystone shines under the moonlight, and being perfectly attuned with it, so does the mega stone at the Water-types’s wrist.

[break][break][break]

[break][break]

”Calliope!” Blastoise MEGA EVOLVES, growing in size. Dozens of cannons peek out of her dark shell, and they’re pointed towards the animalistic enemies that bring reminders of sacrificed blood and blessings granted by the Tree of Life. Is this universe like the one Team Rocket had visited back then? It doesn't seem that way. If it weren’t for the presence of the assassins, this one would be like a nightmarish fantasy. An illusion, maybe.
[break][break]
There’s a blast, and then another, and another; G-MAX CANNONADE raining down upon their attackers. He reaches for a second Luxury Ball to support the Blastoise’s attack, and it’s then that one of their assailants suddenly appears out of thin air…
[break][break]
All Mars sees is a flash of silver hair before dodging as if by instinct alone, his hand closing into a fist after letting go of a sphere that falls soundlessly to the ground – mud staining black metal and gold. He throws a punch, feeling cartilage break due to the force, but as is the way of merciless battlegrounds, there isn’t even a second to catch his breath and figure out what’s really going on.
[break][break]
An attack is aimed his way, and he lunges towards the enemy. They come crashing down to the ground, rolling in the mud. Something sharp cuts, and sudden pain almost causes him to let go and fall back. He doesn’t, though. He doesn’t even reach for the gun he had most certainly brought with him just in case of anything, instead firmly wrapping fingers marked by mud and dirt around the other’s neck. There’s a sense of familiarity – of déjà vu – in this struggle that happens beneath the rains called forth by his Blastoise, and although it feels like it lasts for a small eternity, eventually, the assassin moves no more…
[break][break]
It’s then that the lifeless body lets go of what it had been holding: a strange crystal now stained with Mars’ own blood.
[break][break]
When he reaches for it, he disappears, finding himself standing by the altar in the blink of an eye. He had thought of coming to the shrine and now here he is: his gaze meeting that of luka chêne while firmly holding onto the crystal. They don’t have much time, explanations need to be made and fast.
[break][break]
”Luka, you were right. The moon! We need to reverse this or we won’t be able to get out of here.”
[break][break][break]

R E V E R S E

[break][break]
If only they could turn back time for this world: turn the moon back to its original state and save all those that had fallen in battle. Mars had thought he didn’t care, but it would surely be a much more pleasant place than what it is now. If Dialga were here, it could make it so he and Luka were never tricked by this “Father Winter”. They may be able to fix the moon, but they can’t change the flow of time. All they can do is make sure they won’t be counted among those who died.

[break][break]

[attr="class","txtwnotes"]

Prompts

[break]
♡ Death Stranding [break]
♡ Lifelong Learners [break]
♡ Alphabet Orienting [break]
Unown Report words: 10

[attr="class","txtwpokes"][break]

close tab

played by

fish

sleeping beauty

she/her

July 15

lumiose city, kalos

bisexual

public relations

rising star

446 height

she looks like, if you bit her, honey and milk would flow from her

awards

2,003 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @luka

POSTED ON Apr 22, 2022 10:47:51 GMT

shiv and Remiel Calcifet like this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","honey"]

[attr="class","top"]

[attr="class","main"]

“Got it. I’ll find her, Mars! Just buy me some time!”[break][break]

And he does, in spectacular fashion. Luka can barely hear herself think over the roar of Mars’ Blastoise and the battle cries of enemies and allies alike, a cacophony of violence that she’s eager to leave far behind.[break][break]

She resists the urge to turn back and focuses on her feet, on bare stone, on forcing herself up one step at a time. The moon casts her in a harsh glow as she runs, and she can’t shake the uneasy feeling that it’s watching her.

