MARCH UPDATE

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

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TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

POSTED ON Jan 8, 2023 6:40:58 GMT

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[attr="class","skullhover"]

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]If there was a chance of tensions simmering down, the fire and the flames would be their final crucible. Ashley, unable to focus on trying to sing, instead tried to take command of the situation. This set Temp off a little, snapping at Ashley before taking the helm directly. On the surface, things seemed frayed. But they didn't seem unsalvageable. After all, they were working towards a shared goal. Ash was giving guidance. Temp was rowing like an expert. They were on the same page. They could do this![break][break]

And then there was Kepler. Or, rather, what Kepler had become.[break][break]

The fit of twitches and spasms was one thing. It could have been illness. It could have been anxiety. It could have been something far worse. However, the second Kepler spoke, Isaac had already thrust a hand into his bag. The words were cruel, and vicious, and would hit Ash more deeply than Kepler could ever know. But they weren't Kepler's. There was no way in hell they were Kepler's.[break][break]

Isaac drew a Cleanse Tag from his bag, a familiar sight from back at the Truesdale Manor. "Ash, if you've got any kit left from last time, bring it here," he snarled, brandishing the tag like La Chancla as he stared Not-Kepler down. "There's someone else in your man. So you better help me get him out!"[break][break]

Was it any surprise that he reacted so strongly? The sub with Ruby. The graves with Gavin. The Truesdale Manor with Ash. Locke's homecoming. Isaac was no stranger to tangling with ghosts, and hostile ones could do untold amounts of harm if allowed to run wild. This was Round 5 of a long-running grudge, and this ghost made the mistake of dragging his boy Kepler into the mix. That shit wasn't okay. Not by Isaac's rules.[break][break]

Kepler bailed from the river, and Isaac followed suit. Or, at least, he tried to. His foot snagged on the lip of the boat as he tried to leap off, leaving him plummeting towards the acid below. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck-" he said, panic bleeding into his voice as the acid drew closer and closer. "I don't wanna die I don't wanna die I don't wanna die-"[break][break]

His nose stopped mere centimeters away from the sizzling acid. The occasional popping bubbles stung and burned at his face, but for the most part he was unharmed. Hearth had ran towards the side of the boat, grabbing the back of Isaac's outfit in his teeth. It was just enough to stop Isaac from collapsing into the river. Barely.[break][break]

Isaac didn't even think to rescue himself. Instead, he held the cleanse tag behind him, holding it out for Ashley. His words were breathless as he waved the tag a little for emphasis, fearing that every moment they spent dawdling could be his last. "Kep . . . he needs you . . . don't just stand there . . . takes it and go!"

[break][break]

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]MOBILE POST / Ashley Shepard + kepler brueshaber + Tempest Quinn

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

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played by

Kiwi

Ash

He/Him/Them

December 2

Aspertia City, Unova

Pansexual

Picking up the pieces

5'11'' height

But I, I will, go on howling and hollow

awards

1,109 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @ashley

POSTED ON Jan 10, 2023 19:11:54 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","ashley1"]

[attr="class","ashley1body"]

Tempest was rowing, and damn he was rowing well, and what with the Moltres on their ass, Ash couldn't have asked for a better captain of the ship, and dodging flames, watching flames hit the waters of the river had him grinning. There's a chance, even if Bass wasn't able to land his Supersonic, at least Temp kept them safe.[break][break]

Life has a way of catching up to him though. When Kepler speaks, Ashley's head turns. "What...?" Words are daggers. Every guilty feeling, every regret he felt came to the surface, readying to have him release like a seasick sailor overboard, but with a swallow down, but it was Kep... HIS words that brought him back from this hell that found its way back to him. He could see the hand making a fist, readying to knock him out. Or try. He envies for a moment the lives of his crewmates. Who didn't bear the cross so much as him.[break][break]

When Kep jumps towards the Moltres, and the Moltres attempts to annihilate him, Ashley's eyes never leave Kep for a moment. It's all he can do to just watch. His heart is in his throat, but watching the blast of fire arc off that protect has him return to reality.[break][break]

His legs feel like lead, but once they hit the shore, Ashley snatches the Cleanse Tag Isaac had offered. However, with his arm that just healed that he promised the doctor not to lift heavy shit with, he grabs Isaac from the boat, throws himself back into the boat (to at least get a better footing) and leaps from the boat, readying himself for impact. The pain in his wrist is immaculate, he knew he shouldn't have done it, but dammit, he had to. He wasn't letting Isaac die. "Not without you, not again!" His words are like a Houndoom's bark, vicious, not willing to relent at all. He's envious of Isaac for a moment.[break][break]

Okay, enough with this bullshit envy in this bullshit place![break][break]

Towards Tempest, he holds a hand out, to pull him, and even Bass is trying to help get him, Gimmighoul, Isaac, and Hearth out, and here at their destination; a tree.[break][break]

