MARCH UPDATE

111 height

Know your worth & add your tax

awards

375 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @erin

POSTED ON Apr 9, 2019 5:09:13 GMT

SILAS BLACKWELL likes this

[nospaces][var name="accent" value="#aa70b2"][var name="background" value="#111"][var name="text" value="#ccc"][var name="border" value="#222"][var name="menu" value="#333"][googlefont="Oswald|Hammersmith+One|Rubik"][newclass="#prada"] max-width: 100%; width: 280px; background: [var="background"]; border: 1px [var="border"] solid; box-shadow: 0 2px 10px [var="border"]; margin: 20px auto; padding: 0; position: relative; overflow: hidden; } #prada #tag { display: block; flex: none; cursor: default; } #prada #tag h1 { font: 42px 'Oswald'; font-style: italic; color: [var="menu"]; line-height: 26px; text-align: left; transform: rotate(-5deg) translate(-8px, -12px); display: inline-block; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: wrap; width: 300px; padding: 10px 0 30px 0; margin: 0; } #prada #tag a, #prada #tag h1 a, #prada .spoiler_header { font: inherit; color: [var="accent"]; text-decoration: none; text-transform: lowercase; display: inline; } #prada .container { font: 10px 'Rubik'; color: [var="text"]; text-align: justify; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; flex-direction: column; padding: 0; } #prada .container .dear { background: [var="border"]; padding: 35px 40px 25px 40px; margin: -10px; } #prada .dear b, #prada .dear a { font: inherit; color: [var="accent"]; text-decoration: none; display: inline; } #prada h2, #prada h2 a { font: 10px 'Hammersmith One'; text-transform: uppercase; padding: 0; margin: 0; display: inline; } #prada #belt { height: 0; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: flex-end; align-items: center; transform: translate(0px, 0px); padding-bottom: 15px; margin-right: 10px; } #prada #belt .box { display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center; } #prada #belt .box:nth-of-type(1) { margin-top: 5px; } #prada #belt .box { margin: 0; } #prada .pkspr { width: 36px; height: 36px; flex: none; background: [var="menu"]; border: 1px [var="border"] solid; border-radius: 50%; margin: 0 2px; filter: grayscale(100%); -webkit-filter: grayscale(100%); -moz-filter: grayscale(100%); } #prada #belt .box .health { background: [var="background"]; border-radius: 10px; border: 1px [var="border"] solid; transform: translate(0, -6px); filter: grayscale(100%); -webkit-filter: grayscale(100%); -moz-filter: grayscale(100%); } #prada .active .pkspr, #prada .active .health { filter: none !important; -webkit-filter: none !important; -moz-filter: none !important; [/newclass]

[attr="id","prada"]

[attr="id","tag"]

for SILAS BLACKWELL

[attr="id","belt"]

[attr="class","box active"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon2"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","box"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-meowth form-alola"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","box active"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-gengar"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","container"]

[attr="class","dear"]

Mission: Salvage (Slateport)

[break][break]

"Let me show you something."

[break][break]

Erin wasn't going to let him go so easily.

[break][break]

She's curious about Silas's cryptic words, obviously, but she's also very certain he wouldn't be giving her more info than he already had shared. Thus, she's willing to compromise. Erin will be the one teaching him something this time, in exchange for a little more time spent together.

[break][break]

"Do you like swimming?" she asks idly as her fingers produce a small flash drive. She introduces it inside her phone, and has her Porygon2 scan it.

[break][break]

It's a random question asked for a random reason that almost feels out of place, with them no longer being at the beach but inside the city ruins. Ironic to be asking about swimming in a sea of asphalt and rubble that does not look swimmable at all, when she's still dressed in little more than her swimsuit.

close tab

played by

noodles

SILAS

HE/HIM

TWENTY-NINE

rocket boss

BOSS

30 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

234 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @silas

POSTED ON Apr 9, 2019 12:31:55 GMT

slateport has its secrets – that much is known to silas, a man cursed with power that refuses to rest, not even for a moment. it has been weeks, months since he brought slateport down and still bits and pieces of information, of resources appear every now and then. today will be no different, not by chance, but because silas wills it so.

her voice calls out to him.