Baby hairs at the back of her neck prickle, but she keeps pace as she hurries towards the shine. A vermillion Torii gate looms overhead, inlaid with white stones that glitter under the unsettling moonlight. There are more patterns carved into boulders than line her path; crescent moons and delicate stars that reaffirm the connection to a celestial being.[break][break]

They’ll need Cresselia to save this world from its doom, and what Luka cares about is saving others above all else.[break][break]

There are people she’d miss if she were to fail here- Remiel Calcifet most of all. Some of them might even mourn her back. But her unfinished business, her own life is not more important than the countless lives they might be able to save here. For once, her insignificant existence might actually mean something. It fills her with a bubbling resolve, the urge to keep fighting. For others, for everyone. For the other her who had died for the cause. For Mars...and at the end of it, herself.[break][break]

She reaches the shrine and walks through the gate, bare feet padding across loose stones. It’s quiet up here- almost eerily so. And she’s not alone.[break][break]

An Unown-U blinks at her from the doorway of a haiden, and Luka shrinks back instinctively. But no assassins emerge from the shadows to claim their easy target. Instead the Unown chimes emphatically and floats deeper into the shrine, as if beckoning her forwards.[break][break]

Luka clutches Bonbon’s hand as she follows, with Plum floating alongside. She takes a deep breath, and steps over the threshold. [break][break]

Inside the haiden is a gleaming statue of Cresslia, carved from moonstone. It, and a small saisen in front of it, are the only things left untouched in the room. Shimenawa lay unfurled upon the ground, and Luka scatters torn paper charms with every step.[break][break]

She stares up at the statue, transfixed. Even here, protected from the moonlight, it seems to emit an ethereal glow. It’s beautiful- but it’s not the real thing. Luka’s gaze lights upon the saisen instead, which glimmers with the light reflected from Cresselia’s statue. It’s held closed with a large, ornate lock.[break][break]

It takes her Lopunny a few solid hits, but the lock finally breaks. Inside rests a crystal, not unlike the one that she had plucked from her dead counterpart’s hand. When she picks it up, the statue seems to glow brighter.[break][break]

Right. There’s no time to marvel over that. Luka hurries to the entrance of the haiden, trying to find answers in the rest of the shrine. Instead, she nearly barrels into Mars when he suddenly appears in front of her. She reels back instinctively but manages to catch herself, eyes wide and limbs stiff, like a scared rabbit.[break][break]

“How did you- never mind. Cresselia isn’t here,” she tells him, staring at the bloodstained stone in his hand. Hers blushes a soft rose gold; his is oppressively dark, like falling into the vast expanse of space. Luka tears her gaze away.[break][break]

“But you’re right, I think. The moon…okay. Okay! Mars, we can do it! I-if we can fix this, maybe we can save the world!”[break][break]

The cynic is met with starry-eyed optimism, a resolute goodness that shines even through perdition. He’s given her a scrap of hope, and she clings to it like a lifeline. [break][break]

There is hope, therefore I live.[break][break]

“I’m not sure why…but I feel like…these are the answer, somehow. It feels like…like I’m remembering something from a dream. It’s right there, but I can’t seem to grasp it…” Lips purse as she stares down at the crystals they both cling to.[break][break]

“Can you feel it? It’s like a little heartbeat.” She cradles the crystal reverently, feeling the power surging so close, right within her hands. It feels hot and sparking and somehow familiar, chittering excitedly in her palms.[break][break]

She trembles with anticipation. It feels like she’s done this before, that it’s more a matter of remembering than discovering. The stone she holds sparks at the thought, as if in agreement. Luka bundles that feeling up, compresses it, and allows instinct to guide her hands and press the crystal against her heart.[break][break]

The shrine is suddenly overwhelmed with light, a flash that only lasts moments, but feels like an eternity.[break][break]

And Luka, at the very center, is changing. [break][break]

[break][break]

If only she could see herself now, a reflection of the shoujo heroines she’d adored as a child. Wreathed in light and sparkling baubles- it's ostentatious, sure, but it's so her. The only thing missing is her own theme music.[break][break]

[break][break]

She should be afraid, but she isn’t. It hurts, but the pain feels disconnected from her, somehow. Like a phantom limb. Every nerve is alight and overwhelmed, but it's familiar. This is it, this is her true state rediscovered, and she's finally back–[break][break]

As the memories wash over her she remembers she was powerful.[break][break]

Powerful, yes, and still mystically delicate. Soft chiffon settles over her like angel wings, and gold glitters in her hair. There's an otherwordly quality to her as she floats back down to earth; a celestial marvel.[break][break]

(Yes, she does a pose. Because why not?)[break][break]

[break][break]

Slowly, Luka lifts her hand. She can feel power curling into her fingertips and she knows then that her softness has never been a weakness. Persephone did not always sit on a throne.[break][break]