It's however, when the little Noibat is pulling with all his might on Temp's sleeve, trying to help this stressful moment for his Trainer that has helped him so much, that Ashley watches with his silver eyes as the flash of white blinds him. Replaced with the powerful wings of the sound dragon, who can with relative ease help the remaining crewmates. With it, Ashley sees the opportunity that it is.[break][break]

"Bass?"[break][break]

The Noivern smiles and gives a happy, huskier squawk, and Ashley smiles, as he turns to face Kepler and the Moltres. One step at a time. He just needed to think. So he throws himself forward. "Slash it out the sky. I'll be okay, Bass." The Noivern screams out loud, blasting from his bigger ears as he collides to slice that Moltres up with a AIR SLASH, and Ashley confronts Kepler. With a scream of anger from the Moltres, Bass the Noivern goes ham, taking that heat with a booming burst of his own. (Not the move, it just sounds cool.)[break][break]

Man, he loves Dragon Types.[break][break]

"You got somethin' to say? Fuckin' say it." He cracks his knuckles. His silver eyes peer on, a scary, hateful Rocket once more as he hatefully stares at whatever is in his boyfriend. "I don't have time to deal with your bullshit. Don't know who you are, and I don't care. I just had the best year of my life, and you're not about to ruin it by taking what's mine. You're dead. Remember your place in hell and stay there."[break][break]

Then his face softens. "It's going to be okay, Kepler. I promise."[break][break]

He had no way of knowing that. But his expression darkens again. "Let's go, motherfucker." He charges towards Kepler, readying the Cleanse Tag. He had no time for what ifs. This was working. It had to.[break]

kepler brueshaber, Tempest Quinn, Isaac Merlo[break][break]

NOTES

- ashley is hurt for a single moment by kep's words.[break]
- grabs the cleanse tag, hurts his right arm again to get isaac another chance to shore, helping hearth.[break]
-- not a break at least; gonna need a splint probably.[break]
- attempts to pull the crew to shore, bass the noibat is helping.[break]
-- bass no longer bat, is vern.[break]
--- proceeds to be ten times more helpful. fights moltres and AIR SLASHES. BAYBEE.[break]
- ashley confronts possess-ler. gives reason you suck speech to ghost.[break]
-- he isn't leaving without his boo.[break]
--- maybe he isn't leaving, period.[break]
---- fight club time.

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MADE BY GUNSMILE

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played by

Ceej

Kep

He/him

March 03

Alamos, Sinnoh

Homosexual

boy genius

Associate Scientist

nature, nuture

heaven and home

5'7" / 170 cm height

sum of all and by them driven

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541 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @kepler

kepler brueshaber

POSTED ON Jan 15, 2023 1:31:08 GMT

[attr="class","thad"]

[attr="class","thadmain"]The Moltres’ cleansing flame continues to arc off of Pluto’s protective bubble. The little alien’s arms tremble as she continues to hold it up.

Kepler, on his knees in the dirt, is finally coming to realize how wrong he is when he calls himself a parasite. He belongs in his body. This-- this thing-- does not. He feels like he’s gargled glass, hands going up to grip at his throat as he makes little gasping hiccups, body heaving with the effort of whatever it is writhing in between the gaps in his skin, his bones.

A new screech fills the air as Ash’s Noibat-- no, Noivern-- launches itself at Moltres’ specter, the two of them tangling together, truly like two dragons fighting. Pluto drops the protect bubble once it’s safe, falling to the ground with the clink of tumbling stones, exhausted.

Kepler is strong of mind and weak of body, which he realizes in excess as whatever is taking shape in him begins to move him of its own accord, and there’s little he can do but go along. Fighting feels like ripping the very skin off his own body. He stands, turns, stiff-legged and awkward, to face Ash.

Distantly he registers Ash’s words: I just had the best year of my life.

Was that-- was that because of him?

It’s going to be okay.

His heart does something funky.

His heart.

His heart!

“Oh, how brave you sound,” this thing in Kepler’s body makes him say, in a voice so eerily like his own, but harsh, ragged, like every word is being punched out of him, “even when your opponent isn’t tied up.” Kepler makes a show of fighting for control, but only manages to cock his head at an odd angle, almost as though his neck is broken, bangs falling messily over his eyes.

“You know what I think? I think you’re a fucking coward. I think you wouldn’t risk hurting this body.”

Ha-ha, Kepler thinks, receding back into his own brain. The spirit in his bones is too busy gloating to pay him any mind-- a little parasite seeking to get back his own form. He might not, but I sure will.

And he pours every ounce of fear, every ounce of struggle, every metric ton of stress straight into his chest; fights against his breathing, fights until his bones ache, fights and fights and fights and fights and--

The specter makes a gasping noise, clutches at his chest-- Kepler’s chest.