“no. but it looks like you do.”

her dress tells him as much. his eyes linger for a moment though brief. their footsteps echo across the empty streets filled with nothing but despair. it is that emptiness that he relishes.

“what do you want?”

close tab

played by

Champ

Devil wears Prada

She/her

Twenty-two

May 13

Castelia City, Unova

Demisexual

Undercover mean girl

Executive

111 height

Know your worth & add your tax

awards

375 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @erin

POSTED ON Apr 9, 2019 16:47:31 GMT

[attr="id","prada"]

[attr="id","tag"]

for SILAS BLACKWELL

[attr="id","belt"]

[attr="class","box active"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon2"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","box"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-meowth form-alola"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","box active"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-gengar"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","container"]

[attr="class","dear"]

Mission: Salvage (Slateport)

[break][break]

"Is that so?" comes Erin's response, and just like that the topic is dropped. She does like swimming, in fact—but swimming in a pool, finite and temperate and predictable. At sea, she prefers the safe isolation of a boat, a yacht, a ship. That's unimportant now.

[break][break]

She willingly ignores the displeasure palpable in his voice. "I want to show you something. Didn't you hear?"

[break][break]

He wouldn't need to hear what happens next, at least. The Porygon2 beeps once as it begins rendering a 3D image that mirrors their surroundings on Erin's phone. She taps on the screen once more and it blinks into a color-coded map that discriminates the density of every material based on the pokémon's signal waves.

[break][break]

The program is still in its beta stages, but it's able to differentiate the rubble, buildings broken apart and poles tumbled down, from more interesting findings.

[break][break]

Old phones that could be tampered with for the organization's purposes; pokéballs, empty or otherwise; TM cases and the like. Anything with light emissions of radiation would be picked up and displayed in a different color—red ones being the most concentrated ones.

[break][break]

"Unless you're in a hurry?"

close tab

played by

noodles

SILAS

HE/HIM

TWENTY-NINE

rocket boss

BOSS

30 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

234 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @silas

POSTED ON Apr 10, 2019 1:26:32 GMT

whether he didn't hear or chose not to hear is besides the point. what matters is how she responds to his question, and the words that leave her bare mouth manage to hook on to him, reeling him in with cautious intrigue.

"show me."

erin taps the screen of her phone and for moments he's lost. but then, right before his very eyes, he sees it form: the intricate designs and layout that web the vicinity together and even beyond that, shows its secrets.

"hm."

the monotone in his voice hides his true excitement. her invention could prove to be useful.

"there."

with a single finger he points to a singular red dot on the screen in the shape of a box. its oddity comes from its isolation, buried underneath nearby rubble.

"a test to see if it actually works."

close tab

played by

Champ

Devil wears Prada

She/her

Twenty-two

May 13

Castelia City, Unova

Demisexual

Undercover mean girl

Executive

111 height

Know your worth & add your tax

awards

375 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @erin

POSTED ON Apr 10, 2019 3:43:57 GMT

[attr="id","prada"]

[attr="id","tag"]

for SILAS BLACKWELL

[attr="id","belt"]

[attr="class","box active"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon2"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","box"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-meowth form-alola"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","box active"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-gengar"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","container"]

[attr="class","dear"]

Mission: Salvage (Slateport)

[break][break]

Erin isn't totally sure what she'd expected to receive from him. She supposes this lack of a reaction may have been included somewhere within her expectations, because she honestly can't say she's bothered by it. She smiles.

[break][break]

"I wrote the program aboard the S.S. Tidal. No wi-fi makes for a really boring trip, you know?"

[break][break]

His is a fair reaction. Wise, if you ask her. They barely know each other and she's given him no reason to trust her or her abilities, until now.

[break][break]

Silas points towards the source of one of her Porygon2's most peculiar readings, and Erin can't tell if he expects her to be the notary to her own work. A moment passes.