The simple flick of her wrist is enough to send a wave of psychic energy down the steps of the shrine and towards the remaining assassins. A crushing force seizes them, holds them prone. Luka laughs breathlessly and begins a slow descent, her feet barely touching the ground.[break][break]

"See! We can do this Mars! The moon...the moon...there's got to be some way to put it back with this, right?"[break][break]

But no more easy answers come to her. Luka stares instead at her friend, counting on the smarter of the two to figure out what to do.[break][break]

In the meantime, the threat of Burst assassins has not completely faded...[break][break]

- Death Stranding ✓[break]
- Alphabet Orienting ✓[break]
- Unown Connoisseur ✓ [break]

- Outfit doodle[break][break]

[attr="class","bottom"]

[attr="class","name"]luka chêne

[attr="class","subtxt"]I don't know anything with certainty,[break]
But the sight of the stars makes me dream

[attr="class","pkmn"]

[attr="class","credit"]
milky

close tab

played by

Azul

Mars | Tuesday

He/Him

August 4th

Canalave City, Sinnoh

Bi / Demiro

POG Bank CEO

Underboss

1008 height

Veni. Videre. Vincam.

awards

4,525 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @mars

POSTED ON Apr 25, 2022 17:22:33 GMT

shiv, Xander Belmont, and 2 more like this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","txtw"]

[attr="class","txtww"]

[break][break]

3. TO REALISE ONE'S DESTINY IS A PERSON’S ONLY OBLIGATION.

[break][break]
He’s bleeding, he knows as much. The initial pain had been dulled out by the adrenaline, the struggle, and by his need to come out victorious and survive, but it’s there now. It burns, it aches, and when he reaches up to hold the spot in his upper arm that is the root of all the pain, his fingers come back coated in red. Summoning a pokémon with healing abilities crosses his mind, of course, but Luka’s words pull him away from those thoughts, and so does the way she transforms.
[break][break]

“Can you feel it? It’s like a little heartbeat.”

[break]
Yes, he can feel it too. It’s miniscule, distant, but it’s there: making the crystal seem like a living thing. Or, is it perhaps that it is living? When Mars looks down at the endless darkness of it, at the sparkling constellations within it, the Unown-! by his side moves closer as well, looking at the crystal with that ever so disinterested look it shares with all Unown-?
[break][break]
Could it be?
[break][break]
Luka’s transformation, the way she can use psychic energy, the animalistic features some of the corpses display… It’s all still too reminiscent of what happened within the Tree of Life, of when he himself had taken the features and abilities of a Milotic for himself. How ecstatic he had been back then, how joyful, how amazed. Until, of course, the tree had made them pay for its gifts, and it had all taken a dark turn…
[break][break]
Perhaps that’s why he doesn’t share luka chêne’s fascination when she transforms. He looks at her, and in his gold-toned gaze there is concern, yet it’s still something he does not speak of. After all, if she can use these powers now, then…
[break][break]
”Try.” He tells her, calm and steady despite the sound of approaching footsteps. ”That’s all we can do right now. Even if it seems crazy, even if it seems impossible… We have to try. I’ll be damned if I resign myself to die now.”
[break][break]
Not now. Not here. He has so much to go back to. So many unfinished plans. The thought of Azelf comes to mind; of the way it demanded that he should defy his fate. Is this what the Being of Willpower had actually meant?
[break][break]

THE FUTURE IS LOST.[break]
YOUR CHOICE DOESN’T MATTER.[break]
THERE IS NO CORRECT ONE.[break]

[break]
All too recently had Azelf said these things as well, but just as Mars recalls them along with all those painful events, he recalls the way BARNABY FINCH had held him when he had been at his darkest, whispering sweet words that brought him comfort:
[break][break]

"...You're not alone anymore. Not if you don't want to be."
[break][break]
“I'm here for you now, mon trésor."