“What you’re feeling right now,” Kepler explains, using his own voice, his own lungs, even though the pain is immense, like his lungs are on fire, “is a symptom of dilated cardiomyopathy.” His inhale is a wail, a scream, something awful, and there are tears streaming down his face. Leave it to Kepler to use his last breaths to lecture. “You are having a stress-induced heart attack. Enjoy dying twice, motherfucker.”

And he buckles.

+ kepler makes his own kokoro go doki doki

[attr="class","thadtag"]Isaac Merlo Ashley Shepard Tempest Quinn

[attr="class","thadpoke"] Arbalest ♂ | Water Absorb | Dynamic Punch, Mega Kick, Poison Jab, Hydro Pump, High Horsepower, Ice Beam

Cryosthesia ○ | Illuminate | Harden, Spotlight, Minimize, Confuse Ray

Divinity ♂ | Synchronize | Hypnosis, Lucky Chant, Psychic, Thunder, Life Dew, Heal Pulse

Pluto ♀ | Telepathy | PROTECT, ENERGY BALL, THUNDERBOLT, HEADBUTT, PSYBEAM, POWER SPLIT

Venus ○ | No Guard | ICE BEAM, DARKEST LARIAT, SHADOW PUNCH, FLY, PHANTOM FORCE, HIGH HORSEPOWER

Mercury ♂ | Libero | PYRO BALL, AGILITY, FOCUS BLAST, ELECTRO BALL, BOUNCE, DOUBLE EDGE

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played by

yams

temporary

he/him

may 3rd

pacifilog, hoenn

big homo

housewife

beast

you are my

church tonight

6'2" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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3,136 posts

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part of

TAG WITH @temp

Tempest Quinn

POSTED ON Jan 15, 2023 2:26:33 GMT

skyler dross likes this

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What you gotta understand... is a lot of shit is happening at once. A lot of shit that Temp has no idea where to even start! There are flame birds, yelling, acid water, trees, and people having heart attacks. How do you deal with that?[break][break]

Simple answer: You don't![break][break]

Fun answer: Make the narrative even more darkly hilarious than it already was![break][break]

To understand this, you must know who Alvilda Rararie was. Before the younger generation of skyler dross was around to take the title, she was Pirate Queen supreme. Siren's End was a feared ship that sailed every sea. A massive storm was what finally took down the ship, leaving only remnants off the Pacifidlog coast. Later, another storm was what ended her life.[break][break]

You must also know that Temp's Dhelmise was the steering wheel from the very shipwreck that led to his conception.[break][break]

Temp calls his Lapras back into her pokeball after she finishes her song. They're running, trying to get away, trying to push forward and survive this! But his Dhelmise comes out on it's own before he can stop it. The pokemon almost seems to slip through his fingers and vanish over the shoreline. Answering a mysterious call he fails to understand.[break][break]

Until a familial, if ghostly, ship appears on the horizon.[break][break]

Temp's Dhelmise at the center of it, the Siren's End pushes forward at top speeds for a ship her size.[break][break]

At the helm?[break][break]

Alvilda Rararie.[break][break]

She's grinning with a manic energy, just as ghostly as her lost ship, eyes sharp and focused.[break][break]

The ship doesn't slow down as it comes closer to the shore.[break][break]

Alvilda beaches her own ship, laughing loud and deep from her belly (Temp laughs just like his mom. He never knew till now.) The ship careens as it parts dirt and whatever is in it's path- aimed right at the Moltres.[break][break]

It slams into the massive bird, the speed taking it with the ship until they hit the treeline. It squawks and fires out flames.[break][break]

The ship and Temp's mom vanish as suddenly as they had appeared.
[break][break]

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]kepler brueshaber @ashely, Isaac Merlo

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

[break]
🔗 temp's ghost mom fucks up moltres' shit! (z-move used)

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

☆ lapras - female - water absorb - safeguard, water pulse, perish song, mist, avalanche, dragon pulse

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played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

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4,402 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

POSTED ON Jan 15, 2023 5:43:58 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]"Wait, what are you-"[break][break]

He could feel the strain of Ash's bad arm as he grabbed Isaac by the hand. No. Stop. He can't. For a second, Isaac wanted to dig his heels in, just to stop Ash from hurting himself again. But where could he dig his heels into? His feet were dangling off the side of a canoe, and his arms were one bad flail away from getting slam dunked into a river of acid. In the end, he had no choice but to let Ash save him, Hearth doing his damndest to help lighten the load on the injured man.[break][break]

The good news was that they'd made it to the riverbed. The bad news was, despite their efforts, they were too late. Rather than be a mere possessed victim, Kepler decided to take matters into his own hands. All of the stress he'd ever experienced assailed him from all sides, practically forcing it to shut down.[break][break]

"What the fuck are you doing!?" Panic flooded into Isaac's voice just as pain flooded into Kepler's body. "Do you seriously have that little trust in us? That you'd rather kill yourself than let us help you?" He felt betrayed. He felt hurt. But more importantly?[break][break]

