player OOC name: Greyson[break][break]
character tag: GABRIEL BLACK[break][break]
four IC posts:[break][break]

• JULY 4TH - RECALL
• JULY 13TH - PLACING A BET
• JULY 24TH - EYE FOR DETAILS
• JULY 26TH - YOU'RE LYING, SUMMER CHILD
• AUGUST 1ST - COLLECTION

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summarize two plot points that are in-progress and being threaded:
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• councilman, ceo, & father[break][break]
  
  
  ADJUSTMENT
  
  [break]since ascending to councilman, gabriel has sat back and absorbed the processes, and information, of his role. this is doubly more important after the events of the Sea!Hoenn raid, where gabriel loses an arm. he realizes that he's no longer the head honcho, and needs to adjust accordingly. this has spurred on his EVOLUTION plot-line, as well as given him a number of pathways stemming to a number of high-profile characters, league and rocket alike.
  [break][break]
  a number of threads happen specifically as a DIRECT RESULT of the AA2 RAID.
  [break][break]
  in TARNISHED PRIDE we see elite four member @/kazimir visiting gabriel in his hospital room, impressed by the way he handled himself. the thread is still on-going, but is one the few rare threads where gabriel is 'vulnerable'.
  [break][break]
  on the other hand, in CURTAIL, gabriel is once again visited, but this time by @/silph. here, fernando gives gabriel a warning on the nature of avatars, and the sacrifice they must make. he takes this lesson to heart, committing himself never to accept to become a herald of any creature.
  [break][break]
  staged after the events of the hospital, and just beginning his journey back to work, ROCKS AND GLASS HOUSES has gabriel meeting the council's newest assistant, @/iseult. she comes upon his office during an episode, with gabriel nearly on the edge of a panic attack.
  [break][break]
  after much contemplation on the nature of avatars, and his own place in this realm, he finds himself caught in a ILL TIMED space-time rift with @/lulu. they conversate, for a small time, before he begins to question her connection to darkrai.
  
  [break][break]
  
  OFFICE RESPONSBILITIES
  [break]now comfortable and settled into his role as a 'councilman', gabriel begins to enact the duties of his office. this ranges from overseeing specific league canons, and pushing their plots, to assisting non-canons in their specific goals. all of these, while beneficial to the league as a whole, are designed to increase his own influence with each specific member. of course, this isn't something he just goes around telling people though, is it?
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  in EYE FOR DETAILS, gabriel visits @/illeana's lab, and begins to ask questions about the nature of her work. having recently been placed 'in charge' of the league's scientists, he takes this role seriously. these questions naturally include the space-time distortions, the creation trio (a personal project of @/illeana's), and even the events of TOLERATE IT where she creates an unauthorized breech in-between dimensions. he expresses that she should trust him, and that he will shield her from those whose reach is far too long.
  [break][break]
  after learning about @/dreva's attacks (KING WAYLAND & @/bryan), gabriel calls both the professor and @/penelope to his office. here he asks @/dreva to relay her experience for the reporter, so that she may run a report that paints rocket in a more negative light, than he feels they've been getting recently. this meeting evolves when they get more in-depth into this figure known as the 'Wolf' (@/bryan), and their combined experiences + @/matias's with him. thus, gabriel tasks the duo to do all they can to find out information on this figure.
  [break][break]
  in a DIRECT FOLLOW-ON to this this thread, POWER STRUGGLE goes into detail of @/penelope and @/cian's encounter with the deer-god XENEREAS and its herald, @/bryan. he reviews the report, and the two discuss at length their views on it, and the way forward.
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  in RECONVENE, former council woman @/freya comes to gabriel's office, and they discuss the revelation of gabriel's place in this world, at least, compared to godly heralds. but, she's come to him with a purpose, and it's about a certain emerald scaled god-serpent.
  [break][break]
  a number of other sub-plots with other league members are in the works as well, with a great number of 'relationship' building threads, as well as 'talent recognizing' threads. while there are bigger plans in place for many of these, i am not yet ready to reveal it (AA3 maybe?) and i'll list these BENEATH the spoiler.
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  SPOILER: Click to show
  [break]in the thread THUNDERCLAP, gabriel invites rising star @/boruta to a training session against one the league's powerful mythic pokemon. designed to assess the ranger's abilities, gabriel keeps the true reason a secret.
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  gabriel reaches out to the son of a family friend, who'd recently passed, in ROCK BOTTOM. he gives @/fenris a harsh lesson in life, and takes him under his wing. no doubt a grueling, hellish process, it will shape the boy into a man.
  [break][break]
  in a number of threads, to include SUNNY DAY, BANK ROBBERY, and ANCIENT, gabriel and @/matiasmake a deadly duo.
  [break][break]
  in PLACING A BET, gabriel has a unique conversation with a noble from kalos, one @/elisabeth this spawns the P.I FILE: ELISABETH, where gabriel's paranoia and constant need to be ahead of the curve, shines through. also, it's an incredibly insightful piece into a character that makes the worldbuilding all the more fun.
  