[break]
In the end, it’s this memory that pushes Mars to turn away from Luka and walk towards the shrine’s exit, one final statement being made before he disappears, firmly holding onto the bloodied crystal. ”This is not our world, Luka. We need to do everything in our power to get back home.”
[break][break]
Home. The word lingers as he reappears by the torii gate, staring at the assassins that intend to climb the steps. ”CALLIOPE!” Mars calls, and even at a distance, his Blastoise responds. The sound of her roaring fills the air, and then, within seconds, the world is frozen cold.
[break][break]
He teleports closer to the shrine and out of harm’s way just as the SUBZERO SLAMMER begins to spread, freezing their enemies in the might of its frost. Mars watches, his expression revealing nothing at all, and although for some reason he finds himself to be incapable of letting the crystal go, it’s because of the memory of the horrifying replica made of his own corrupted blood that he chooses not to tap into its power and transform.
[break][break]
This blood shall bind him no more.
[break][break][break]

W I S H

[break][break]
Right here, right now, that is the wish that fills his heart: to be able to fulfil the promise he made when his wife and child died. To bring justice upon all those who brought them harm, to destroy these heavy chains they have bound him with since he was a boy, to finally be free of these binds of blood… To do all that, he needs to go back, and he will do so no matter what.

[break][break]

[attr="class","txtwnotes"]

Prompts

[break]
♡ Death Stranding [break]
♡ Lifelong Learners [break]
♡ Alphabet Orienting

[attr="class","txtwpokes"][break]

close tab

played by

fish

sleeping beauty

she/her

July 15

lumiose city, kalos

bisexual

public relations

rising star

446 height

she looks like, if you bit her, honey and milk would flow from her

awards

2,003 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @luka

POSTED ON Apr 26, 2022 7:52:53 GMT

shiv and Remiel Calcifet like this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","honey"]

[attr="class","top"]

[attr="class","main"]

“You won’t.” [break][break]

Luka turns back to Mars with a smile, a softening kindness in the face of adversity. “You’re a fighter, Mars. And I’ve always admired that about you. A-and now…I can fight back too. So...I’ll protect you! I won’t let anything happen to you.”[break][break]

There lies an implicit promise to her words: ‘Even if this destroys me, I will see it through.’[break][break]

For a moment she cradles Mars’ face in her palms, and through them he can feel the heartbeat of the universe. Galaxies swirl behind her eyes; a celestial wonder. And then she pulls away, leaving behind a phosphene of radiant warmth.[break][break]

“I promise.”[break][break]

[break][break]

Mars leaves and she doesn’t stop him, though her heart lurches at his last message.[break][break] Home. [break][break]When had she truly begun to think of Hoenn as her home? Perhaps it’s not the region, but the people she’s found there. Dear friends and colleagues, lingering romances that have left their mark on her patchwork heart.[break][break]

Maybe home is just waking up next to Remiel Calcifet. Maybe that’s enough.[break][break]

As Luka prepares to join the fray again, it’s with a renewed sense of purpose. A vim and vigor, a goal. She wants to wake up in that same bed forever. And if Mars feels the same kind of attachment that she does, she wants that for him as well.[break][break]

[break][break]

Calliope’s frigid attack takes out several of their enemies, but not all. The remaining assassins are shouting something that she can’t quite make out, but it’s clear as a beam of light shoots past her head that their remaining forces are targeted at her.[break][break]

Luka breathes in and allows her new abilities to take root, feeling that familiar, sparking power travel through honeyed veins and turn them to steel. [break][break]

It comes to her instinctively. Her eyes glow purple as she raises her hands, unleashing just a fraction of that limitless, untapped potential. She feels giddy and lightheaded as she flies into battle, finally able to fight back. Psychic energy manifests in powerful waves that keep their opponents at bay and strike already weakened bodies down. [break][break]

But she's not a born fighter, and sheer might can only get one so far. Luka doesn't notice as one of the assassins manifests behind her, their figure obfuscated by a dark cloak and zipper teeth stained with rust.[break][break]

A shadow claw digs into her side and she bites back a scream, pain blooming under her ribs. His second strike hits as well, but the third is interrupted as she reaches out, testing the limits of her abilities as a powerful burst of energy leaves him prone.[break][break]

She doesn’t even need to put her hands on him. Luka raises her arm and he convulses on the ground, body wracked with spasms as her psyshock burns through him. Th...is how it works, isn’t it? This is what it means to fight back, to have agency, to refuse to be powerless-[break][break]

Except it’s not.[break][break]

There has to be another way. Violence always begets more violence: a senseless, bloody cycle. And Luka refuses to be part of it.[break][break]

Her mind turns back to the broken crystal she had plucked from her dead double’s hand and the Musharna that had avenged her. And suddenly, she understands. [break][break]