He felt like, the second he got his hands on this ghost, he was gonna tear it to ectoplasm. He was sick of this feud.[break][break]

Another Pokeball hit the ground. Knuckles the Lucario emerged, briefly wincing in the face of Kepler's aura. "Knux. Stabilize." He didn't know if it would work, but the Heal Pulses she slung had to be better than nothing, right? "Hearth? Get set for an exorcism."[break][break]

Isaac fished around in his bag. In one hand he drew a holy symbol of Arceus, plated in sterling silver and carved from an ash tree. In another, he drew a sprinkler full of (were Amazon to be trusted) holy water. "Spirit! The power of Arceus compels you!" Isaac shouted, brandishing the symbol towards Kepler while pelting him with shakes of holy water. "To what? To get the fuck out of my friend!"[break][break]

As he tried to force the spirit's hand, Hearth prepared the trap. The flaming beads around his neck detached, igniting into brilliant violet wisps. They floated away from him and towards Kepler, floating in the free space above his head. As they started to swirl around each other, they almost looked like a flaming halo.[break][break]

Were the spirit to be excised, the Infernal Parade would be ready to guide it towards its final rest.[break][break]

tl;dr:[break]
Knuckles the Lucario uses Heal Pulse to stabilize Kepler.[break]
Hearth the Typhlosion uses Infernal Parade to try and guide the spirit hosting it to its final rest.[break]
Isaac used The Power of Arceus to ensure that spirit gets the fuck out in the first place!

[break][break]

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]MOBILE POST / Ashley Shepard + kepler brueshaber + Tempest Quinn

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

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played by

Kiwi

Ash

He/Him/Them

December 2

Aspertia City, Unova

Pansexual

Picking up the pieces

5'11'' height

But I, I will, go on howling and hollow

awards

1,109 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @ashley

POSTED ON Jan 15, 2023 9:44:49 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","ashley1"]

[attr="class","ashley1body"]

The bird and the dragon duel within the sky, trading blow for blow. Moltres, the specter of doom and gloom, hatred incarnate, and the noise bat dragon out of hell. If this were WWE, people would probably pay pay-per-view to watch the dragon biting at the Moltres, the Moltres swiping at Bass' eye and hitting, causing a good amount of blood. But no matter what, Ashley didn't look. Because Bass was doing this for him. He trusted Bass with his heart.[break][break]

He doesn't have a plan. While Moltres is fended off, all he can do is try something. But those words Kepler's apparition stated, that being within him? They weren't wrong. He can't hurt Kepler. He never could... when he sees that neck cocked to the side, it nearly breaks him.[break][break]

Even flimsy, he continues to look with confidence to Kepler. "You're right. I am. I can't hurt him." He gives the most heartfelt smile he can. If he is being judged to kill someone he loves, he fails. That is where honor dies for him. He can't do it. He won't do it.[break][break]

Tempest pulls off the most badass move possible, and literally chucks a frickin' boat at the Moltres. Deadass, with a Dhelmise, the ghost ship itself comes out and literally mows down that bird with enough force for Ashley to wonder if it can die a second time. Bass just happened to get out of the way in time, and lands on the ground protective of Ashley, but looking to Tempest ecstatic about the boat-related violence with one good eye. The Noivern makes the happiest chime, and in fact, creates a new little chiptune for Tempest in a familiar tone.[break][break]

The Moltres flails angrily, squawking, fire burning from its beak as it angrily fires flame after flame upwards, but with a certain ghost boat-related injury quite literally knocking the wind out of the Moltres, who was also a vengeful spirit and all, it was gonna take a minute to get itself back up. That's a boat. You don't just walk off getting hit by a boat. Those kill people usually![break][break]

"So beat me until you're satisfied." Though unconsciously, he would no longer let blame drown him. He would take responsibility, and let it burn him if it needed. But he wouldn't let himself die.[break][break]

Those were the words coming out of his mouth, as Kepler plays his final gambit, and with it comes a world of pain to Ashley. His smile disappears, as his words come out. Their conversation at the Verdanturf Town bar comes back. "Dialated cardiomyopathy-" The terrible realization damn near presses the weight of the world upon him, as he trips over himself to get to Kepler, every step taking an eon. The world slows down, before he even realizes it, he's on his knees. He's holding Kepler in his hands. His right arm hurts. Tears are running down his face, his silver eyes matted. His vision is glossy, his heart is beating out of his chest.[break][break]

"Kep." Is all that can come from his lips.[break][break]

Isaac's words are so far off from him. They are distant. He can hear his friend, he can hear the heal pulse, he can hear the way he compels Arceus to get out of Kepler. He does the first thing that comes to mind. He kisses Kepler's forehead. If the Heal Pulse works, if the exorcism works, great. If they don't...[break][break]

"I'm so sorry. I love you so much. Please stay with me. Eyes on me, okay? You're gonna make it through this." No time for what ifs.[break][break]