[break][break]

Her gengar takes this as cue to step in. Until now, he'd been hanging out farther back, a couple meters behind his trainer and the company she's keeping. He hands the parasol to Erin, who proceeds to rest it against her shoulder. Then, he disappears inside the rubble.

[break][break]

She's not happy about it, but there's little she can do at this point. All that's left for her to do is make sure he got a long shower afterwards.

[break][break]

When the gengar reemerges with the box-shaped trinket, Erin decides that'd be two showers and a bath.

[break][break]

"What are you bringing us, Mars?" she asks, holding her free arm up to his approaching figure. However, rather than hold it in her hand, she dusts off a bit of dirt on the gengar's cheek. Turning to Silas, she adds, "What do you think?"

close tab

played by

noodles

SILAS

HE/HIM

TWENTY-NINE

rocket boss

BOSS

30 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

234 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @silas

POSTED ON Apr 10, 2019 3:56:44 GMT

from behind them comes the same gengar he had mocked for carrying a parasol which it hands to erin. crossing his arms over his chest, silas watches as the gengar slips into the rubble, blending into the deep shadows before re-emerging not long after with an interesting box its hands.

"it works after all. what a surprise."

silas had not expected much out of it. he has no reason to. all he knows about the girl is her name, where she comes from, and why she's here (even if her answer was vague).

taking the box from gengar, by force if necessary, he holds it in his own two hands but doesn't open it yet. but, like a child on their birthday, he gives it a little shake.

"tell me more about the program. i want to know how it works."

close tab

played by

Champ

Devil wears Prada

She/her

Twenty-two

May 13

Castelia City, Unova

Demisexual

Undercover mean girl

Executive

111 height

Know your worth & add your tax

awards

375 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @erin

POSTED ON Apr 11, 2019 4:47:20 GMT

[attr="id","prada"]

[attr="id","tag"]

for SILAS BLACKWELL

[attr="id","belt"]

[attr="class","box active"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon2"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","box"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-meowth form-alola"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","box active"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-gengar"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","container"]

[attr="class","dear"]

Mission: Salvage (Slateport)

[break][break]

Quite frankly, she never intended to keep the box to herself; but watching him so brusquely claim it, as if it belonged to him all along, makes Erin wonder what he'd do if she tried to take it back. The thought is fleeting, though perhaps it would come back later.

[break][break]

"Who would have thought?" she agrees, the corners of her lips turned upwards. She's playing along not to please, but because it amuses her.

[break][break]

Erin doesn't have her handkerchief on her. It makes her stare at her gengar for a good while, trying to figure out which option would disgust her the least. "Are you familiar with echolocation?" she asks, crouching down next to her pokémon.

[break][break]

"Siri picks up multiple sonar waves with it—nothing out of the ordinary there. What the program does is collect those
signals
as data sets, run a supervised learning algorithm, and render the results in a visually appealing presentation."

[break][break]

Albeit far from perfect, this timing suits her. She holds the flash drive that contains the entirety of her code in front of him, between her fingers. "Wanna give it a try on your phone?"

close tab

played by

noodles

SILAS

HE/HIM

TWENTY-NINE

rocket boss

BOSS

30 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

234 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @silas

POSTED ON Apr 12, 2019 16:13:22 GMT

"a little."

echolocation is something that must be learned when training a noibat, and silas has had his for years. from a little noibat to a mighty noivern, silas knows how the pokemon communicates and more importantly, how it sees. to see it utilized in an application like this is astonishing, to say the least.

"hm," is all that escapes him as a response to her words. he is impressed, sure, but he's not going to let her know it. not yet.

silas raises an eyebrow at her next question.

"you want my phone?"

he almost laughs at the audacity of it; of her; but he doesn't. instead, he fishes out his phone and extends it over to her. anything confidential is encrypted regardless, but he has a feeling she'd know her way around it.