Her eyes flit to the crystal embedded in the assassin’s hand as he tries to stumble back to his feet. In her hands materializes a moon-shaped scythe, and her psycho cut hits the enemy’s burst heart with a loud crack. It shatters almost instantly, and it’s wielder crumbles to the ground like a marionette who’s strings have been cut. The animalistic features fade as a Banette materializes from the broken crystal, and promptly falls along with their master.[break][break]

His hand is broken and bloodied, and his breathing is weak, but he’s alive.[break][break]

Luka twirls her scythe in one hand and stares down at his broken form before darting off again. Ignoring the pain in her side, she slices and slashes and manages to break the burst hearts of three more assassins- an Absol, Venomoth, and Ursaring, from the looks of it. She even takes it upon herself to break the crystals belonging to their frozen enemies, lest they be used for violence in the future.[break][break]

There comes a lull in the fighting as the dwindling enemy forces draw back and regroup, perhaps accepting their defeat at the hands of two interlopers who should not be here.[break][break]

This is her chance, then! A chance to set the moon right, a chance for them to get home. Luka focuses hard, drawing from the well of power deep within herself, past the cage of her ribs and into a crystalline heart.[break][break]

She tries her best to tap into it, to reach Cresselia and learn what to do. The answer reaches her faintly, as if from lightyears away, but it's enough. Luka takes a deep breath and raises her arms to the sky, reaching out towards the moon and begging it to return to it's home amongst the stars.[break][break]

But the moon does not budge, and it’s disconcerting glow seems to mock her. Though she's borrowed Cresselia's powers, she can't measure up to the might of a goddess. She can't do this on her own.[break][break]

[break][break]

“We need Cresselia...”[break][break]

Luka's heart lurches as she realizes what that means. There’s only one way to free the Lunar Pokemon- but what will that do to her?[break][break]

She can’t afford to think about it.[break][break]

“Mars!” [break][break]

Luka flies towards her friend at a breakneck speed, nearly barreling him over when she reaches his side. She grabs him by the shoulders, squeezing just this side of too hard.[break][break]

“The moon, I- we need Cresselia. She’s here, she’s in here!” And there’s only one way to get her out. [break][break]

“I don’t know how to stop it. And I don’t know how to stop this. So I need you to strike me. Or- y-your Pokemon, probably.” Her fingers graze the burst heart lodged into her sternum, so close to her heart, and her eyes gleam with an unwavering conviction. “If you break it, we can free Cresselia, and she’ll set everything right! And you can go home.”[break][break]

A faint sadness is carved into the corners of her mouth as she smiles. “Don’t worry about me, okay? Just do it, please.”[break][break]

- Death Stranding ✓[break]
- Alphabet Orienting ✓[break]
- Unown Connoisseur ✓ [break]

- Outfit doodle[break][break]

[attr="class","bottom"]

[attr="class","name"]luka chêne

[attr="class","subtxt"]I don't know anything with certainty,[break]
But the sight of the stars makes me dream

[attr="class","pkmn"]

[attr="class","credit"]
milky

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played by

Azul

Mars | Tuesday

He/Him

August 4th

Canalave City, Sinnoh

Bi / Demiro

POG Bank CEO

Underboss

1008 height

Veni. Videre. Vincam.

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4,525 posts

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TAG WITH @mars

POSTED ON Apr 28, 2022 1:49:03 GMT

shiv likes this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","txtw"]

[attr="class","txtww"]

[break][break]

4. NEVER HAVE I DEALT WITH ANYTHING MORE DIFFICULT THAN MY OWN SOUL.

[break][break]

Protect him. It was like a bad joke, and Mars could have laughed. Not particularly because he didn’t believe in luka chêne’s capabilities, not now that she had these newfound abilities, but because the last time someone had claimed they would protect him, that had been his father back when Mars was a child. That promise had ended with him watching a bullet take his father’s life, so inevitably, there’s the question: will this senseless promise also be the doom of Luka?
[break][break]
Perhaps that’s also part of why he leaves the shrine, because Martín del Mar is not the sort of person who expects others to grant him any sort of protection. He fights his own battles, he wages his own wars, but no conflict is without purpose. What does he fight for now? Is it for this world or to get back to his own?
[break][break]
Even here, standing by the doorway at the end of the path, all around him there’s signs of strife – bodies encased in the frost that had been created by his Blastoise. Some are fallen enemies, likely to die while trapped in the ice, and others… Others are corpses left behind from a battle that ended before he and Luka even entered this dimension.
[break][break][break]