Whoever this spirit was, let it judge him. He would not lay a finger on Kepler. Ash was all talk. All he wants now, all he ever wanted, is to come out of this okay. All of them. So he holds Kepler tightly, quietly crying. If they got out? He was going to take Kep to do everything. Spoil him. Give him the world.[break][break]

He holds his forehead to Kepler's. He doesn't pray often. But he hopes for once in his twenty-five years of life that Arceus listens.[break]

kepler brueshaber , Tempest Quinn , Isaac Merlo [break][break]

NOTES

- Bass has an eye scratch out, getting a badass scar fending off Moltress.[break]
-- Tempest's Mom frees him of his duty, and comes to defend Ashley, giving Tempest 'He's a Pirate' chiptune as thanks.[break]
- Ashley admits he cannot hurt Kepler. Offers to be beaten to a pulp.[break]
-- Races to Kepler's side when he makes the decision.[break]
--- Hears white noise as Isaac is exorcising the ghost.[break]
---- Tells Kep he loves him, and hopes Knuckles and Hearth end this jerkass.[break]
----- Ashley isn't religious; prays. Hopes he is judged well (Ash Prompt) and lets Kepler live through it.

[attr="class","ashley1pkmn"]

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Kep

He/him

March 03

Alamos, Sinnoh

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nature, nuture

heaven and home

5'7" / 170 cm height

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kepler brueshaber

POSTED ON Jan 15, 2023 21:03:39 GMT

[attr="class","thad"]

[attr="class","thadmain"]Maternal specters and flying ships notwithstanding, Kepler managed to roll over on his back. The pain in his chest was-- it felt like breathing fire. This had happened before (usually when he was running for his life) but this was something else. Maybe because he was really leaning into it, focusing on it, forcing it to bloom throughout his body, an internal form of cleansing fury to burn the possessive spirit out of his frame. An immune response towards an invader.

He hears Isaac speak and squeezes his eyes shut. No, he wants to say, it isn’t you I don’t trust. But he’d rather die than be useless, rather die than hurt Ash, and that, he thinks, says a lot about him as a person in a more positive light than he’d ever thought about himself before.

The Lucarios heal pulse slapped him directly in the chest, the first ring going around him, a halo of healing light; Kepler inhaled a ragged gasp of air, spine arching off the wet ground. The second stabilized his heart fluctuations, descending the beat into something more tolerable-- a rapid atrial fibrillation that still hurt but not as bad.

He reaches for Ash, who is beside him now, trembling fingers falling lightly against his cheek, falling to graze his neck.

The third-- she placed her paws directly on his chest for this one-- slammed into him like a defib paddle, an electric current sluicing through the mechanisms of his ticker in order to get them to tick in time again. By the fourth, his heartbeat was fast but stable, and the pain began to fade into an echo, a memory.

“Of course,” he wheezed, before the ghost in his bones could get back in the driver’s seat, “trust… you guys.” His smile is a little bit deranged. “Knew you’d… save me.” There’s a terrifying moment where he thinks he’s dying because a mist begins to coalesce on the surface of his skin-- but compared to what he’s just felt, it’s nothing, a paper cut.

“I win,” he tells the ghost, his grin gleeful and the shit-eatingest of shit-eatery.

Detached through Kepler’s attempted suicide, the spirit makes a horrendous noise as Isaac’s exorcism draws it upwards. Tendrils of fog scrabble and scratch harmlessly at Kepler’s clothing before it is suctioned up into the rings of infernal parade, and Kepler can finally breathe again.

“Hi.” He beams, corny and beautiful and alive, blinking as Ash’s tears fall on his cheeks. “‘M okay. Sorry-- scared you. But… you don’t understand. It wanted… horrible things. To you. Using me. Couldn’t let that happen.”

He gives Ash the briefest of kisses.

“Help me… stand? Go investigate the-- funky tree?” His arm, numb from possession, lifts off the ground and points at the dark brown trunk that has, till now, been occluded by sepia fog. "Didn't just... appear for no reason."

It seems to move and grow even as they watch, branches expanding and writhing, creaking ominously in the wind, blood-red leaves rustling.

Warning or beckoning, Kepler can’t tell.

+ knuckles stabilizes kepler so his heart isn't trying to kill him anymore

+ the ghost is successfully exorcised

+ the fog parts & reveals a strange tree...