  [break]
  
  
  FAMILY
  
  [break]a huge part of gabriel's character is his family. while not a dotting, or really even a present father, since inheriting the company from his own, his desire to put (and keep) them at the top, is one of his primary motivations.
  [break][break]
  BELOW the spoiler is a couple of threads with his children!
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  SPOILER: Click to show
  [break]in ARMLESS, the volatile relationship between gabriel and his heir URIAH BLACK continue. in the wake up AA2, and the profound lesson imparted onto him, gabriel announces to his oldest he will have no heir. no one will have the company. no one deserves it. finally, his son starts to get some spine.
  [break][break]
  a late night surprise by @/jessica, A CHILD OF MINE, leads to the news of her fiancés death, and the concrete fact that he has a grandchild. even now, gabe keeps her at arms length, but soothes the child while he tells her to deal with her more pressing issues.
  [break][break]
  gabriel attempts to impart a life lesson onto his son, @/adrial, as OLD WAYS come to a head.
  
  
  
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  BUSINESS CONNECTIONS
  
  [break]despite still being a councilman, he's a also a chief executive officer (ceo) of his own company. deals much still be negotiated, connections made.
  [break][break]
  as @/skyler and @/angelo begin to bring their company NAUTICA to life, there are a number of transactions (read: threads/business dealings) between the two of them, and gabriel, as he's brought into the fold as a business partner!
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  in SHIPPING, gabriel visits the pharmacutical company that his friend created, but is now headed by his son, @/jayden. he gets a tour, and they discuss business opportunities. a meal ensues.
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  the first of THREE threads with @/nikita, VENEER showcases their interactions as gabriel finds a suitable arm. as things progress, the intention is to get a more better defined business relationship, but that depends on his EVOLUTION plotline...[break][break]
• EVOLUTION[break][break]
  
  this project is a recent addition, spawned from the events of AA2, ILL TIMED with @/lulu, and CURTAIL with @/silph, to name a few.
  [break][break]
  this is a more secretive project, with only one IC person having been told of it. this character, @/theo, was informed in COLLECTION, and is currently listed as 'in-progress'. however, this plot will continue through this event, and the next (and more, if needed), until he achieves his goal.
  
  
  
  

comments:[break][break]

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player OOC name: Greyson[break][break]
character tag: GABRIEL BLACK[break][break]
four IC posts:[break][break]

• JULY 4TH - RECALL
• JULY 13TH - PLACING A BET
• JULY 24TH - EYE FOR DETAILS
• JULY 26TH - YOU'RE LYING, SUMMER CHILD
• AUGUST 1ST - COLLECTION

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summarize two plot points that are in-progress and being threaded:
[break][break]

• settling into his role[break][break]
  
  
  SELF IMPROVEMENT
  
  [break]words
  
  
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  comments:[break][break]
  
  
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  [attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

player OOC name: Greyson[break][break]
character tag: Greyson Connors [break][break]
four IC posts:[break][break]

• JULY 7TH - DAWN OF THE DARKEST DAY
• JULY 14TH - HONEY IT'S HOME
• JULY 18TH - IT'S YOU
• JULY 26TH - YOU'RE LYING, SUMMER CHILD
• AUGUST 4TH - TRIPWIRE