D E A T H

[break][break]
Corpses like that of the girl that Luka was so certain was a version of her. Corpses like the one of the young man the Unown-! that now accompanies him had been floating next to, and that reminded Mars of himself. Corpses like that of the woman that had fallen so very close to the shrine: clad in a strange black dress with a collar of red spikes, her hair of a feathering white. For some reason, the sight of her reminds Mars of Lulu Flint’s Darkrai. No, he knows why. After all, they had spoken of Cresselia, it makes sense that she’d also be here. But, if even she had failed to aid Cresselia and save this world, what chance do they have of succeeding where she had not?
[break][break]
It’s as this question crosses his mind that Luka calls his name, almost crashing against him. Mars turns away from the fallen body of Darkrai’s champion, looking at his friend instead, and compared to all the gloom, horror, and frost around him, the sight of luka chêne clad in sparkling rose colours is nothing short of uplifting and perhaps even inspiring.
[break][break]
That is until she says what she has to say.
[break][break]
”What? Cresselia is in there?” The crystal on her sternum, just like the bloodied crystal he holds in his hand. The fact that looking at it also means looking directly at Luka’s chest in a way that’s far from the most subtle or polite matters little to Mars when caught in a situation like this. It doesn’t even cross his mind. He studies it for a moment, considering, and gently, as if it were to break upon mere contact, two fingers touch the burst heart. ”How do you know that? What do you mean ’don’t worry about you’?”
[break][break]
Too many questions, not enough time. As per usual.
[break][break]
Clicking his tongue, he turns away, and with a precise throw, the crystal he has been holding onto is hurled towards the nearest stone. It breaks, smashed to pieces, the sound loud and clear, and from a vortex of darkness created the moment it shatters, emerges a tired-looking Unown-? that quickly flees the scene.
[break][break]
Are these things like the pokéballs of this world, then? Pokéballs that grant people the abilities of the pokémon with them? If that’s the case then maybe Luka is right and they do have a way to buy themselves enough time to get out of here…
[break][break]
”Okay.” The word is spoken before turning to her, but when his eyes meet hers, there’s no hesitation in his gaze. There’s also no malice. There’s calm, conviction, and confidence. ”...But, fatalism doesn’t suit you, Luka.”
[break][break]
An eyebrow is raised and it’s then that the pokémon that had been captive in the Luxury Ball Mars had dropped earlier approaches them. Nothing more than a seemingly harmless little Inkay. It bobs happily through the air, as if unaware of its surroundings, and a couple of its small golden tentacles drip scarlet. His name is Acratus. Ease. For it is with ease that he slashes.
[break][break]

[break]
”Acratus, I need you to break that crystal Luka has there.”
[break][break]
The Inkay twirls happily at the command, as if pleased, and with precision and might that may result surprising, a NIGHT SLASH is aimed for the burst heart.

[break][break]

[attr="class","txtwnotes"]

Prompts

[break]
♡ Death Stranding [break]
♡ Lifelong Learners [break]
♡ Alphabet Orienting

[attr="class","txtwpokes"][break]

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SHIV

GONGAGER

he/him

October 13

GONGAGA

gongaga-romantic

gongager

gongago

me?

gongaga

808 height

WHERE ARE UNOVA REMAKES

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shiv

POSTED ON Apr 29, 2022 0:35:51 GMT

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NOTICE

Due to Fish's travels, an extension has been given. Please complete the thread by the end of May 4th.

Martín del Mar luka chêne

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played by

fish

sleeping beauty

she/her

July 15

lumiose city, kalos

bisexual

public relations

rising star

446 height

she looks like, if you bit her, honey and milk would flow from her

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2,003 posts

DOLLARS

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TAG WITH @luka

POSTED ON May 3, 2022 7:38:49 GMT

shiv likes this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","honey"]

[attr="class","top"]

[attr="class","main"]
“I just know. Trust me, okay? Please?”[break][break]

Two fingers grace the second heart embedded in her skin, and Luka can feel the pressure against hard crystal like a second skin. The intimacy of the gesture doesn’t phase her— she trusts her friend wholeheartedly. She has to.[break][break]

But leave it to Mars to not simply take her at her word. She doesn’t take it personally; it’s in his nature. Research, hypothesis, experimentation, analysis— perhaps he’d be better suited as a scientist than a banker.[break][break]