[attr="class","thadtag"]Isaac Merlo Ashley Shepard Tempest Quinn

[attr="class","thadpoke"] Arbalest ♂ | Water Absorb | Dynamic Punch, Mega Kick, Poison Jab, Hydro Pump, High Horsepower, Ice Beam

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temporary

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TAG WITH @temp

Tempest Quinn

POSTED ON Feb 5, 2023 15:33:12 GMT

Cillian Quinn and kepler brueshaber like this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twtgm"]

[attr="class","main"]

Dhelmise returns to his side.[break][break]

Temp stops staring at where the ship had been in awe. He can unpack this later! Later! When he flops on Cillian Quinn and tries to parse out what in the fuck just happened.[break][break]

Ashley and Kepler are having a very tender and loving moment. Isaac is throwing hands with a ghost.[break][break]

This place was fucked.[break][break]

"Okay." Temp speaks suddenly. A small nod of the head. "Okay." A choice has been made.[break][break]

Going over to the loving couple, he claps his hand on Ashely's shoulder and gives it a squeeze. Then he gently tugs the other away, so he can grab Kepler and sling him over his shoulders in a Fireman Carry. Temp didn't really understand what the hell the other had done, but he probably didn't need to be taking a hike with the rest of them.[break][break]

"Kepler, enjoy your new perch. Ashley. I feel you. But we need to get out of here before we can breakdown, yeah?" His words weren't said with cruelty. This place was.... well, Temp wasn't sure what it was. But it was doing everything it could to eat them from the inside out.[break][break]

Jerking his chin in the direction of the tree, Temp started to move that way.[break][break]

"I vote we get there, examine the area, then get the fuck out of here. We'll be more prepared for next time."
[break][break]

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Isaac Merlo Ashley Shepard kepler brueshaber

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

[break]
🔗 temp picks up kepler[break]
🔗 tries to comfort ashley in his own way[break]
🔗 votes they finish what they came for and get the hell out of here

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

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The Liberator

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April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

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Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

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POSTED ON Feb 5, 2023 18:18:35 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]"Well, you sure know how to get us motivated." Was it just a gambit on Kepler's end? Did he believe that Isaac and Ash would save him not only from the spirit, but also from himself? Or was he legitimately contemplating his own death? Isaac wasn't sure, but he averted his eyes to hide the bashful dust across his cheeks. "You scared the hell out of us, man. But . . . fuck, I'm just glad you're okay."[break][break]

He wanted to protectively pull Kepler into a tight hug, reassure him that none of this would ever be needed, promise him that he was capable of so much more than he thought he was and that whatever he couldn't handle he and Ash and Temp would fight back for him. But Ash had the tender, loving hold covered. Temp was right there to be the strong, supportive arms after. He wouldn't have the chance to lend his own.[break][break]

"Yeah," he said, agreeing with Temp's words. "We pulled ourselves together like a buncha badasses. But if we let our guard down, we're not gonna stand a ghost of a chance." If he couldn't lend his strength, at least he could lend some well-meaning snark.[break][break]

A shame the first guard had already dropped. Hearth had felt it burning at the back of his mind, but he'd ignored it. Were he to let go and retreat to safety, the Infernal Parade wouldn't have brought its newest member far enough away from Kepler. Instead, even as his eyelids grew heavy, his knees grew weak, and sleep started to take him, he kept his head aimed skywards. He watched as the fireballs trailed higher, higher, higher still, guiding the vengeful spirit to the clouds of souls that drifted across the sky.[break][break]

It was only when it integrated with its peers that Hearth let unconsciousness take him.[break][break]

Isaac and Knuckles sped to the Typhlosion's side, Isaac with a Pokeball at the ready and Knuckles readying a Heal Pulse. "Its no good, Knux. He's out cold," Isaac said, smiling softly as he returned Hearth to his Pokeball. What the heck had happened? There wasn't any attack Isaac remembered. The last thing to come to mind was some sort of . . .[break][break]

"Song." Isaac's eyes went wide with shock. "Guys, send your Pokemon back, now!" Perish Song. A powerful ability, but a nasty one. If the Pokemon who heard it weren't safe in their balls, they'd be goners for the rest of this trip.[break][break]

And a certain someone wasn't able to go to a ball, now, were they? With the shock wearing off, Isaac couldn't help but flash a grin Temp's way. "Shame Big Bird doesn't have a trainer, huh?" he said. Between the Moltres being tackled into the horizon by a fuckmassive boat, and the Perish Song surely keeping him down for the count, the legendary's wrathful flame had fizzled out quick. "Nice thinking there."

[break][break]

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]MOBILE POST / Ashley Shepard kepler brueshaber Tempest Quinn

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

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Ash

He/Him/Them

December 2

Aspertia City, Unova

Pansexual

Picking up the pieces

5'11'' height

But I, I will, go on howling and hollow

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TAG WITH @ashley

POSTED ON Feb 5, 2023 23:01:26 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","ashley1"]

[attr="class","ashley1body"]

Eyes welled up, it fades when Kep comes to. It's terrifying. Like that, it could have led to him fading through his trembling fingers. It wasn't a lack of trust. It was that Kepler trusted them. And with it, as Knuckles beat the life back in.[break][break]

There Kep was again, making him fall again. Ashley's lips curl upwards. He was protecting Ash, and that only made his heart beat harder, as he holds his hand into his chest. Isaac says it better than he ever could. Scared the hell out of. But he was alive. He managed through it. He did it in his way. Ashley lets Kepler feel his heart sporadically beating. "Thank you. For holding on."[break][break]