"i do."

close tab

played by

Champ

Devil wears Prada

She/her

Twenty-two

May 13

Castelia City, Unova

Demisexual

Undercover mean girl

Executive

111 height

Know your worth & add your tax

awards

375 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @erin

POSTED ON Apr 12, 2019 21:42:21 GMT

[attr="id","prada"]

[attr="id","tag"]

for SILAS BLACKWELL

[attr="id","belt"]

[attr="class","box active"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon2"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","box"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-meowth form-alola"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","box active"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-gengar"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","container"]

[attr="class","dear"]

Mission: Salvage (Slateport)

[break][break]

"Yeah? Do you have a pokémon capable of it?" She's glad he knows even the slightest bit about echolocation, because if he wanted the program to work he'd need someone to start those sound waves first.

[break][break]

When she finally gets a hold of his phone, Erin gives as little away in her expression as Silas does. While the flash drive installs the program, she busies herself with another task. As a child of today's booming technological era, she has no trouble finding the man's contacts list and adding herself to it.

[break][break]

It takes so little time the only way he'd notice what she's up to would be if he actually looked down at the screen. Not impossible, not by far, but the angle at which she holds the device would require Silas to adjust if he really wanted to watch her.

[break][break]

She's secretly glad that she'd left her phone muted. When she sends herself a text from Silas's phone, it makes no sound.

[break][break]

Quick fingers close everything and then tilt the screen in the man's direction, pointing to the newly installed application. She turns to her Porygon2 again. "Give us a hand, Siri."

[break][break]

The virtual pokémon sends out another

signal beam

to exemplify the exact steps that would normally need to be taken. The Porygon2's anatomy would allow it to directly convert the data received into a language usable by Erin's program. Without such a pokémon, however, one more tool would be needed.

[break][break]

The device is small, smaller than the flash drive and shaped like a phone plug. It's also shaped like a gengar keychain. She attaches it to the the phone. "You can keep this too. It's a portable sonar receiver."

close tab

played by

noodles

SILAS

HE/HIM

TWENTY-NINE

rocket boss

BOSS

30 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

234 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @silas

POSTED ON Apr 13, 2019 3:33:52 GMT

Erin Caulfield likes this

"a noivern. you'll see him soon enough."

if she decides to show up at verdanturf, that is. he is not a gambling man but he'd bet on her to appear. she seems too curious not to. too invested in him for whatever apparent reason.

silas does not notice her swiftly adding her own contact into his phone. he will eventually because there are only a finite number of contacts registered but until then he will have to live with not knowing.

the SIGNAL BEAM goes out; so that's how it works. it doesn't take him long to realize that he needs something extra because of porygon2's abilities. thankfully, she has a gengar keychain.

"is gengar your favorite pokemon?"

disbelief. he takes his phone back and looks at the program, analyzing every detail displayed. this could prove to be revolutionary.

"how long ago did you join rocket?" though she hasn't actually said it, he can assume as much. not many feel comfortable enough to wander into slateport all on their lonesome.

close tab

played by

Champ

Devil wears Prada

She/her

Twenty-two

May 13

Castelia City, Unova

Demisexual

Undercover mean girl

Executive

111 height

Know your worth & add your tax

awards

375 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @erin

POSTED ON Apr 13, 2019 10:18:53 GMT

[attr="id","prada"]

[attr="id","tag"]

for SILAS BLACKWELL

[attr="id","belt"]

[attr="class","box active"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon2"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","box"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-meowth form-alola"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","box active"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-gengar"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","container"]

[attr="class","dear"]

Mission: Salvage (Slateport)

[break][break]

She's pleased with herself for a variety of reasons. Most notably, she'd secured a way of contacting this mysterious man in the future. The promise from earlier is brought up, if subtly. "Looking forward to it." She can only make mental guesses at the timeline he's defined for his 'soon enough'.

[break][break]

"I don't know if favorite would be the right word," she starts, her head tilting, deep in thought. The question's so casual, so simple, yet Erin had never really thought about it before: a testament to the type of concerns most often plaguing her mind. "For me, it's symbolic more than anything."

[break][break]

It's the last of his questions that makes her turn.