[break][break]
summarize two plot points that are in-progress and being threaded:
[break][break]

• settling into his role[break][break]
  
  
  SELF IMPROVEMENT
  
  [break]the first and most pressing thing i want to point out, is my huge focus on greyson's SELF-IMPROVEMENT. in this list HERE, you can see that greyson has made it a goal to slowly start integrating all of his growing team. to accomplish this, he's taking them out 1-by-1 and running them through a series of gauntlet-like testing (as seen HERE and HERE) or simply seeing how they handle under pressure (as seen HERE and HEREto name a few.).
  [break][break]
  these threads are solo-focused, but provide a detailed background to his actions, and choices, in even larger, more important threads (DOTDD, Cyberchase, etc.)
  [break][break]
  while this is largely a personal thing, i want to show greyson making steady progress with his pokemon, to create a sort-of track record of 'competency'. he has big goals of achieving not only elite four membership, but one-day going through the victory road gauntlet, and facing down the champion @/kyle.
  [break][break]
  to this end, i've also been tracking his many gym-battles (seen HERE) in both the MINOR LEAGUE and the GYM LEAGUE. i view these battles as a BENCHMARK for his current progress, and have not been afraid to explore LOSING a time or TWO. these losses have grown greyson more, arguably, than even his victories.
  [break][break]
  in DARKEST DAY greyson experiences the death of his pokemon for the first time, and the anger, and grief, and pain that comes with it. this is explored further in a THREADwith @/annalise where, post-DOTDD, he's battered and grieving, but still tries to help someone he cares about. as the event winds down, and time goes on, i will explore more of this change in him as he goes through the stages of grief and how he transforms that to be a more prepared trainer.
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  to me, having a clear and defined (for the most part), progression from greyson when he joined hoenn last may, to the competent officer he is today, is a huge defining, continuous arc of his character.
  
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  GYM LEADER THREADS
  
  [break]greyson has a lot of challenges going on currently, with some finishing up in the next few weeks. see the entire list HERE.
  [break][break]
  ever since his first raid (the GROUDON raid), and the subsequent BRUISES AND SOOT THREAD greyson had with ruby walker, greyson has worked on devising a way to assist the league in disaster response and recovery. his idea culminates into a SIEGE THEMED gym that utilizes a whole team of zoroark's to prepare convincing, almost real illusions, as well as a vast amount of props, staging, and actors.
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  so far he has seen elite four members, aspiring champions to be, avatars, and more attempt to take him gym challenge. it's designed to both test a trainer's ability to prioritize their response in a scenario like this, but also to gauge how they approach themes such as LOSS, OVERWHELMING POWER, and FEAR.
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  this challenge is also designed to be a sort of 'certification' test in trust and competency for real cataclysmic events (read: raids, events, etc.) the goal is to allow players to use this challenge as a means to grow their character in the face of these disasters, and better prepare themselves for it. an example of this is the trust greyson has in @/pokejun to stand side-by-side with him, in the event of a disaster, as he's seen the trainers skills in action and trusts him wholeheartedly.
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  to spread awareness about his gym (and about the gym-leader himself) he's been able to do a couple of (uncomfortable) interviews. the FIRST was with @/penelope, given in a more formal setting about both himself, and the gym, set in his hometown of oldale town. this allowed him to explore the official 'public' facing portion side of being a gym-leader.
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  the SECOND was with @/annalise, given in a more informal (tiktok) style, he's once again forced to put on a 'show' for the public, but this time he's able to give a more in-depth example of how his gym operates. these were of particular note because it's forcing greyson to step-outside his comfort zone, especially as he transitions from a nameless officer to a face of the league.
  [break][break]
  in-truth, i struggled to get my bearings when i started these challenges. i made them overtly complicated, and relied too heavily on the idea that it was a "1 on 1 DND experience". this has made my challenges longer than i would've liked them to be, since i do not want the drive / motivation to putter out and for the thread to be a slog. i've since low-key revamped it to shorten the challenges from (3) to (2), and add a more player-choice based rolling system, that i think is working out well so far (pending reviews.)
  