A brief kiss is all they share, before Kep asks to help him up... and Temp promptly hoists him up and gives him the pep talk he needed. There's a sigh of relief. Guy's not wrong, and Ashley is able to get himself back to standing order. "'preciate it, Temp. Think I hurt my wrist getting Isaac out of the frying pan. Gonna have to wear a brace, I bet." He laughs it off, that grin back. Pricked by tears once more, patting himself down.[break][break]

Judgment was over. Ashley wins.[break][break]

However... Hearth wasn't the only one down. As Ashley turns to see the Typhlosion, he notices two more on the ground. Bongo AND Bass. Ashley's face is matted in sweat. Damn that Moltres. He was so preoccupied, he had tunnel vision... that's how it goes though. Love makes everyone fools.[break][break]

"Dammit."[break][break]

Returning both Bongo and Bass now, he releases one of his newbies; Salem. The Umbreon pops out, red eyes upon Ashley, as he speaks. "Kay. We're on guard duty. No surprises getting us, got it?" Salem gives a 'mow' sound, and it only makes Ashley glad he helped Felix Gallagher with that bunker.[break][break]

"Heh... glad Big Bird is out though. Means we need to get moving, just like Temp said. Let's look at that tree."[break][break]

The tree appears in the distance. Its branches filled with crimson leaves, and its bark looked as if blood was seeping right out of it. The leaves strewn about on the ground like stains left behind by the many who died beneath it. Ashley gets a bad, bad feeling from it. Enough so that he winces, only to recoil at the sight inside what looked like a maw. Something... he can't make it out.[break][break]

"Should we draw straws? The three of us that is." No way in any afterlife, current life, or past life would Ashley ever allow Kepler near that thing. So, he offers the first steps to it to Temp or Isaac.[break][break]

Why did it feel like the tree was watching them...?[break]

kepler brueshaber, Tempest Quinn, Isaac Merlo[break][break]

NOTES

- Brief kiss. [break]
-- Thank you Temp, Ash's arm is still jank. Would have tried. [break]
- Oh shit, Hearth is down. [break]
-- Oh double shit, Bongo and Bass are down too. [break]
--- It's chill, Salem (Umbreon) is OUT.[break]
- Temp is right. They gotta schmoove. [break]
-- Creepy tree. Someone should go near it. Something is in its maw. [break]
--- Spooky tree. Ashley isn't letting Kep go.

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Ceej

Kep

He/him

March 03

Alamos, Sinnoh

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nature, nuture

heaven and home

5'7" / 170 cm height

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kepler brueshaber

POSTED ON Feb 6, 2023 17:47:39 GMT

[attr="class","thad"]

[attr="class","thadmain"]Kepler has very little time to think about stuff and things before Temp throws him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Whoof,” he twists his neck to avoid his face slamming into the man's mid back, amazed at just how broad and tall and strong--

“Th-thanks,” he says weakly, fishing for his Pokeballs with arms that felt like limp noodles and recalling Pluto, slumped in an exhausted heap.

Don’t worry, Isaac, I’m a lot tougher than I look, he wanted to say, but it would have honestly been a lie up until today, right now, at this very moment. Instead, he offered his friend a grin and a laugh. “T-too soon,” he joked, nose crinkling with snickers.

Ash wants to draw straws for the chance to investigate and Kepler whines about it. “H-Hey, that’s not fair. I want to see, too.” He reaches up to pat Temps other shoulder with mock-affection. “I have my trusty steed. I’ll be okay.” He cranes his neck to see the tree in question, fog wreathing around it like ominous fat fruit.

Squinting through the haze, he asks, “Is-- is there something… glowing in it, or am I having hypoxemia hallucinations?”

BWXRyWfs

+ and temp oops

+ what's with the ~~chimp and the bug~~ glowing strange tree?

[attr="class","thadtag"]Isaac Merlo Ashley Shepard Tempest Quinn

[attr="class","thadpoke"] Arbalest ♂ | Water Absorb | Dynamic Punch, Mega Kick, Poison Jab, Hydro Pump, High Horsepower, Ice Beam

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yams

temporary

he/him

may 3rd

pacifilog, hoenn

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TAG WITH @temp

Tempest Quinn

POSTED ON Feb 12, 2023 18:24:40 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twtgm"]

[attr="class","main"]

kepler brueshaber gives a little pat and seems to be struggling. So, like the valuable steed he was, Temp tries to help shift the other to pull him up. That way Kepler can ride piggy back if he wanted. Less comfortable but able to at least see what was in front of them (and not get a head-rush of blood).[break][break]

Nodding to Isaac Merlo, Temp used his chin to point at the straws Ashley Shepard was holding.
[break][break]
"Mind grabbing for me, bro?" Honestly, Temp would have just charged forward. Normally. But since he had a passenger, he figured it best to play by the rules.
[break][break]
It felt like an ominous eye was baring down on them. Temp frowned and glanced around. He hated feeling like he was being watched.