“Thank you.” She smiles at him again and banishes any worry that might cloud the expression. “It’ll be fine, I’m sure! I’m not being— t-that is, I just don’t want you to worry...”[break][break]

A soft laugh chimes in her throat. “Well, you know what I mean. I just want you to get home safely, so...I hope this works.”[break][break]

In truth, she doesn’t know what will happen to her. Maybe it’ll be nothing. Or maybe not. What matters is the conviction in her heart, the determination to do right no matter what the cost might be for herself.[break][break]

Perhaps deep down, she’s always been in love with the idea of being a martyr. [break][break]

A harmless looking Inkay is Mars’ weapon of choice— vaguely, she remembers him as one she’d traded to her friend long ago. How fitting. Luka smiles again as her eyes flutter closed, accepting an unknown fate as the Night Slash slices into her.[break][break]

There’s a sound like shattering glass, and then silence. The pain is sudden and white-hot, but lasts for only a moment as the world begins to blur at the edges. A dark red stain colors the front of her blouse.[break][break]

The magic that had surrounded her is gone. Luka’s figure crumples to the ground as Cresselia bursts from the shattered stone, a celestial figure bathed in golden aureoles. The Lunar Pokemon hovers for a moment over her broken former vessel, glittering stardust swirling like dust motes in the still air. [break][break]

Her expression is unreadable as she turns her head and stares at Mars. A beat of silence passes as her fuschia gaze bores straight through him. But after a moment she nods, and it almost seems gracious. And when she glances down at Luka, it appears mournful.[break][break]

But there are no words spoken or sentiments exchanged. With a low, chiming cry Cresselia ascends into the sky, leaving the scarred battleground far behind her. [break][break]

When she rises, she brings the moon with her. Luka’s own attempts at a Lunar Dance pale in comparison to the glittering majesty of Cresselia’s might. Small, twinkling stars burst from her as she arranges the cosmos at her whim, and slowly the moon begins to recede back into its rightful place amongst the heavens. [break][break]

[break][break]

The winds pick up and the seas churn around them as the moon is forced back, a moment of chaos followed by a sudden and almost eerie calm. Silence falls just as the moon reaches its apex and begins to glow, bathing the entire island in brilliant moonlight. The crescent pond reflects that same light upwards, gleaming like a second moon.[break][break]

And below it, draped in a moonbeam on the steps to the altar, Luka’s lifeless body begins to stir.[break][break]

The first thing she can feel is a dull and throbbing ache below her heart, splitting her right down the center. She concentrates on the feeling, focuses in until all she can feel is that slow and steady thrum— her heartbeat, she realizes with a start. Slowly, and with greater effort than it should take, her eyes flutter open and start to water under the intensity of the moonlight.[break][break]

Cresselia’s Lunar Dance has done more than bring the world back into tune. It’s not just Luka— all around them allies find their wounds healed and lives spared. The survivors are somber and reverent under the blessings of their goddess, but the air sparks with the power of a rekindled hope.[break][break]

Luka blinks, and when heavy eyes flutter open Cresslia appears before her. She's a vision in soft pastels and ethereal light, and Luka finally understands why so many worship these beings as gods. Slowly and reverently, she lowers her head, and after a moment Cresslia follows suit. [break][break]

“Thank you,” Luka whispers, resting her forehead against the legend’s. No other words are spoken, nor are they needed. Luka couldn't describe the moment even if she tried. But the bond between the two, however brief, has been permanently and inextricably forged.[break][break]

Cresselia’s mystically haunting call chimes once more in the still air, and then she vanishes.[break][break]

But she leaves a parting gift behind: a single golden feather.[break][break]

- Reunion and Rescue ✓[break]
- Alphabet Orienting ✓[break]
- Lifelong Learners ✓[break]
- Death Stranding ✓[break]
- Unown Connoisseur ✓ [break]

- Outfit doodle[break][break]

[attr="class","bottom"]

[attr="class","name"]luka chêne

[attr="class","subtxt"]I don't know anything with certainty,[break]
But the sight of the stars makes me dream

[attr="class","pkmn"]

[attr="class","credit"]
milky

close tab

played by

Azul

Mars | Tuesday

He/Him

August 4th

Canalave City, Sinnoh

Bi / Demiro

POG Bank CEO

Underboss

1008 height

Veni. Videre. Vincam.

awards

4,525 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @mars