  
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  WORKING WELL WITH OTHERS
  
  [break]
  one of my more favorite things to explore, with greyson growing in strength, and experience, he's been able to pass these on-to others. a big-part of who i want greyson to be as a trainer, is one who up-lifts those around him, elevating them to better positions alongside him.
  [break][break]
  see below the spoiler for a much more in-depth look at some highlighted threads of mentorship, as well as conflict with team rocket.
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  SPOILER: Click to show
  in this THREAD with @/annalise, greyson expands upon his word from a previous thread, promising to help annalise become a better trainer. in this thread (that is still underway), we see greyson utilizing his most well-known offensive pokemon, who he has trained with in previous solo threads, to elevate annalise's knowledge and skills.
  [break][break]
  on the other end of the spectrum, on a more professional note, greyson and @/willow dive into the lower reaches of a primal infused HIVE as they investigate a threat to their local little farm. this is a direct build off of this THREAD, and even more in-direct branching off from this THREAD. understanding willow's desire to get stronger, greyson takes her safety onto his shoulders, and tosses her into the preverbal pool head first.
  [break][break]
  during a mission to stop an INCURSION from S!Hoenn to our realm, greyson fights side-by-side with @/bugcatcherdoug. past threads and apologies are brought to bear, namely greyson's outburst from post-groudon raid group DINNER, as well as greyson's FIRST gym-challenge ever, which happened to be doug's gym. greyson hasn't had many chances to interact with doug, and i felt that bringing these two connections together, especially over a long period of 'ic' time, was a good way to define a new arc in their working relationship.
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  in CRACKS, greyson comes upon a young @/eris, who relays to him the DARKEST DAY PROHPECY. greyson, seeing the heavy burden on this child's shoulders, contemplates this strange and ominous riddle while ensuring she's well taken care of. greyson is a bleeding heart for children, and being able to interact with eris like this is both a mixture of site-plot related elements, but also slice of life, both of which i love.
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  a MISSION with @/callie goes deeper into their comraderies and allows them to work together and deal with a threat to his hometown. you can that their dynamic works well, with callie relying on greyson as an officer, but in-part greyson also trusts that she will be able to handle her own. me and milky are (also) looking to push this into a mini-plot line, to help flesh out some finer details.
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  a more recent change between greyson and fellow league character @/illeana in TOLERATE IT, her push in search of the CREATION TRIO comes to a head, almost beginning another incursion into their dimension. he's forced to weigh his options between friendship, and duty, and overall makes the choice that hurts to do. i particularly enjoyed how quickly this thread turned, and how well it turned out.
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  in TIERED TEA ROOM, he got to work alongside elite four member @/matias, professor @/dreva, and @/boruta, a man whose battle talents greatly impress him. going through these challenges and deciphering their clues, all the while working along-side of the leagues best, allowed greyson not only to network, but test his own competency next to fellow men and women he respects.
  [break][break]
  as greyson grows in notoriety and strength, i've been more eager to explore faction conflict with him. greyson comes upon a suspicious person stealing some of the rare, mutated flowers in this DIAMOND EARTH THREAD. his singular focus on catching him allows @/jayden (who's in disguise) to burn the rest of the field, and still get away. me and milky are currently exploring a miniature storyline revolving these two coming into more conflicts in the near future, setting up a rivalry of sorts.
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  another bout of conflict comes with greyson DISCOVERS a seedy figure (@/lex) under the cover of night, and chases after her. this will mark a good interaction between gym-leader and rocket beast, allowing the two to test their abilities against one another.
  