[break][break]

MwvDMlY4

[attr="class","tag"]@ tag

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

[break]
🔗 notes

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The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

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TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

POSTED ON Feb 21, 2023 18:08:40 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]Isaac winced at Ash's lighthearted observation. "My bad, man," he said, a little embarrassed that his bad eye had strained Ash's messed up arm. If his idiocy ended up setting his brother in arms' recovery back even more than it already had . . .[break][break]

Nope. Isaac could feel the grudginess setting into the back of his mind, and he gnawed down on the inside of his cheek before an epic civil war could fester in the folds of his brain. As if sensing his worry, Knuckles softly bumped her shoulder against his, then fired a Heal Pulse Ash's way to ease the pain in his wrist.[break][break]

As the tree stretched into view, Isaac could see Knuckles' fur stand on end. Crimson leaves, blood red sap, and a gaping maw that fog seemed to be rolling out from . . . it looked less like a tree and more like some kind of monster. The specter of Moltres was at least a known entity, a warning passed along by Rocket's first Pyre-bound group. But this? This was an enigma.[break][break]

Ash requested drawn straws. Kepler protested that he'd miss his chance to see the mystery. "We can all take a look," he assured the recently-deoxygenated nerd. "Straw's just to see who gets to be the poor sap in front." The tree's sap seemed to simmer in response. It looked uncomfortably wet.[break][break]

He wanted to volunteer. He wanted to take the burden up, part due to how little he was able to help Kepler and part due to his own burning curiosity. And with Temp asking him to draw a straw for him too, Isaac saw his chance.[break][break]

Or did he. Temp was holding the man Ash refused to let come to harm. Isaac was someone Ash had just promised to keep safe. He knew Ash was going to be holding that short straw close, away from both of Isaac's draws. It was a shell game just waiting to happen, and Isaac wasn't about to let it happen.[break][break]

"I got yours first, Temp." The soft smile on his face hid his scheme perfectly.[break][break]

Isaac squeezed his eyes shut and prepared his gambit. He reached first for the straw furthest from the group, but after securing it between his ring and middle finger hooked his thumb closer to the inside of Ashley's palm. If he was right about his friend's worrywart tendencies, his little feint would let him snag that short straw for himself with ease.[break][break]

jzOXPZ8t

[break][break]

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]MOBILE POST / Ashley Shepard + kepler brueshaber + @tempest

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

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Ash

He/Him/Them

December 2

Aspertia City, Unova

Pansexual

Picking up the pieces

5'11'' height

But I, I will, go on howling and hollow

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TAG WITH @ashley

POSTED ON Feb 23, 2023 10:44:19 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","ashley1"]

[attr="class","ashley1body"]

Kep's whining does hit him a little hard, and though Ashley would allow him to draw straws, he did prefer not to involve him. But... if Tempest kept him alive, that would be good enough. At least let him see, and as Ashley holds those straws, he makes sure all three are out.[break][break]

Just as Isaac presumes, the shortest straw is closest to him. Crafty guy, knows Ashley well enough. That's what best friends are for, and though it does work exactly to Isaac's favor, Ashley doesn't budge in terms of facial expression. Leaving Tempest and Isaac the longest and shortest straw, respectively.[break][break]

With a click of his tongue, he looks at the medium length straw, and sighs. "Dammit." He shakes his head. Isaac knew him too well.[break][break]

His eyes turn back to that tree. That accursed tree, with its imagined eyes just baring down on them. Ashley shudders. Part of him wanted to ask Isaac for best two-out-of-three, to take the lead. The man is already hurt again, his right arm feels raw, and the worst Isaac had was a face full of dirt, and close encounter to the acid. Tempest had even less, even somehow conjuring up a boat (probably maybe unintentionally) appear to solve their Sesame Street sized Big Bird. Which meant, Kep and Ash were the odd men out there.[break][break]

With a release of his Metang, Magneto, he looks to the metal saucer with arms. "Magneto. Stay close to Isaac." He orders, the metalman giving a chime. Ashley turns those silvers to him. "You even see that bark move, you back off. You hear me?"[break][break]

At least with Magneto, he has a type that can deal with wood... why was he so anxious over a tree? With bloody leaves, and bark that seem shriveled. Why indeed.[break][break]

9oun3SXu[break]

kepler brueshaber, Tempest Quinn, Isaac Merlo[break][break]

NOTES

- Curses to Isaac. He has Ashley read like a book.[break]
-- Isaac successfully deduces which is the short straw.[break]
--- Releases Magneto, his Metang, and prepares the metal being to protecc.

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GONGAGER

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October 13

GONGAGA

gongaga-romantic

gongager

gongago

me?

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808 height

WHERE ARE UNOVA REMAKES

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