[break][break]

Erin had left clues all over their sunbathing session earlier, verbal and otherwise. The question doesn't exactly surprise her. It does rupture the air of innocence to their short detour, though.

[break][break]

"You ask a lot of questions for someone so tight-lipped about himself," she teases. This moment would have come sooner or later, regardless of what she did. She'd have liked for it to be much later. "Officially? Last week. You?"

close tab

played by

noodles

SILAS

HE/HIM

TWENTY-NINE

rocket boss

BOSS

30 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

234 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @silas

POSTED ON Apr 17, 2019 8:00:40 GMT

the symbolism that gengar represents. how interesting. but then again, interesting is what he expects from her ever since she opened her mouth at the beach.

silas watches as his last question makes her turn. has he finally captured her full, undivided attention? the thought rings in his head as he takes a moment to watch her reaction, carefully.

"a while ago."

tight-lipped as he may be, he cannot help but wonder how long it'll take her before she realizes the truth. to hear that she joined a mere week ago makes him chuckle.

"it's not too late for you to leave. you don't fit in here among the mindless grunts. you're different."

what's unsaid but implied is the fact that she's managed to stand out in a crowd where standing out would normally be a bad thing. so he offers her a chance to leave before it's too late.

close tab

played by

Champ

Devil wears Prada

She/her

Twenty-two

May 13

Castelia City, Unova

Demisexual

Undercover mean girl

Executive

111 height

Know your worth & add your tax

awards

375 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @erin

POSTED ON Apr 18, 2019 11:19:34 GMT

[attr="id","prada"]

[attr="id","tag"]

for SILAS BLACKWELL

[attr="id","belt"]

[attr="class","box active"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon2"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","box"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-meowth form-alola"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","box active"]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-gengar"]

[attr="class","health"]

[attr="class","container"]

[attr="class","dear"]

Mission: Salvage (Slateport)

[break][break]

"I've always been different. I have a purpose," she cuts in, more than likely misunderstanding Silas's words. The playful air is gone, albeit momentarily. She's not afraid to be different, either. It's a trait she'd embraced growing up, learned to hate during her youth, and later came to accept.

[break][break]

Their discreet location gives her the confidence to talk about their allegiance more freely. While normally it would be true that walls had ears, the walls around here had long ago crumbled down, and Siri's scans hadn't found any other living presence within hearing distance. Otherwise, the pokémon would have given the hint.

[break][break]

"This is the second time you've tried to get me to defect. Why? Are you that unhappy in Rocket?"

[break][break]

Erin's gaze is fixed on him, on the golden tint of his eyes. She's still oblivious to his identity—she knows his name and has a general idea of what he's like, but the suspicion that he may be the actual Rocket boss doesn't begin to cross her mind. What were the odds?

close tab

played by

noodles

SILAS

HE/HIM

TWENTY-NINE

rocket boss

BOSS

30 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

234 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @silas

POSTED ON May 2, 2019 7:38:31 GMT

the playfulness in the air dissipates, cut into shreds of nothingness that fills the air with a silence that is familiar to the rocket boss. he allows it to change, embraces it, and waits for her reaction to reveal more.

"i'm always unhappy. it's just a matter of how much."

but erin's words are right: this is the second time. footsteps and laughter come from around the corner and from it comes a pair of rocket grunts donning their uniforms but not out of pride.

they look and the moment they meet silas' gaze, the laughter stops. panic sets in as abruptly as they had intruded. the pair shift their heads away and immediately turn to rush back where they came from.

"just testing the waters."

silas' gaze fixes on her, golden and bright. he's doing more than just testing the waters: he needs to know just how much he can trust her. allegiances are fickle but call him an optimist for believing in his people. some of his people.

raising his phone, he asks.

"will this be all?"

close tab

played by

Champ

Devil wears Prada

She/her

Twenty-two

May 13

Castelia City, Unova

Demisexual

Undercover mean girl

Executive

111 height

Know your worth & add your tax

awards

375 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @erin