  [break][break]
• search for the heroes of legend[break][break]
  [break]
  when greyson was a child, he came upon a small shrine dedicated to an unnamed pokemon(s). he became enamored with the effigy, keeping it well-maintained over the years. during an interview with @/penelope (mentioned above), they come across the shrine during their tour, and greyson shares a piece of his past with the reporter. since then, the two have found themselves in search of these strange shrines, even coming across ONE during a particularly awkward moment of their friendship.
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  with the appearance of the two in CYBERCHASE, greyson's attention is even more peaked at these strange creatures.
  [break][break]
  this is a continuous, and on-going plot, with more dedication as the creatures make their appearance(?) on hoenn! for now, it's mostly just fluff and vibes, and the assistance and putting up with me from @/penelope has been great. i look forward to exploring this more with her (and anyone else curious!) in the future!
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comments:[break][break]
i really wish i had the time to write out a blurb for every thread i've done since my last activity check, but, shiv would probably choke me out in the denny's parking lot.[break][break]with that said, i really enjoyed reading everyone else's posts, and an opportunity to lay it all out like this for everyone to see is really refreshing.[break][break]i really look forward to threading with more and more people, and exploring the dozens of dynamic plot-lines we're meshing together in this great hoenn spiderweb. if anything i've listed up here interests you, feel free to reach out to me at anytime!
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lastly, writing this really made me realize my tracker needs to be better planned out, sheesh.

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ELITE FOUR CHALLENGE[break][break] Greyson Connors

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rules and guidelines:[break][break]
∵ Teams of 6-pokemon accomplished through a 2v2 format. Battle will conclude when all six Pokémon are defeated, or a surrender is declared. At anytime Greyson may call the match to an end, if he is satisfied that the Challenger is accomplished enough to continue.
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∵ "Stats" will not be used in this battle. This covers, but is not limited to, priority, increased/decreased percentages, tracking HP/PP, etc. Moves that effect these statistics (e.g. Calm Mind, Agility, Defense Curl) are encouraged, but their boost is limited to their current action. (e.g. Lopunny uses Agility to cross the field quickly, but the speed boost dies off once she's' there.)[break][break]

∵ No standard items allowed other than items such as Mega, Tera, etc. Dynamax is not currently allowed but could change.[break][break]

∵ (3) 'actions' across both Pokémon. Only (1) can be used to "dodge" and this shares a cooldown with typical protection moves (e.g. Protect, Wide-Guard, Detect, etc.) Turn-based attacks (e.g. Hyperbeam, Rage, etc.) are still required to meet the charge/cooldown ratio. However, if an Action can be taken to accomplish multiple things at once, it is allowed so long as it's not abused. The emphasis of this battle is a give-and-take, not a slog. (e.g. Delphox uses Psychic to lift a Boulder from the earth. She uses that to scatter the incoming Water-gun as it's tossed as an attack towards the enemy.)[break][break]

∵ There are no 'banned' abilities or moves, but the narrative will be drafted in a way that certain abilities (e.g. self-destruct, explosion, etc.) are not as devastating to the world around them.[break][break]

∵ You must declare your team and their moveset before the official start of the match.[break][break]

∵ You may swap a Pokémon out for another at anytime. This will consume (1) action, and the on-coming Pokémon cannot execute more than (1) action on their summoning. A Pokémon fainting, without using any moves, is not subject to this rule and any new Pokémon may use (2) actions.
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elite four chamber:[break][break]
∵ Trainers who venture through the entrance find their footsteps guided by a soft, welcoming crunch of gravel pathway that winds through the verdant sanctuary. Trees tower, casting dappled shadows while sunlight filters through their canopy. The air is infused with the sweet fragrance of nectar and blooming flowers, a soothing accompaniment to the gentle buzz of Combee tending to their hives.
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The walls of this chamber are a mix of natural stone and interwoven branches, and upon them they house integrated bee-hives. These hives, designed by the brilliant willow atkins and camouflaged within the garden's aesthetic, pay homage bee and its evolution, Vespiquen. The buzzing life within the walls adds a vibrant pulse to the atmosphere, making it feel as though the garden itself is alive and buzzing with energy.
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A variety of Pokémon, both flying and ground-dwelling, coexist in this garden paradise. Comfey flits from flower to flower, spreading a sense of calm and healing with their aromatherapy. Occasionally, Vespiquen can be seen overseeing their subjects, radiating a sense of absolute authority.
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At the center is a small field of grass, meticulously kept and overlaid with the traditional battlefield markings. Small Pokemon gather around to watch those that stand on opposite ends, curious and eager. Here, you will face Greyson to determine if you're worthy of the title Champion.

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